Health Minister Adrian Dix issued the following statement regarding the proclamation of Resident Awareness Week in British Columbia, Feb. 5-9, 2018.

“Medical residents help ensure the health and wellness of patients, their family members and communities as a whole — today and for generations to come.

“They play an important role in the delivery of health care and teaching, and as role models to medical students and other trainees. It is in this way that residents are an integral part of succession planning to strengthen and grow our public health-care system. They are our medical doctors of the future who are immersed in patients’ medical concerns today.

“British Columbia currently has more than 1,300 medical residents providing care to patients in communities, urban and rural, throughout the province. They are doctors who have completed medical school and hold educational licences to deliver medical services, under the supervision of fully licensed practising physicians. Residency training ultimately leads to licensure to practice medicine independently in a chosen area of expertise, ranging from specialties such as anaesthesiology, gastroenterology and surgery to family medicine.

“To gain in-depth experience, residents care for patients in various hospital and community settings. They perform consultations and surgeries, conduct research, and much more. In B.C., residents train at 11 clinical academic campuses, 19 affiliated regional centres and over 65 community education facilities. A teaching rotation of specialties and hospitals throughout all of British Columbia, from large, urban hospitals, to remote and rural sites, prepares these future doctors for the challenges and benefits of medical practice in a variety of communities, and allows them to gain an understanding of how the social determinants of health impact the patients they serve.

“This week, British Columbians are encouraged to recognize the role of resident doctors in our public health-care system, as they strive to provide high-quality medical care to people in all walks of life, in communities throughout the province.”