Program Overview

Introduction to the Trail MD Undergraduate Program

The Trail MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP) Integrated Community Clerkship (ICC) Site has been in existence since 2011, providing an excellent place for UBC medical students to complete their third year. Students who have been through the Trail ICC enjoy the independence of the program coupled with the support of staff and preceptors who they get to know very well.

General Program Overview

The Trail Integrated Community Clerkship (ICC) program utilizes an educational model that optimizes continuity of teaching and patient care. The student support system is tailored to fit the needs of students to help them maximize learning opportunities and engage with the local medical community. The program provides four third-year clerkship spots each year.

Specific Experiences

Family Medicine

• Each student is teamed with two family practice (FP) preceptors for two half days per week for the entire year.
• The FP preceptors act as primary preceptors, providing timely and consistent supervision and feedback.
• Students track patients across multiple disciplines to maximize learning experiences.
• An ample patient volume and case mix ensures students see all required clinical encounters and perform all required procedures to meet Year 3 learning objectives.

Specialty Rotations

• The student schedule consists of “mini-rotations” (1 to 3 weeks in duration) in all of the core specialties: anesthesiology, emergency medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics, pediatrics, and psychiatry.
• Most of these “mini-rotations” are repeated throughout the year, allowing students to build on past experiences and enhance learning and performance.
• Students are given graduated responsibility over the course of the year, depending on their abilities.

Interprofessional Experiences

• Students benefit by participating in an interprofessional experience one half-day per week.
• Students have the opportunity to choose from a diversity of experiences in the community, including chronic disease management, drug/addictions programs, industrial/occupational health, residential care, and many others, within the hospital setting and in the community.
• Students also have the opportunity to gain additional experience in areas outside core disciplines (e.g., primary care obstetrics, pathology/lab medicine, radiology).

Academic Half Days (AHDs)

• Students participate in a minimum of one AHD teaching per week.
• AHD sessions are provided by local faculty from Vernon or Trail area, and the students in Trail and Vernon videoconference for these half-day sessions for the entire year.

Participating Hospital Sites

Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH)

• KBRH is a 75 bed hospital, the largest diagnostic and acute care facility in the region.
• As a major referral centre in the Kootenay Boundary Health Services area, it serves as a catchment area for 75,000 people of the West Kootenay/Boundary communities.
• The hospital is home to a close-knit medical community with over 50 specialists representing anesthesia, emergency, otolaryngology, general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pathology/lab medicine, pediatrics, plastic surgery, psychiatry, radiology, and urology.
• KBRH also has 34 active family physicians and 11 hospitalists.
• There is dedicated UBC education space (2000 ft²) that includes a centralized education area, clinical skills room, video conferencing rooms, on-call sleep area, and lounge.

Kootenay Lake Hospital

• KLH is the acute care hospital in Nelson and serves patients from Nelson and the surrounding communities around Kootenay Lake.
• Students will spend time in KLH doing specialist rotations in pediatrics, internal medicine, and some students will complete obstetrics/gynaecology rotations at the hospital.
• Nelson is 70 km from Trail, and the drive along the Kootenay river is very picturesque.
• The medical community in Nelson has a long history of educating medical students, and the students really enjoy and appreciate their time at KLH and Nelson.
• There is also dedicated UBC education space (645 ft²) with a clinical skills room, study stations, and lounge area.

Community Profile

The Greater Trail area has a population of 30,000 people centered in five communities, each with its own flavour. Trail is the economic hub of the region and boasts wonderful parks and recreational facilities. The Columbia River runs through the city, thus fishing and kayaking are popular activities. Rossland, Canada’s Alpine City, was named one of North America’s “Top 10 Great Adventure Towns to Live and Play” by National Geographic magazine. In the winter, check out Red Mountain or Blackjack cross country ski club. Summertime allows hikers and bikers access to the hundreds of kilometres of maintained trails around town. There are numerous lakes for paddling and swimming. Nelson sits on Kootenay Lake and is surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges for all kinds of outdoor pursuits. White Water ski resort and numerous cross country and back country skiing opportunities also exist. The Trail Regional Airport offers daily service to Vancouver, and the West Kootenay Regional Airport offers daily service to Vancouver and Calgary.