An initiative of
Dr. Ryan Knebel (Associate Program Director, Southern Interior)
Program Director
Wendy Milligen
BC’s Southern Interior is home to approximately 760,000 residents. The largest metropolitan center in this region is Kelowna, with a population of approximately 222,000. In fact, Kelowna is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in all of Canada. As a newer residency training site, the psychiatrists of the Southern Interior are excited to uphold UBC’s world-class standard of teaching. Starting in Kelowna and Kamloops, our program is working to develop a diversity of training opportunities across the region.
The current focal point of this residency program is at Kelowna General Hospital, which offers a litany of psychiatric services. This includes: Psychiatric Emergency Service, Adult Inpatient Unit (34 beds), Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (9 beds), Addictions Medicine Service, Consult-Liaison Psychiatry Service, Geriatric Psychiatry Service, and Pediatric Psychiatry Service. The Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, a specialized tertiary unit with 9 beds, is also located at KGH.
Kelowna outpatient services are provided out of ‘Mental Health and Substance Use’, located within the Interior Health Building downtown. Services provided here include: ACCESS Psychiatry (intake), Early Psychosis Intervention, Counseling and Treatment (mood and anxiety), Treatment Stabilization and Recovery (severe and persistent mental illness), Assertive Community Treatment, Alcohol and Drug Service, Opioid Agonist Treatment Clinic, and Senior’s Mental Health. Child Psychiatry Services are offered through ‘Child and Youth Mental Health’ and ‘The Foundry’.
The Southern Interior track is expanding to additional communities as our program grows: including Kamloops, Vernon, Trail, and Penticton. We have began expanding to Kamloops, home to several unique tertiary services in addition to their diverse inpatient (Royal Inland Hospital) and outpatient services (MHSU-Kamloops). Hillside Centre (40 beds) provides tertiary psychiatric care for general adult, geriatric, and neuropsychiatry with a multidisciplinary lens. South Hills Centre (40 beds) provides tertiary rehabilitation to adults with severe and persistent symptoms of mental illness.
The program still maintains close linkages with the other UBC Psychiatry Residents in the Lower Mainland (Vancouver, Richmond, and Fraser Valley) through the Thursday Academic Days for PGY2-5. Residents attend most of these sessions by videoconference, but once a month, the Southern Interior residents will travel to Vancouver to join the seminars in person. Southern Interior-based residents also have frequent opportunities to travel to Vancouver for other special academic and social events enjoyed by the entire UBC program.
The Southern Interior strikes a gentle blend of rural and urban life, making it a popular vacation spot that you have the opportunity to live in year-round. Kelowna and the Okanagan boast a sunny and dry climate, with hot summers (28oC July average) and mild winters (1oC January average). Breathtaking views are seen in every direction, with landscapes decorated by beautiful mountains, hills, lakes, beaches, vineyards and orchards. Several provincial parks are situated along the regions spectacular lakes. Kalamalka Lake was named by National Geographic as one of the 10 most beautiful lakes in the world.
Because of the landscape, the Okanagan is often described as a four season playground, with natural amenities offering outdoor activities all year round. In the winter, experience the region’s famous ‘champagne powder’ by visiting our various local ski resorts. In the summer, soak up the sun while enjoying watersports, boating, and beaches. Or stay active by quickly accessing a variety of well-established trail systems for hiking and cycling.
Kelowna is BC’s third largest metropolitan area, acting as a focal point of recreational and cultural experiences. Here is found the Okanagan Symphony, Kelowna Actors Studio, and Theatre Kelowna. A bustling brewery district offers local craft beers, ciders, and spirits. The Okanagan boasts hundreds of vineyards, and is known for producing world-class wines. Foodies can access award-winning farm-to-table restaurants, or pick up theirs own locally grown produce from fruit stands and farmers markets.
British Columbia | |
|---|---|
Gross Annual PGY-1 Salary | $65,332.37 |
Gross Annual PGY-2 Salary | $72,818.39
|
Gross Annual PGY-3 Salary | $79,301.62 |
Gross Annual PGY-4 Salary | $85,318.65 |
Gross Annual PGY-5 Salary | $91,710.67 |
Gross Annual PGY-6 Salary | $97,877.39 |
Gross Annual PGY-7 Salary | $104,271.09 |
Educational Leave | Yes |
Annual Vacation | 4 weeks |
Meal Allowance | No |
Frequency of Calls | 1 in 4 onsite/1 in 3 offsite |
Maternity Leave | 17 weeks, plus up to 78 weeks Parental Leave |
Provincial Health Insurance | 100% Premiums Paid |
Provincial Dues (% of salary) | 1.50% |
Extended Health Insurance | 100% Premiums Paid |
CMPA Dues Paid | Yes, mandatory |
Dental Plan | 100% Premiums Paid |
Statutory Holidays | 2x pay plus extra day with pay |
Long-Term Disability Insurance | Yes 100% Premiums Paid |
Sick Leave | Yes |
Life Insurance | 100% Premiums Paid |
Terms of Agreement April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2022
Resident Doctors of BC website
Yes, if you are planning to apply to multiple tracks, please submit an application for each track.
Applicants are encouraged to write a different targeted personal letter for each track they want to apply to, especially for the applicants who want to apply to the Interior, Vancouver Island, and Prince George tracks. This will help the Program understand the reasons for applying to specific tracks.
CVs or resumes are optional as the CaRMS application forms include all necessary fields that would be present on a CV (e.g. work experience, research experience, interest, etc.).
Our Selections Committee will only review the first three reference letters that you submit due to time constraints.
Yes, please upload a copy your Masters transcript to your CaRMS application. Our reviewers will take this into account when reviewing your file.
We do not give preference to students who are graduates of UBC when creating our rank lists. Every applicant will be scored in a standardized fashion.
Candidates who are shortlisted for the Vancouver, Fraser, and/or Vancouver Island tracks will have one set of standard interviews (Program Director Interview, Mini Interview, and Panel Interview). When interviewing and ranking the candidates, our Selections Committee will keep in mind the tracks to which they have applied.
Candidates who are shortlisted for the Interior, Prince George, Research and/or IMG tracks, will have an additional interview for each track.
Yes, candidates are able to apply for additional tracks (except for Interior, Prince George and Research tracks) after your interview date, and up to at least 1 to 1.5 weeks before the ranking list submission deadline.
All shortlisted candidates who applied multiple streams/tracks will compete all their interviews on the same day.
For the 2024 CaRMS match, the British Columbia Ministry of Health are funding new residency positions in what they have termed, the “Competitive Stream”. Application to these positions are open to both Canadian Medical Graduates (CMG’s) and International Medical Graduates (IMG’s) and this stream will be a separate track which would be ranked just like the other tracks in our program. The positions in this stream will require a 3 year Return of Service (ROS), but this ROS can be anywhere in the province, either urban or rural including in greater Vancouver, and can be in any sort of clinical practice of interest to the resident.
At UBC, there are 5 Competitive Stream positions which are distributed amoungst the tracks as follows:
Vancouver Track – 1 position
Fraser Track – 2 positions
Vancouver Island Track – 1 position
Interior Track – 1 position
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