Grant Thornton representatives, from left, Ron Anderson, Don Catalano, and Geoff Yule (far right) with UBC medical students Daniel Woodsworth, Tanya MacDonell and Frances Morin. Missing: medical student Ben Guidolin
Local accounting firm supports UBC’s medical students in Trail
Students at UBC’s Southern Medical Program (SMP) currently training in rural medicine are getting a financial boost thanks to a local organization.
Each year, a small group of UBC medical students move to Trail to take part in the Faculty of Medicine’s Integrated Community Clerkship (ICC) program. The students spend an entire year working alongside physicians and allied health professionals at the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) and community health clinics.
The ICC program provides hands-on experience in a broad spectrum of medical specialties and gives the students heightened exposure to practicing medicine in a rural community. This year, the Grant Thornton LLP regional offices in Trail and Castlegar, are providing scholarship awards for the students training at KBRH. Current students will receive $2,000 and Grant Thornton has increased the award for future students to $2,500 each—for a total of $38,000 over four years.
“Our medical students are deeply invested in their learning and supporting health care delivery in our community,” says Dr. Elizabeth McCoid, site director for the Trail ICC program. “It’s tremendous to have local businesses encourage and support these students along their educational path to becoming physicians.”
The Faculty of Medicine and its partners provide training opportunities for UBC medical and health professional learners in more than 80 communities across the province. The ICC program is delivered in six different communities including Trail, Vernon, Fort St. John, Terrace, Chilliwack and Duncan.
“We are pleased to be able to support UBC medical students living and training in the Kootenays,” says Paul Gallo, managing partner with Grant Thornton. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for them to engage with local health professionals and to consider practicing in a community like ours in the future. Grant Thornton is committed to making a meaningful and sustained impact on the communities in which we live and work.”
Grant Thornton LLP provides accounting and business advisory services to private and public organizations across Canada, and together with Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton has more than 4,000 people across 135 offices focused on making a difference to our clients, colleagues and communities.