Helping to improve health and wellness for Indigenous populations and communities is a key priority for UBC and the Faculty of Medicine.
The Indigenous MD admissions program, Indigenous Family Medicine Residency Program, and certificate programs in Indigenous Public Health are just some of the ways the Faculty of Medicine is helping to increase the number, and retention of, Indigenous health professionals in B.C. and across Canada in response to the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.
Our medical school is now training more Indigenous doctors than ever before, with more than 130 Indigenous medical student graduates since 2006 and a growing number completing residency training in communities across the province.
An increasing number of Indigenous learners are also training in our Health Professions programs, including Midwifery, Genetic Counseling, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Medical Laboratory Science.
Through their work in communities in B.C. and across the country, faculty, staff and learners are helping to build a health care system that is more accessible, inclusive, representative and equitable.
Response
- UBC Faculty of Medicine Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action
- Watch the webcast
Initiatives
- First Nations Health Authority Chair in Cancer and Wellness at UBC
- Indigenous MD admissions program
- Physical Therapy, Indigenous Health
- Midwifery Program, Indigenous Students
- Indigenous Family Medicine Residency Program
- Graduate Certificate or Certificate in Indigenous Public Health
- Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health
- Indigenous Initiatives Speakers Series
Stories
Two life paths, one shared journey
Siblings and Métis doctors Ben and Alexandra Sheppard recount their shared journey through UBC’s medical school.
Aligning health, heritage and wellbeing
Clinical Assistant Professor and Coast Salish member of the Stz’uminus First Nation, Shannon Waters shares more on her work to improve First Nations health.
Reconciliation Pole installed on UBC Vancouver campus
The 55-foot red cedar pole was carved by 7idansuu (Edenshaw), James Hart, Haida master carver and hereditary chief.
FNHA and UBC create chair to prevent cancer and improve well-being
The $3M project focuses on improving health and cancer outcomes in First Nations communities.
Nadine Caron wins the Dr. Thomas Dignan Indigenous Health Award
The award from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons recognizes physicians devoted to justice for Canada's Indigenous peoples.
Aboriginal PhD student Dustin King receives Governor General’s Gold Medal
King received the prestigious medal in recognition of his PhD research.
New Dakelh doctors look northward
Childhood friends Nathan Teegee and Todd Alec are among nine Aboriginal MDs graduating from the Faculty of Medicine this year.
With gratitude, we acknowledge that the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and its distributed programs, which include four university academic campuses, are located on traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of Indigenous peoples around the province.
We respectfully acknowledge that the UBC Vancouver-Point Grey academic campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and UBC operations in Vancouver more generally are also on the territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh).
We respectfully acknowledge that the UBC Okanagan academic campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation.
We respectfully acknowledge that the University of Northern BC Prince George campus is located on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, who are part of the Dakelh (Carrier) First Nations.
We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territories the University of Victoria is located and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.