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Provincial - Family Medicine - Palliative Care

University of British ColumbiaProvincial, British ColumbiaCompetitive stream

Enhanced skills (FM/ES) match

Family medicine residents applying for a PGY-3 year (the "+1").

At a glance

Approx. quota
5 positions
Length
1 year
Applications per year
0–50
Offered interviews
51–75%

Competitive stream · open to Canadian and international medical graduates

Interviews

3 dates, 15–17 Oct 2026virtual

Provincial, 15 teaching sites · optional rural rotation

A car is required

CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab)

Also at UBC, applied for at the school: Palliative Medicine (Category 2), on UBC’s page of programs applied for at the school · 12 weeks (up to 3 months) · residents and practising physicians · closed 8 Sep 2026

Not through CaRMS: you apply to UBC, on its own dates. Confirm on the school’s page before you apply.

What stands out about this program

  • Mandatory 4 weeks of rotations outside the Lower Mainland, e.g. Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna or Whitehorse.

    From “Program curriculum” on the CaRMS page

  • Residents attend the two-week General Practitioner in Oncology Course during the oncology rotation.

    From “Program curriculum” on the CaRMS page

  • Academic days shared with a cohort of 6-10 family medicine and subspecialty palliative residents.

    From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page

  • This 1-year UBC enhanced skills program trains family physicians in palliative care.
  • Rotations include introductory, advanced, community and ambulatory palliative care, geriatrics, oncology, and 10 weeks of electives/flex/research.
  • All residents complete 4 weeks of mandatory rotations outside the Lower Mainland, and a scholarly project with dedicated time is required.

The summary is written by CdnMD from the program’s CaRMS description.

What training looks like

Setting
  • Academic / tertiary hospital
  • Urban community
  • Regional community
Rural exposure
Optional rural rotation
Research
Required · scholarly or quality-improvement project · protected time
Getting around
  • A car is required

By year

Not stated on CaRMS page

Other rotations

Listed by the program without a single year.

  • Introductory Palliative Care (8 weeks)
  • Geriatrics (4 weeks)
  • Medical and Radiation Oncology/ GPO (6 weeks)
  • Ambulatory Palliative Care (4 weeks)
  • Advanced Palliative Care (8 weeks)
  • Community Palliative Care (8 weeks)
  • Electives/ Flex/ Research (10 weeks)
  • Vacation (4 weeks)

✓ = the CaRMS page states it; – = not stated. From the program description and its rotation list.

Where you train

Provincial, British Columbia: 15 teaching sites; optional rural rotation. A car is required.

  • Burnaby Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) (Burnaby)
  • Royal Columbian Hospital (New Westminster)
  • Surrey Memorial Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) (Surrey)
  • Abbotsford Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) (Abbotsford · rural or distributed site)
  • Peace Arch Hospital (White Rock)
  • Eagle Ridge Hospital (Port Moody)
  • Vancouver General Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) (Vancouver)
  • Richmond Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) (Richmond)
  • Lionsgate Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) (North Vancouver)
  • St. Paul's Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) (Vancouver)
  • Royal Jubilee Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) (Victoria · rural or distributed site)
  • Palliative Outreach Resource Team (Victoria) (Victoria · rural or distributed site)
Show all 15 sites
  • Nanaimo General Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) and community (Nanaimo · rural or distributed site)
  • BC Children's Hospital and Canuck Place Children's Hospice (Vancouver)
  • BC Cancer (Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, Victoria)

Record systems at the listed sites: MEDITECH at 2 of 15; no published record for 13.

Hospital facts

12 sites · public figures and clinical record systems where they are published

Public figures for hospitals named above, each with its source and reference period. They describe the hospital, not the program. We match names to the sources by name, so check each source before you rely on it.

Clinical record
MEDITECH: Fraser Health electronic health record (Advance), fully electronic record since Sep 2024 As of 31 Oct 2026. At Royal Columbian Hospital, Eagle Ridge Hospital.

