Postgraduate Visiting Electives

Who is eligible?

Postgraduate Resident Elective applications are limited to:

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

Who is not eligible?

• Individuals not currently enrolled in a recognized residency training program
• Postgraduate Fellows
• European medical students completing their fifth year
• BC Work Permit holders and Sponsored (Visa) Trainees are not eligible for a postgraduate resident elective license. They will need to apply as a Postgraduate Trainee for their electives.

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. Failure to meet this deadline will result to returned application.

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.
4. Proof of Canadian Citizenship or a copy of Permanent Resident card.

Administrative Fees

$100.00 non-refundable, non-transferable administrative fee is required to process the application.

This 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: Block 1 – 6, Term 2: Block 7 – 13). 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.

Please refer to the following resources for support whilst undertaking your elective at UBC:

CST Cerner

CST Cerner will be auto-provisioned for all out of province trainees undertaking electives at UBC. If you experience any challenges with CST Cerner access, please contact the Cerner team directly at: CSTCernerTraining@phsa.ca

Network ID & Hospital Access

Please contact your UBC elective supervisor or UBC program administrator if you are experiencing network ID and/or hospital access challenges.

Licensing with CPSBC

Please connect directly with CPSBC at: education@cpsbc.ca for questions relating to your licensing with The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC.

Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) coverage

CMPA coverage is mandatory and a condition of your license with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. All trainees at UBC must be appropriately protected for any medico-legal issues that may arise during your elective. Without liability protection, trainees are in breach of their educational license with the College. If you already have CMPA coverage but are new to BC contact CMPA to transfer your coverage. For more information, see the CMPA website: here

Housing and Accommodations in BC

For resources on housing and accommodations in BC please refer to this page: Moving To BC

General Elective queries

For any other challenges relating to your UBC elective feel free to reach out to the PGME Electives office at: pgme.electives@ubc.ca

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

You can also find information about moving to BC on our website.