Hi Everyone,

Happy New Year! What a year it is shaping up to be in medical education in PEI and Canada! 2025 marks a significant expansion in family medicine residency programs, with most schools increasing seats and growth across Canada’s twenty medical schools, which have 40 campuses. Medical education is evolving!

From a PEI perspective, the new UPEI Faculty of Medicine and Interprofessional Health Training Centre facility is progressing well and remains on schedule for Memorial’s PEI-based med students to start in August 2025. Tiles are being laid, walls painted, and the facility is coming to life. Recently, there has been excitement about the arrival of a mobile simulation rig and various Clinical Learning and Simulation Centre activities and inquiries. Much work lies ahead, but we’re on track and eagerly anticipating the successful integration of IT infrastructure and testing. The Health PEI patient medical home housed in the facility also progresses well, adding to the growing excitement.

As the dean of the future co-degree (widely referred to as joint degree), I am excited to roll up my sleeves and dig into collaborating and exploring everything a co-degree with Memorial Faculty of Medicine could be. I look forward to working with our partners at Memorial to plan our future co-degree. Along with my continuing role as chief academic officer at Health PEI, where I focus on health system integration, this will be my focus for 2025. As I mentioned in my last post and will continue to remind everyone, a journey is rarely a straight line. This transformational initiative began as a unique joint degree program in Canada. When the government and the university first announced the medical school, it was introduced as a co-degree between Memorial and UPEI.

President Wendy Rodgers recently commented, “This is UPEI and PEI’s medical school, and while partnerships with established medical school programs are essential, we cannot do this alone. Eventually, our goal is to have UPEI (co-degree) graduates serving the province.”

That remains the long-term goal. To accept PEI-based medical students as soon as possible, it was decided to begin as a regional campus of Memorial under its accreditation. Under the regional campus model, the students who start as Memorial students will remain Memorial students in PEI. This is how the PEI initiative is poised to begin in August 2025 under the Memorial academic team’s leadership.

As we embark on this exciting journey, I am confident that our collaborative efforts will pave the way for a bright future in medical education. Together, we will create a nurturing environment for our students and ultimately improve healthcare for Island residents. Here’s to a successful and transformative year ahead!

Feel free to reach out for more information or to chat anytime.

Regards, Preston

The government of PEI and the University of Prince Edward Island, in strategic partnership with Memorial University, are building for the future and ultimately improving the healthcare of all Prince Edward Islanders.

Hi Everyone,

I love living in Canada, and I am reminded that the changing seasons on the East Coast are spectacular. As we transition to winter 2024, I can’t help but draw a parallel to the transitions we are experiencing as we prepare to welcome students to PEI’s medical campus in fall 2025.

Many may not know that when the medical school was announced for PEI in 2021, the UPEI president announced it as the first co-degree in Canada. Our premier spoke to the thoughtful approach and care taken to welcome Memorial University of Newfoundland as a robust and well-matched partner. The media reported that Memorial’s 50 years of experience in generalist training and rural medicine and its Indigenous Health Initiative make it a “good fit” for the partnership. And it is a great fit!

A journey is only sometimes a straight line. The vision began as a unique to Canada joint degree program. Seeking to accredit the 1^st of its kind co-degree, joint program in Canada had never been done and would take time to design and plan. All involved wanted to ensure the initial intake of PEI students happened as soon as possible. To make that happen, in conjunction with leadership at Memorial, it was jointly decided there would be a pivot to launch medical education in PEI via a Memorial Faculty of Medicine regional campus. Exploration of a co-degree model for the future was also to continue but on a more realistic timeline. 2022-2023, leadership changes led to a revitalization of the team (Presidents, Deans, etc), driving the work forward. Individuals from institutions had to quickly become familiar with the initial vision, decisions, and pivots along the journey. The current leadership of both institutions continue to work collaboratively, unrelentingly, to turn early dreams into reality, and although much remains to be done, significant progress is being made:

The St John’s and PEI-based faculty and staff, collaborating on making the regional campus a reality, recently held a retreat in PEI. The time was well spent working to ensure that the inaugural class of Memorial’s regional campus in Prince Edward Island will be a resounding success. Great care is being taken to ensure PEI-based Memorial students have an experience comparable to the excellent medical education Newfoundland-based Memorial students have come to expect.

In the coming days, Memorial’s regional campus at UPEI will call on PEI physicians interested in joining their team for specific teaching opportunities in the 2025-2026 year (pre-clerkship). Whether experienced or new to medical education, the Memorial team will help guide faculty development and provide support to successfully onboard all interested PEI physicians. Health PEI will provide support.

Memorial Faculty of Medicine is moving and shaking medical education growth in Canada; while they are building a regional campus program to be housed in state-of-the-art PEI facilities, they are also expanding their medical education seats in St John’s. Teams are elbows deep, working lockstep in planning Memorial’s regional campus at UPEI. The PEI team and UPEI look forward to a long relationship with Memorial’s well-established Faculty of Medicine.

I know I have said it before, and I will keep saying it: the government of PEI and the University of Prince Edward Island, in strategic partnership with Memorial University, are building for the future and ultimately improving the healthcare of all Prince Edward Islanders. UPEI could not have picked a better partner than Memorial to get this done!

Feel free to reach out for more information or to chat anytime.

I hope this message finds you well and that you are enjoying this summer’s heat. As we relish the warm weather, we must acknowledge the challenges of high heat and humidity for some. Let’s be hopeful that everyone is safe and well.

With the work pressures many are feeling this summer and other stresses we all manage in our lives and are still working to resolve in healthcare, I urge everyone to take some time with family and friends for some well-deserved downtime.

