Building on the strength and foundation of innovative programming and community and industry partnerships, the University of Prince Edward Island is ideally situated to help shape the future of health care in the province.

Why a Medical School?

• Made in PEI for PEI: A unique-to-Canada, leading-edge, joint medical degree is positioned to be the most impactful project in Prince Edward Island since the Confederation Bridge.
• Addressing physician shortages: The new medical school will help address PEI’s physician shortages in the long term.
• Retention of physicians: Historically, medical school graduates tend to stay where they train. Combining a socially accountable medical school with an enhanced residency program(s) will enhance the recruitment and retention of physicians in PEI.
• Collaborative excellence: UPEI boasts a history of academic excellence in health-based programs and interdisciplinary collaborations.
• Planetary health focus: The medical school will be at the forefront of Planetary Health, considering the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.
• Equitable access for students: Qualified PEI applicants have a 1 in 11 chance of accessing a seat in medical school in Canada, the lowest in the Country. By comparison, Newfoundland and Labrador applicants currently have a 1 in 2 chance of being admitted to MUN’s medical school. Establishing a medical school in PEI will provide more equitable opportunities for PEI Residents.

The new Faculty of Medicine at UPEI will provide seats for 20 PEI residents annually, including at least one seat for an Indigenous student. Given the size of PEI’s population, the emphasis will be on generalists, with an ideal mix of doctors and general specialists. The new curriculum is being developed to prepare the doctors of the future.

"In larger centres with established medical schools, some physicians can wait for their whole careers for teaching opportunities. Although I moved here for reasons beyond the medical school, I would not have chosen PEI if they had not announced a medical school. The UPEI Faculty of Medicine made the Island a realistic option for me."

– Dr Nathan St Onge, MD CCFP-EM

Why UPEI?

• UPEI brings a wealth of knowledge and strength in areas—such as planetary health–that can inform Memorial’s medical education program, including nursing, climate change, paramedicine, psychology, and veterinary medicine.
• Research strengths will also be leveraged on other fronts through collaboration in the bio-medical, community health, and inter-professional health education fronts. This could include faculty-faculty collaboration and/or graduate students being supervised by faculty at both sites.
• UPEI has a proven track record in collaborative and interdisciplinary health and health-related programming that benefits PEI communities.

• UPEI has a unique opportunity and duty as the provincial university to contribute to the long-term solution to help overcome PEI's current healthcare challenges.
• A medical school will attract PEI students to science, health-based undergraduate programs who aspire to become medical doctors.
• Faculties of medicine enhance economic activity by attracting researchers and businesses.

Why a Joint Program with MUN?

• UPEI brings a wealth of knowledge and strength in areas—such as planetary health–that will inform Memorial’s medical education program, including nursing, climate change, paramedicine, psychology, and veterinary medicine.
• Research strengths will also be leveraged on other fronts through collaboration in the bio-medical, community health, and inter-professional health education fronts. This could include faculty-faculty collaboration and/or graduate students supervised by faculty at both sites.
• UPEI and MUN are working with PEI physicians, Health PEI, the Government of PEI, and other stakeholders on developing clinical opportunities for undergraduate students. The expanded UPEI Health and Wellness Centre clinic is one such opportunity.
• The new UPEI Faculty of Medicine is being developed upon several pillars that align with the PEI government’s vision for health care:
  • Role of nursing and paramedicine education in primary health care and preparing students for future unexpected health care challenges,
  • Integrating physical health care education with mental health education,
  • One Health, and the interconnectivity between animal and human health and the environment,
  • Impact of climate change on human health,
  • Family medicine is delivered through collaborative practice.

What does it mean to be under Memorial’s accreditation? 

• We are working towards the establishment of the UPEI-Memorial joint program. Until then, we are hosting a regional campus of Memorial’s medical school. This means that accepted applicants will receive a degree from Memorial University while fully completing their medical studies at the UPEI campus.”