How to read the figures

  • Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26. All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
  • Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1. One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Burnaby Hospital (Palliative Care Unit)

Matched to Burnaby Hospital (Burnaby) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
8,388
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,058

Royal Columbian Hospital

Matched to Royal Columbian Hospital (New Westminster) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
4,798
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,447

Surrey Memorial Hospital (Palliative Care Unit)

Matched to Surrey Memorial Hospital (Surrey) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
11,911
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,849
Show facts for 9 more sites

Abbotsford Hospital (Palliative Care Unit)

Matched to Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre (Abbotsford) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
6,232
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,667

Peace Arch Hospital

Matched to Peace Arch Hospital (White Rock) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
8,039
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,036

Eagle Ridge Hospital

Matched to Eagle Ridge Hospital (Port Moody) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
6,014
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,496

Vancouver General Hospital (Palliative Care Unit)

Matched to Vancouver General Hospital in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
13,790
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
3,855

Richmond Hospital (Palliative Care Unit)

Matched to Richmond Hospital (Richmond) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
6,446
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
1,680

Lionsgate Hospital (Palliative Care Unit)

Matched to Lions Gate Hospital (North Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
10,660
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,762

St. Paul's Hospital (Palliative Care Unit)

Matched to St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
8,691
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,240

Royal Jubilee Hospital (Palliative Care Unit)

Matched to Royal Jubilee Hospital (Victoria) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
14,532
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
3,973

Nanaimo General Hospital (Palliative Care Unit) and community

Matched to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (Nanaimo) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26
9,004
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1
2,040

Fraser Health's new electronic health record is live at 4 sites (Royal Columbian Hospital, Eagle Ridge Hospital, Fraser Canyon Hospital, Mission Memorial Hospital). Its other sites are still on its current clinical information system. As of 31 Oct 2026

Verify with the official source: each source button opens the publisher’s own page.

Sources and licences

  • Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.

Sites as the program’s CaRMS page lists them.

How they choose

Application file components
  • CV
  • Electives
  • Examinations
  • Extra-curricular
  • Leadership skills
  • MSPRs
  • Personal letters
  • Reference documents
  • Research/Publications
  • Transcripts
  • Other file component(s)
Return of service
Not stated on CaRMS page

Application file components as the program describes them.

Interviews and info sessions

Interview dates (FM/ES 2027 match)
15, 16 and 17 Oct 2026
Format
Virtual
  • MMI or rotating station

Interview dates and format are as the program wrote them.

Pay and call

Provincial scale, last updated 2 Sep 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab). Salaries from April 2027. One provincial scale for British Columbia, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing PGY-3, the level FM/ES residents usually start at. Yours depends on your training so far.

Annual salary by PGY level, British Columbia
LevelAnnual salary
PGY-3
$86,655 / year

How provincial pay and rent compare

Call

Call (provincial max)
1 in 4 in-house
Post-call rule (provincial)
Relieved within 2 hours of the call ending, or by 10:00 if earlier, when a resident on a 24-hour or longer shift could not get 6 uninterrupted hours of rest

The union agreement’s limits and rules for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. RDBC agreement, 1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2029. Read as of 1 Oct 2026.

Benefits

13 lines as listed by CaRMS in 2022–2024: Annual vacation, CMPA dues paid, Dental plan, and more
Annual vacation
4 weeks
CMPA dues paid
Yes. Mandatory
Dental plan
100% Premiums Paid
Educational leave
Yes
Extended health insurance
100% Premiums Paid
Life insurance
100% Premium Paid
Long-term disability insurance
Yes 100% Premiums Paid
Maternity leave
17 weeks, plus up to 78 weeks Parental Leave
Meal allowance
No
Provincial dues (% of salary)
1.5%
Provincial health insurance
100% Premiums Paid
Sick leave
Yes
Statutory holidays
2 x pay plus extra day with pay

Contacts and links

Program directors
Program office

Palliative Care Program Administrator, Enhanced Skills Program Manager

Email on the CaRMS page(opens in a new tab)

Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing. Site staff and other contacts are listed there too.

UBC Family Medicine Enhanced Skills Program(opens in a new tab)UBC Division of Palliative Care(opens in a new tab)This program on CaRMS(opens in a new tab)

Family Medicine - Palliative Care elsewhere

Nearest to Provincial

Source

The program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab) · FM/ES 2027 match · last approved 27 Aug 2026.

Accredited · CaRMS program ID 34609 · How these pages are made ›

The Applications per year and Offered interviews figures are 5-year averages the program reports to CaRMS: past cycles, not your odds.

Independent. Not affiliated with CaRMS or the program. Programs edit their descriptions during the match; confirm on carms.ca (opens in a new tab) before you apply. Data last updated on CdnMD 8 Oct 2026.

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