The opening of a new medical school at Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a significant step in addressing the healthcare crisis in British Columbia, according to Doctors of BC, the organization representing physicians in the province.
Charlene Lui, President of Doctors of BC, believes that the establishment of SFU’s new medical school will play a crucial role in alleviating the shortage of family doctors in the region. However, she emphasizes that there will be a considerable delay between the admission of the first group of students and their actual entry into the healthcare workforce.
Lui highlights the complexity of the healthcare system and points out that despite the addition of doctors from the new medical school, B.C. is likely to continue facing physician shortages in the foreseeable future. She stresses the necessity for increased government funding to not only attract and retain physicians but also to draw in medical professionals from other regions and encourage local graduates to remain in the province.
Another challenge mentioned by Lui is the shortage of faculty and professors at existing medical schools, such as UBC, which will require careful consideration in teaching the students of the new medical school at SFU.
Scheduled to start in spring 2026 in Surrey, SFU’s School of Medicine will be the first medical school to open in Western Canada in over half a century. Applications for the school are now being accepted, with a new permanent facility expected to be completed by 2030.