SFU School of Medicine shaping the future of primary care in B.C.

The Simon Fraser University School of Medicine (SFU SoM) is laying the groundwork to strengthen primary care in B.C.—through research, education, and community engagement.

A major part of B.C.’s response to the current healthcare crisis, is to establish the first new medical school in Western Canada in over 55 years. The school has just announced preliminary accreditation and is accepting applications for its first cohort, starting in August 2026.

Before the first students have even started the program, the SoM is already making an impact on B.C.’s primary care sector. Reflecting SFU’s commitment to its core mission of teaching and research excellence, the team is challenging established thinking and proposing innovative new methodologies through scholarship.

A new article, Diving deep in the undergraduate medical education curriculum, co-authored by associate deans Dr. Maria Hubinette and Dr. Dawn Cooper, dean Dr. David Price, and primary care research and development lead Dr. Rita McCracken, examines the history of medical education in Canada, and outlines the SoM’s new, improved, and more inclusive approach.

Solving the primary care crisis requires more than just producing graduates, says the SoM’s founding dean David Price. It demands systemic changes in medical education and the delivery of healthcare to support and retain generalist practitioners, and meet the needs of diverse communities.

“We know there is a shortage of primary care physicians in this country,” says Price. “We are short at least 5,000 family doctors in Canada, and more than 700,000 British Columbians are without a family doctor.

Our job is to get students excited about primary care disciplines and to make this their career. At the same time, if we keep doing things the way we have always done, we are not going to meet societal needs.”

Medical education in Canada is still based on a 100-year-old model      

The paper examines the enduring impact of a 1910 report published by educator Abraham Flexner, which advocated for higher standards and more scientific rigour in medical fields. This encouraged research-based teaching, professionalization and physician specialization.

It shaped the current undergraduate structure of two years’ classroom instruction followed by two years of practical experience in hospitals.

The Flexner Report’s recommendations have helped advance scientific discovery over the last century, but may have inadvertently shifted focus away from physicians’ primary roles as community-centred, relationship-based healers routinely treating a variety of illnesses.

The model also led to systemic healthcare challenges faced by Indigenous peoples and communities, which the SFU SoM plans to address with a commitment to advancing Indigenous health.

With partners including Fraser Health, Divisions of Family Practice, and the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) the SFU School of Medicine is developing a curriculum that reflects community needs while also forming strong connections within communities.

The School will seek to embed First Nations, Inuit and Métis knowledge systems and perspectives within its learning environment, in consultation with the FNHA and Indigenous communities.

It will also develop a stronger provincial approach to primary care training by collaborating with academic partners to align programs and add capacity to primary care.

“We are looking at our curriculum a little bit differently and creating a medical school that is really community-oriented and centred on primary care,” says Price. “Typically, medical schools aim to train a broad spectrum of individuals so they can enter various specialties, including primary care.

But that broad approach has often led to less focus on primary care. Our school is unique in that it’s designed to prepare individuals who are confident and ready to practice in primary care settings.”

An opportunity to reimagine the best modern approach possible

The school's programs and curriculum will be built on six foundational pillars, including community-based learning, community partnerships, and team-based, person-centred and socially accountable practices.

Its innovative three-year undergraduate medical program aims to complement the traditional four-year model while offering students a different approach to medical education.  

The school is also focused on research that can support policy development  and improvements to the primary healthcare system for physicians and patients alike.

A paper, Competency-Based Medical Education at the Front Lines of Patient Care in the New England Journal of Medicine by associate dean Dr. Dawn Cooper and Dr. Eric S. Holmboe from the University of Pennsylvania advocates for training physicians using a competency-based medical education (CBME) model.

The co-authors argue in favour of “precision medical education,” an approach that tailors instruction to individual students’ needs by identifying specific areas where they require further training. By leveraging student data, the CBME model aims to produce physicians who are not only competent, but also well-prepared for lifelong clinical learning and specialization.

“We want to give students the necessary tools so that when they graduate, they can be real changemakers and help the primary care system as we know it, to evolve. To meet the needs of patients and society over the next decade and beyond,” adds Price.

“When you ask me why am I excited about opening a new medical school in B.C., it is because I believe we have a unique opportunity to not only educate students to work in primary care, but to do the kind of research that helps improve the primary healthcare systems in B.C., Canada and internationally as well.”

For more, visit: SFU School of Medicine.