For myself, this summer back as a resident of PEI, I have been thoroughly enjoying golf, grandkids, hosting friends, and, of course, getting out to sample the Island’s many culinary delights and events. We’ll be off to Saskatoon for a few days to lend a hand to our daughter, who is packing up and joining us here in Prince Edward Island this month. Jane and I look forward to having her close by for Sunday dinners again! Interspersed throughout the summer, I hope to spend time with family, in the garden, and reading on the deck with two dogs at my feet.

Today, I want to take a moment to reflect on how far we have come. Significant progress has been made in various areas.

Firstly, I want to remind everyone that as we work toward a joint medical degree program, Memorial University is opening a regional campus at UPEI to offer a Memorial Doctor of Medicine degree. There are 20 seats available on the UPEI campus for Prince Edward Island residents. After much work, vision and perseverance by many, on June 26^th, the application process for the inaugural PEI cohort of medical students who will study on the UPEI campus opened. Coinciding with this significant milestone was an announcement of the Rathlyn Foundation Entrance Scholarships for UPEI Medical Students, which will be granted to every student in their first year of study in the UPEI-based faculty of medicine facilities in perpetuity. These $2,000 individual scholarships will be funded by an overall gift of $1,000,000 from the foundation. Kudos to Development and their team for this exciting news for students.

The University of Prince Edward Island Faculty of Medicine unit recently launched its fund- and friend-raising campaign. With generous gifts from many donors already in, UPEI’s Department of Development & Alumni Engagement & Government Relations is well on its way to the $10-million campaign target, which will support the University’s contribution to the ongoing construction of the $91 million state-of-the-art building on the UPEI campus.

The Faculty of Medicine team recently welcomed Dr Joe Gordon, our first Ph.D. faculty hire, to the growing team. Dr Gordon will begin his role as an associate professor of comparative medicine (PhD faculty lead for anatomy laboratory teaching) in September 2025. This faculty position is shared with Biomedical Sciences at AVC  and demonstrates the full intent to work collaboratively across faculties.

Speaking of teamwork, much is being accomplished. In addition to the impressive facility taking shape on the north end of campus, the team has been quite busy in our temporary Belvedere Avenue offices. Chief Operating Officer Paul Young and his team are simply a beehive of activity. Work is underway to plan and source high-tech equipment for one of the country’s most advanced medical clinical learning and simulation centres. Anatomy equipment has started to arrive, and specimens are being sourced. As mentioned, admissions have opened to PEI students attending the regional campus, and the entire academic affairs team has been supporting this process, working on a faculty sourcing plan and preparing for the future joint program. Approximately 30% of the capital cost of the UPEI-based infrastructure will be technology fit-up, such as to support synchronistic classroom learning between the PEI campus and Memorial, so suffice it to say the UPEI ITSS team tasked with making this all happen for fall 2025 is a busy one! There are ongoing plans and discussions concerning community infrastructure and programming to support future learners and lots of conversations with Health PEI around the responsible integration of faculty and learners. As a regional campus of Memorial, there is a requirement to review policies and plans collaboratively and adjust as necessary, as well as to ensure effective governance structures are in place to guide the work of both institutions along the journey. Finally, we have been focused on getting the news on the medical school project out to the public through many means, from traditional and social media to community information sessions.

If you know of any group or organization that wants to hear more, we’d be happy to speak to any group. Just email medicine@upei.ca with any requests.

Feel free to reach out anytime; my door is always open. I hope you have some beautiful plans for enjoying the summer ahead!

Hi Everyone,

This week was marked by some tremendous news for PEI students. Just as the Memorial University Faculty of Medicine’s admissions portal opened for all students, UPEI announced that beginning in the fall of 2025, the Rathlyn Foundation Entrance Scholarships for UPEI Medical Students will be granted to every UPEI-based medical student in their first year of study.

These $2,000 individual scholarships will be funded in perpetuity by an overall gift of $1,000,000 from the Rathlyn Foundation. So not only will our Island students gain equitable access through this brilliant partnership with Memorial’s medical school, but they will also receive financial support through this generous university donation.

We are excited and optimistic about welcoming Prince Edward Island’s bright, compassionate, and ethical students to Memorial’s regional campus at UPEI for fall 2025. These students will benefit from the expertise and experience of Memorial’s award-winning curricular framework. The development of the Memorial regional campus at UPEI (and eventual joint medical education program) is a unique journey that all the team at MUN and UPEI are working hard on. Starting out as a regional campus, we provide a Memorial program under Memorial’s accreditation, and PEI students will be registered at Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty of Medicine.  

Memorial’s Faculty of Medicine adheres to the Memorial University policy, recognizing its strength lies with its people. Building and maintaining an excellent workforce depends on creating an environment that attracts, develops, and retains talented and capable people for all positions.

Memorial is committed to:

• Maintaining a welcoming and favourable work environment for all individuals; Removing workplace barriers that negatively affect individuals or groups.
• Educating all individuals on the values, elements, and application of this policy
• Supporting the creation of an equitable and diverse workforce
• Providing community leadership as a progressive and equitable employer

Memorial University and UPEI strive to practice evidence-based education as well as training our medical students in evidence-based practice. There is ample evidence that patients outcomes are improved when providers that reflect the patients are involved in their care. Therefore, it is imperative that the graduates of the medical program reflect the entire make-up of our diverse population on PEI. 

Memorial’s policy and actions align perfectly with UPEI’s principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and we are fortunate to have such a strong partner to ensure that the accepted students and eventual medical graduates reflect the diverse populations they will serve. 

As always, I would like to remind you that my door is open. To students, faculty, and staff, I am here to support you on this journey, and I am more than happy to take your call or meet with you wherever is convenient for you. Your success is our success, and we are here to help you every step of the way.