By Cheryl Jahn

29 more NMP grads

Apr 17, 2025 | 3:37 PM

PRINCE GEORGE -The Northern Medical Program saw its first cohort of aspiring doctors come through the door and today (April 17), another 29 doctors joined these doctors with a new white and a cedar shingle.

“Here we are 20 years after the program started and the program is flourishing,” says Dr. Paul Winwood, Assoc. VP, Div. Medical Sciences, UNBC and Regional Assoc. Dean, Northern BC, UBC Faculty of Medicine. “We have 29 grads this year. It’s our 17th graduating class, and they are going into all sorts of specialties with a focus on generalism across the country and across the North.”

The rationale for the medical school is “Train in the North- stay in the North.” A number of the graduates of this year, such as Dr. Jordyn Henderson and Dr. Mattias Wels-Lopez will follow suit.

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“I was born in Vanderhoof, and then my family moved to Quesnel. So, yeah, my heart is very much with Northern BC, and I always knew I wanted to live rurally and raise my family in Northern B.C. So it just seemed like the perfect fit.”

“Rural practice is quite unique in that it’s so all encompassing, right?” says Dr. Mattias Wels-Lopez. “So some of the challenges of rural practice is you have a little bit less of the typical resources. You’re further away from the big major subspecialist centers. And so a lot more of the work ends up falling on the family doctors there. So it’s it’s a bit of a challenge and it provides its unique difficulties, but at the same time, it provides the opportunity for some really meaningful work.”

And the program is truly successful, with expansion on the horizon.

“There certainly is a demand and an onus for this program, another medical program,” states Dr. Winwood. “We have just expanded our number of seats, from this year to 40 seats and so we hope to train more.”

But the challenges in the rural areas are different and unique from the bigger urban centres.

“I think it’s special in that it’s the broadest, highest variety practice. You deliver babies, you work in the ER, you can do surgical assist, you can really do anything. It’s like a very limitless career,” says Dr. Henderson. “So I was very exciting. And there are many different ways you can support your community.”

Dr. Wels-Lopez says they are unique in learning to practice medicine in a rural community.

“I think one of the biggest strengths of Prince George is how much hands-on exposure you get, particularly in third year, he says. “I think that’s where it’s quite different. First and second year, you’re mostly doing classroom training and a lot of book studying. But in third year you do your mandatory rotations through the hospital where you are. And from what I’ve heard, you get a ton of hands-on exposure in Prince George compared to some of the other sites. And fourth year, it’s all your your electives anyway, so you can pick where you want to go.”