Postgraduate Visiting Electives

Who is eligible?

Postgraduate Resident Elective applications are limited to:

• Canadian citizens, Permanent Residents and Work Permit holders who are legally entitled to live and work in British Columbia and currently enrolled in a recognized Family Practice or Specialty (Royal College) training program in Canada, OR
• Canadian citizens currently enrolled in a recognized Family Practice or Specialty training program in the USA.

Note: Citizens of other countries enrolled in a recognized Family Practice or Specialty training program in their home country, and who wish to complete an elective in the province of British Columbia, must obtain a work permit (Visa) from Canada Immigration. The work permit is the responsibility of the trainee, not the Postgraduate Medical Education Dean’s Office.

Who is not eligible?

• Any individual NOT currently enrolled in a recognized residency training program.
• Postgraduate Fellows
• European medical students completing their fifth year.

It is the responsibility of applicants to arrange their own postgraduate resident electives. Applicants should contact the specific UBC training program for further information.

Once an applicant has arranged an elective, they are required to email their completed application form, supporting documents, and a copy of the administrative fee receipt to the Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Dean’s Office a minimum of eight weeks in advance of their elective start date.

Once a completed application has been submitted and the administrative fee has been paid, the PGME Dean’s Office will email an elective confirmation letter to the applicant.

A copy of the elective confirmation letter will also be forwarded by the PGME Dean’s Office to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC). The CPSBC will then contact applicants directly with instructions regarding the application for temporary registration. All confirmed elective residents must register with the CPSBC prior to commencing their elective.

Note: Applications will not be processed until all of the required documents and the administrative fee have been received by the Postgraduate Medical Education Dean’s Office.

Required Documents

1. Completed UBC Application for Postgraduate Resident Elective.
2. Confirmation letter from the home program director indicating approval of the elective. The confirmation letter must include the dates of the elective and the program’s contact information.
3. Confirmation letter from the preceptor indicating agreement that he or she will be the applicant’s supervisor during the elective. The confirmation letter must include the dates of the elective, the site(s) where the elective will take place, and the preceptor’s contact information.

Administrative Fee

A $100.00 non-refundable, non-transferable administrative fee is required to process the application. The administrative fee can be paid online. Please submit a copy of your receipt with your application package.

** PLEASE NOTE ** – Effective July 1, 2019 the $100.00 administrative fee will be payable by term (i.e Term 1: July 1 – Dec. 31, Term 2: Jan. 1 – June 30). Therefore the fee will be $100.00 per term irrespective of the number of elective requests in each term.

Applications need to be submitted – in MS Word or PDF format only – to the Postgraduate Medical Education Dean’s Office by email. The subject heading of the email should contain the name of the applicant and all required supporting documents should be attached.

Note: Incomplete submissions or unpaid administrative fees will result in processing delays.

Questions regarding electives can be sent to pgme.electivesandfellows@ubc.ca. Please allow two business days for a response.