B.C. students and a new clinic: What SFU’s incoming medical school means for you

SFU is now accepting applications for its new medical school, and the first class of doctors will begin in August.

B.C. Premier David Eby was in Surrey Tuesday to announce applications for SFU’s medical school are now open, but the biggest news for the general public hasn’t garnered the biggest headlines.

In a one-on-one interview with the school’s dean, CTV News has learned that the first cohort of students accepted for the initial class starting in August will almost all be from British Columbia, with applications open to qualified students from the territories as well. It’s expected all but one or two will be from BC.

“We know that if you train British Columbians in their own communities, they’re much more likely to stay—and certainly from the family medicine residency point of view, we know that 85 to 90 per cent of the residents will stay in the community in which they train,” said Dr. David Price. “So for us, it’s going to be super important to do the training here locally in this Lower Mainland, in the Fraser Health region, but also broadly across the province.”

That’s exactly what the provincial government is counting on as it faces a major shortage of family doctors.

“The new school of medicine is part of our plan for a resilient and sustainable primary care system, one that supports people today and will continue to serve our children and our grandchildren for years to come,” said Health Minister Josie Osborne.

Thousands of new patients served

CTV News was first to report that Price was advocating for the new medical school to include a primary care clinic, much like most universities attach a learning hospital.

That’s now a confirmed reality, with some 20,000 patients expected to be attached to the school’s clinic after the permanent classroom space is built, which is anticipated in 2030.

Given that SFU’s program will train doctors in family medicine, students will begin their involvement in the clinic within months, gradually ramping up to seeing patients on their own with experienced physicians overseeing their practice.

Why so few students?

The school was first announced by then-premier John Horgan in 2020, when he anticipated a 2023 opening, but the current premier had to amend that to a more realistic timeline of 2026.

CTV News asked Eby if he is satisfied that the first year of the program will only take 48 students, considering how serious the shortage of family doctors is in his province.

“They’ve got to walk before they run,” he replied. “They’ve got 48 students in the first year and it’s going to get up to 120 students by the time the school is fully subscribed. That’s not an insignificant number of doctors—each of those doctors will accept more than a thousand patients in the community.”