Beneath the surgical lights of the operating room at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, Dr. Denise Wooding carefully adjusts the pain medication flowing through an IV line into a young patient’s arm.

Above the operating table, a series of monitors display the patient’s vitals. Dr. Wooding tracks every heartbeat, while watching for subtle shifts in blood pressure. Even a small change can signal a potential complication. Here, seconds matter.

While the surgeons focus on the procedure at hand, Dr. Wooding, an anesthesiologist in training, keeps her eyes moving from the patient to the screen to the surgical team. It is her responsibility to guard the patient’s safety and comfort, moment by moment.

“It’s our job to be on constant watch, from the first incision to the final stitch,” says Dr. Wooding, a graduate of UBC’s medical school, now in her fourth year of the Faculty of Medicine’s Anesthesiology Residency Program.  

Dr. Wooding is part of a vast workforce underpinning B.C.’s healthcare system: resident doctors.

Enhancing care where it’s needed most

Every day across British Columbia, more than 1,500 UBC resident doctors are training on the front lines in local hospitals and community clinics, providing direct care to patients in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, on Vancouver Island, in the North and throughout B.C.’s Interior.

Working under the supervision of UBC clinical faculty members, they assist in surgeries, deliver babies, respond to medical emergencies and much more.

“A thriving healthcare system relies on a thriving healthcare workforce — and UBC’s resident doctors play a fundamental role in meeting the diverse and evolving healthcare needs of patients, both young and old,” says UBC’s Dr. Sonia Butterworth, Associate Dean of Postgraduate Medical Education.

The UBC Faculty of Medicine is home not only to Canada’s largest family medicine residency program, but to more than 70 specialty and sub-speciality residency programs.

Together, these programs are equipping the next generation of doctors with specialized skills and knowledge to support patients and families facing medical challenges, ranging from cancer through to spinal cord injuries and dementia.

But the Faculty isn’t just training B.C.’s future health workforce.

It’s also creating meaningful opportunities for learners like Dr. Wooding to train in local communities, enhancing care where it’s needed most.

“When residents train here, they’re not just gaining critical skills, they’re joining a community of care professionals.”

– Dr. Matthew Turnock

Thanks to the Faculty’s province-wide approach to medical education that began more than two decades ago, UBC resident doctors can be found at more than 135 training sites across B.C., ranging from the community of Castlegar, nestled in the Selkirk Mountains of the Interior, all the way to the island archipelago of Haida Gwaii off the north coast.

Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) in New Westminster, where Dr. Wooding is completing part of her training, is a key site in this vast training network.

Creating connections

Situated on the north bank of the Fraser River, RCH is B.C.’s most comprehensive critical care hospital. Each year, it hosts resident doctors from more than 40 training programs, including pediatrics, internal medicine and orthopaedic surgery.

“Whether I’m administering an epidural to ease the intense pain of childbirth, managing a patient’s vitals during a six-hour surgery, or supporting parents who are trying to keep a brave face for their child — it’s in these moments that it makes all the difference to have someone in your corner,” she says.

“And it’s my privilege to be that someone.”