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Better health care on the way |
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Written by -- Editor Dave Paulson
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Saturday, 10 May 2008 |
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NORTHERN BCCHARLES JAGONORTHERN MEDICAL PROGRAMUBC FACULTYEDITOR DAVE PAULSON
Prince George, take a bow. You too, Dr. Charles Jago, and everyone who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, with little or no recognition, to make possible this milestone for northern B.C. health care.
Today is a day to celebrate the first two dozen graduates of the Northern Medical Program, but it is also an occasion to acknowledge those who made it happen.
Like the university campus on which it sits, the Dr. Donald Rix Northern Health Sciences Centre is a monument to the fierce pride and never-say-never determination of northern British Columbians -- and their good fortune to have the right people in their midst to turn a dream into reality.
Jago, then the president of the University of Northern B.C., was the right person at the right time to spearhead a medical school for the region to address a deteriorating health system eight years ago. No city in Canada as small as Prince George had a medical school, but they held on to the belief that doctors who were educated in the North would stay in the North.
Two years later, the B.C. Liberal government announced a bold -- if overdue -- plan to double the number of med school grads in B.C. to 256 annually by 2010. UNBC became one of three sites educating future doctors under an expanded UBC Faculty of Medicine, along with UBC and the University of Victoria.
But Prince George is the acknowledged catalyst for the enlarged program and as such, it has been said UVic wouldn't have its medical program were it not for Prince George.
It has been almost three and a half years since the pioneering class of the Northern Medical Program arrived in Prince George.
Those students and the ones who followed have made their mark on the city, including taking a firm public stand on a controversial local issue: air quality. Thirteen months ago, 47 students signed an opinion piece published in The Citizen imploring residents and decision-makers to change their attitude toward air pollution for the good the community and its citizens' health.
Apparently the city has left a positive mark on at least some of the students, too. This comment was posted to The Citizen's website Friday:
"As a member of the first class I just want to say what a privilege it is to train in an area with so much support and enthusiasm. Prince George is unique that way and this is a big reason why I'm staying here."
Bravo.
-- Editor Dave Paulson
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 10 May 2008 )
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