Welcome to the Department of Family Practice, where scholarship in education and research empowers learners, physicians, and midwives to provide effective patient-centered care in the context of the family and the community. Our work is informed by principles of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and we aim to meet the diverse needs and expectations of Indigenous, rural, remote, and urban communities across British Columbia.
With over 30 academic and more than 4000 clinical faculty, and over 200 staff and appointees distributed across the province, the Department of Family Practice (DFP) is the largest department in the UBC Faculty of Medicine, and the largest distributed family medicine program in Canada. We are also the only program in Canada that includes a Division of Midwifery.
Our vision is to improve the health of the people of British Columbia through building relationships and innovations in team-based care, emerging technologies, addressing social determinants of health, and implementation of research to help shape policy. Our mission is four-fold: to provide leadership in healthcare; encourage and nurture partnerships for the promotion and enhancement of family medicine and midwifery; support faculty to teach and conduct research that inspires medical and midwifery students, and family practice residents, across the province; and equip faculty and learners with the tools needed to partner with and support the health goals of people in our diverse communities across the province in meaningful and sustainable ways.
The Department of Family Practice comprises three education programs. Our Undergraduate Family Practice Program has a strong presence across all 4 years of the MD program, while our Post Graduate Residency Program is distributed across 23 sites throughout British Columbia, and has the largest number of residents in the Faculty of Medicine. Our Midwifery Programs, which include a 4-year Undergraduate degree pathway to licensure and a 9-month Bridging program for international midwives to gain licensure in Canada, deliver both clinical and research training in Victoria, Vancouver, and Surrey with opportunities to complete required placements with clinical preceptors across the province.
We are also home to the UBC Health Clinic, the UBC Sport and Exercise Medicine Clinic, and eight Special Interest Focus Programs. Together with our multiple research units and programs, we are advancing reproductive and maternal health, men’s health, aging and mobility, rural and remote health, palliative care, and sport and exercise medicine as a department.
Guided by our JEDI committee and commitment to our social contract with the people of British Columbia to improve access to care, DFP is home to a diverse group of faculty, staff, and learners, who are united by our shared passion for improving the health in our province. Whether you are a learner, preceptor, or researcher, we look forward to sharing more about our programs, clinics, and research with you.
Dr. Robert Petrella MD, PhD, FCFP, FACSM
Professor and Head (Chair)
Department of Family Practice
Faculty of Medicine