A group of people will be meeting with the BC Health Minister Kevin Falcon to discuss the issue of improving the ability for BC raised students studying at international schools to return home. They want to try to get as large a list a possible of all the people studying abroad to present to Mr. Falcon, so if you fit this description, please PM me with your email address so I can send you the petition form and details.

Thanks

Did you get the notice from the meeting then? No more St. John Hospital evaluation for the B.C. students from what I understand. This is really good! What does this mean in terms of real chances for landing positions then? Do you think this is a significant advantage, or just a time-saver?

I'm hoping we can get to the point where we match 1st round. Now we'll see.

Was there any discusion at the meeting about the availability of more clinical rotations in BC? There was a thread recently about SGU securing rotations at a BC hospital.

Well, if SGU can secure rotations in B.C. you are really lucky because, as you know, if we study outside of the 'Commonwealth' countries at the moment one cannot even apply. This leaves rotations to be done in Sask., Ont., Manitoba or at other locations which can be a logistical pain in terms of housing, travel, etc. I really hate their policy on this.

Here's the newsletter put out recently regarding the issue: Some of you likely have it already.


We are putting out this newsletter to update everyone, students and families, on our progress to date. As you know, this initiative began in July 2009. We have now collected the names and contact information of 239 students, or recent graduates, and their parents. On August 28th, we delivered a copy of our brief (attached to this email) to the Premier, the Minister for Health and the Minister for Advanced Education. This afternoon, we had a meeting with the Assistant Deputy Minister for Health and Human Resources, Ms Valerie St. John, and her associate, Ms Libby Posgate, Director Health Human Resources Planning. They had both studied the brief and were very well informed. We had a vey useful and informative meeting with them which lasted over an hour longer than originally scheduled. In a word, they understand the issue very well. They are keen to improve the situation but have some constraints with regard to the how and the timing.
The Good News: The unreasonable demand for a 3 month assessment at St Paul’s Hospital will disappear in 2010.
The Bad News: They are not considering a major increase in positions until 2013 when the Kelowna medical programme is up and running.
The Not So Bad News: They have been working with other provinces especially Ontario, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan to standardize access to the CaRMS match. However, they were amenable to re-looking at the Manitoba model of opening up the 1st iteration to all comers. We pressed for that model as being the fairest. They are obviously worried about the Canadian Medical Student lobby which is apparently very strong.
Concerns: They are worried about UBCs ability to handle a big influx of new trainees but are working with the Dean to address this. We had several suggestions to make in this regard.
They are also worried about finances especially in this tight fiscal climate. We had other suggestions to address this which they will also consider.
One area which was not clarified was that of the number of residency positions to medical graduates in BC. They claim it to be 1.2:1 as recommended in the Task Force. However, we had some questions about these numbers which they were not able to answer. They agreed to seek out the answers for us. We want exact information on how these extra positions are deployed.
Next meeting with the Ministry: October 9th 2009: We are pleased they have agreed to meet with us again to answer the questions we raised and to explore other issues.
Next steps:

After some discussion we suggest the following:

• Formalize our structure and organization including the formation of a Board of Directors
• Consider incorporation as a non-profit organization
• Develop lists of people who can lobby effectively in the following areas: UBC, Government, Health Authorities, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and the BCMA/CMA
• Develop a website and a discussion area
• Encourage all students to join the BCMA and CMA. Just call or email the BCMA and ask them to send on the application form. It costs $5 to join. Membership in the BCMA entitles you to membership in the CMA. Once enough people have joined both, we will have an effective lobby group on the inside. www.bcma.org or benefits@bcma.bc.ca or 604-638-2927

What we need from the parents and supporters: by September 18th please

• Indicate if you would be willing to serve on the Board and, if so, what special area of expertise you have
• Indicate if you have a special group or person that you can speak to about this issue
• Indicate if you could develop, run and maintain a website for the group
• Indicate if you could organize some sort of discussion area for the students and/or parents (i.e. Facebook)
• Indicate any other ideas or suggestions you may have for how we should proceed

At the moment, it seems reasonable not to carry on a PR campaign with the press and not to involve the NDP. This would likely destroy all contact with the Ministry. Currently we see them as our best allies in moving the process ahead. They would not respond well to being pressured in public. However we need to build alliances within UBC, the College, the BCMA and the Health Authorities. It is only with concerted pressure on all, and by all on the government, that we will succeed in our dream to bring our students home.

Thanks for your support

so, did anything new come of this Oct. 9th, 2009 meeting that was going to take place?

I haven't had a chance to check on the newest developments. Exam sessions here and other things keep me more than a little busy. I will do so, and post anything new as soon as possible.