Joy Johnson, president, Simon Fraser University (SFU) –

“SFU is excited about the progress we’re making with the Province, health authorities and Indigenous partners toward a new medical school. With today’s announcement, we’ve hit another important milestone on that journey. The new medical school will serve everyone in B.C. – particularly under-served populations – training the next generation of doctors in communities throughout the province.”

Dr. Roger Strasser, interim dean, Simon Fraser University medical school –

“With this new medical school, the Province of B.C. is demonstrating its commitment to a strong public health-care system that meets the needs of its diverse and growing population. I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to join SFU to help deliver on that vision.”

Sherry Sandhu, student, master of public health, Simon Fraser University –

“I am looking forward to contributing to the health-care system in B.C. It means a lot knowing that there will be more options close to home where I could stay in my community while pursuing my goals. I want to help and work in public health. I like the community here at Simon Fraser University and it’s very exciting and promising that I may have the opportunity to do this right here in Surrey at SFU.”

Bruce Ralston, MLA for Surrey-Whalley –

“A new medical school in Surrey will ensure we are expanding our ability to train the next generation of doctors to work right here in our community and others around the province. Simon Fraser University’s work to begin the hiring of professors, consultations, and business-case planning puts this project on a solid path forward.” 

The new health human resource strategy includes four areas: retain, redesign, recruit and train. These are detailed below:

• Retain: Government fosters healthy, safe and inspired workplaces by:
  • stabilizing and supporting the workforce
  • supporting the workforce’s health and wellness through:
    • occupational health and safety resources
    • violence Prevention Training and Framework Implementation
    • protection services officers
    • increased supports for health-care worker wellness
    • Employee Family Assistance Program
  • retaining staff in high need areas and occupations:
    • targeted provincial retention incentives
    • health child care strategy and pilot expansion
    • Provincial Peer Support and Mentoring Program
    • wage levelling in long-term care and assisted living
  • embedding reconciliation and cultural safety through:
    • provincial organizational standard for cultural safety and humility
    • Indigenous employee experience advisors and training
  • advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through the provincial diversity, equity, and inclusion and gender-based analysis plus frameworks
  • increasing clinical leadership capacity to support staff and services
    • clinical management capacity building
    • clinical practice leader and clinical educator capacity building
  • increasing workforce engagement through the provincial Health Sector Work environment consultation, survey and policy
• Redesign: Government aims to optimize and innovate B.C.’s health system by:
  • balancing workloads and staffing levels to optimize quality of care
    • workload standards
    • specialized work design teams
  • advancing innovation in team-based care
    • provincial health workforce innovation
    • team-based primary care training program
  • reviewing scopes of practice and create or optimize key roles
    • surgical and anesthesia nursing role development
    • associate physician deployment expansion
    • nursing and allied health role optimization
    • emergency medical assistant scope of practice expansions
    • optimize pharmacy services to support primary care
    • scope of practice policy review framework
  • leveraging technology to improve workforce satisfaction and service quality
    • virtual care and telehealth strategy
    • provincial artificial intelligence and health workforce technology strategy
    • human capital management system
  • increasing workforce flexibility and responsiveness
    • primary care network locum program
    • privileging process review
    • emergency health provider registry modernization
    • provincial travel resource pool
    • clinical exercise physiologist certification support program
• Recruit: Government’s aim is to attract and onboard new health-care workers by:
  • removing barriers for internationally educated health-care workers
    • internationally educated allied health and nurse assessment and nurse re-entry support programs
    • BC provincial nominee program expansion
    • credential recognition process improvement
    • career paths for skilled immigrants program expansion
    • practice-ready assessment program expansion
  • refreshing enablers and incentives to attract new health workers
    • Provincial Health Sector Housing Strategy
    • New-to-Practice incentive program
    • integrated provincial recruitment supports
    • Indigenous leader recruitment and support initiative
    • Indigenous-specific recruitment strategy
    • recruitment incentives
    • Health and Care Careers Promotion program
  • improving onboarding and supporting transitions to practice
    • new graduate transition program
    • Provincial Primary Care Onboarding Toolkit
    • Recruitment, Onboarding and Employment Accessibility Framework
• Train: Government is focused on creating accessible career pathways by:
  • strengthening employer supported training models
    • Health Career Access program
    • new employer-sponsored ‘Earn and Learn’ programs
    • cultural safety and humility training expansion
    • Health-authority-led training framework
    • Professional Development Opportunity Promotion
    • priority program bursaries
    • Employed Student Allied Health and Nurse program
  • expanding and modernize priority programs
    • post-graduate medical education expansion – University of British Columbia (UBC)
    • second Medical School – Simon Fraser University
    • Specialty Nursing Learning Pathways
    • Nurse practitioner program expansion
    • undergraduate medical education expansion – UBC
    • post-graduate medical education and re-entry program expansion
    • health information science training expansion
    • master of nursing in Indigenous health
    • rehabilitation assistant program expansion
    • Rural Pathways to Health Education Program expansion
    • health education expansion implementation
    • student practice education capacity building