Hi Everyone,

It’s a pleasure to reconnect and share an update on the continued momentum in medical education on Prince Edward Island.

In August 2025, the Memorial University Faculty of Medicine Regional Campus officially opened at UPEI, welcoming the first group of 20 Island-based medical students. It marked a milestone, the culmination of years of planning, collaboration, and shared dedication to strengthening PEI’s physician workforce.

Student feedback from the first semester has been overwhelmingly positive. Learners are thriving in a program rooted in distributed medical education, social accountability, and close mentorship. Around 60 Island physicians contributed to teaching during the first semester alone, a remarkable display of professional commitment and community leadership.

At the same time, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Centre has achieved substantial completion. The 138,000-square-foot, future-oriented facility, delivered on time and within budget, now features state-of-the-art pre-clinical learning spaces and one of the most technologically advanced Clinical Learning and Simulation Centres in the country. The collaboration among UPEI’s Administration and Finance, IT Systems and Services, the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, Health PEI, government partners, and community stakeholders has established a new standard for interdisciplinary project delivery.

This progress is also clear in a partnership that has evolved thoughtfully and strategically. As many recall, the original goal was for Canada’s first joint UPEI–Memorial MD degree program. To prevent delays for PEI learners, we jointly decided to launch as a Memorial regional campus while continuing to plan for the future in parallel. Planning is now well underway, with both institutions working together toward a long-term model that aligns with PEI’s workforce needs and academic goals.

I am also pleased to officially welcome Dr. Stuart Carney as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dr. Carney brings a wealth of experience as an academic leader, researcher, and educational innovator, most recently serving nine years as Dean of Medicine at the University of Queensland in Australia. His background in distributed medical education, learner engagement, and workforce development strongly aligns with our shared regional priorities. We look forward to collaborating closely with him.

Most importantly, these achievements are the result of an exceptional team. Staff, faculty, clinicians, facilities and IT teams, administrators, learners, and partners across institutions have shown what is possible when collaboration is intentional and driven by a shared purpose.

We are creating more than just a facility. We are cultivating a sustainable physician workforce pipeline, a contemporary academic health sciences environment, and a locally driven approach to medical education, all implemented with intention and responsibility.

Thank you to everyone who continues to contribute to this vital work. The momentum is strong, and the future looks promising.

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

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

Hi Everyone,

The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) Faculty of Medicine team recently attended the International Congress of Academic Medicine (ICAM). Our delegation returned home enriched with new knowledge, fresh perspectives, and invaluable connections.

Learning and Growth Opportunities: The congress offered our team many learning experiences. We attended numerous presentations and workshops, absorbing cutting-edge ideas in medical education, research, and healthcare innovation. These sessions provided us with inspiration and practical insights.

Networking and Collaboration: One of the most beneficial aspects of ICAM was connecting with Canadian leaders in medical education. The welcoming reception hosted by our partners in medical education at UPEI, the Memorial Faculty of Medicine, proved very beneficial, enabling our team to engage in informal discussions with those delivering their accredited Doctor of Medicine program at their regional campus hosted at UPEI.

Planetary Health: Dr. Courtney Howard’s and colleagues’ enlightening presentation on planetary health was a standout moment at the congress. Dr. Howard, an Emergency Physician from Yellowknife and a renowned advocate for climate change and health, offered compelling insights. Dr. Howard’s talk emphasized the crucial links between human health and the well-being of our planet. Her discussion on eco-anxiety, active transport, plant-rich diets, and the need for systemic changes in healthcare prompted consideration of how we approach these topics.

Aligning with Global Trends: Dr. Howard’s presentation and other ICAM sessions have reinforced the importance of integrating planetary health principles into medical education. We recognize the value of preparing medical students to address the complex health challenges of the 21st century, including environmental factors.

Our attendance at ICAM gave us fresh perspectives and innovative ideas. We look forward to sharing these insights to further strengthen the medical education experience for students, ensuring that we continue to evolve and meet the changing needs of healthcare education.

We’re grateful for this opportunity to learn from and connect with the Canadian medical education community.

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

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,

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.