Prince George

Prince George is the centre of business, education, health and culture for northern British Columbia and services a rural population of about 300,000. The region’s economic growth and diversification strategies are creating outstanding opportunities for investors, employers and employees. Affordable housing, land prices and transportation costs, due to short and quick commutes; result in one of the lowest costs of living for a city of its size in the province. Additionally, wage rates fall above provincial averages, providing residents of Prince George with a high standard of living in one of BC’s most beautiful regions. The city itself is the 4th largest in British Columbia and has a population of approximately 82,300 local residents and a service centre for nearly 320,000. It is built on the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako rivers. Prince George is the home of the University of Northern British Columbia – Canada’s Green university. The warm, friendly and diverse population attests to a strong and dynamic community spirit. https://www.northernhealth.ca/our-communities/prince-george

Practice Details:

The Department of Critical Care at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC) is seeking to recruit an intensivist to join the department. The candidate must be eligible for licensure in the Province of British Columbia and preference will be given to those who either hold or are eligible for certification by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Candidates who are interested in a part time (0.5 FTE) in critical care as well as those interested to work 0.5 FTE in critical care and 0.5 FTE in their base specialty are invited to apply. Applications from intensivists with all backgrounds are welcome, especially those with dual certification in critical care and anaesthesia.

UHNBC is the Regional Hospital for Northern BC serving the population of Prince George (approximately 80,000) and is a referral center for outlying communities (total population approximately 400,000). The ICU is a combined adult medical, surgical and trauma unit and the regional referral centre for the whole of Northern BC. UHNBC is the regional surgical centre and offers, amongst others, major vascular and GI surgery services for which peri-operative ICU care is often required. UHNBC is also a level 2 trauma centre.

Posts offered are 8 weeks per year (0.5 FTE) with the schedule organized on a Monday to Sunday basis, alternating 24 hour calls between the two physicians on for the week.

The ICU at UHNBC is a 10-bed unit. The unit handles all types of critically ill medical and surgical patients, excluding cardiac surgery and neurosurgery services currently. The ICU functions as a closed unit, and has state of the art equipment, protocols, and practices, including point of care ultrasound, bedside tracheostomy and CRRT facilities.

All intensivists have an active role in contributing to the teaching and training of the Northern Medical Program medical students and residents as well as supervising critical care fellows rotating through the unit. There is an opportunity for the successful candidate to join the UBC academic faculty at a level commensurate with their qualifications and experience. There will also be opportunities for leadership, involvement in quality improvement projects, and service development such as physician support in critical care outreach, tele-health and follow-up ICU clinic with plans to expand the unit and services delivered at UHNBC.

The hospital is located downtown, 20-minutes from the airport with direct links to the Lower Mainland and the Interior. As the largest city in the region, it has all the amenities you would expect, but also maintains its friendly northern charm, surrounded by mountains, lakes, and rivers with plenty to do for the outdoor enthusiast. The region’s multicultural and economic growth and diversification strategies are creating outstanding opportunities for investors, employers, and employees. Affordable housing (average house price = $480,000 CAD as of 2023), land prices and transportation costs, due to short commutes; result in some of the lowest costs of living for a city of its size in the province. Additionally, wage rates are above provincial averages, providing residents of Prince George with a high standard of living in one of BC’s most beautiful regions.

Learn more about Prince George: moveupprincegeorge.ca

Qualifications:

• Eligible for Fellowship with the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC)
• Anaesthesia experience

Call Schedule:

Hours of work: regular
On call requirements: 1:9

Compensation:

University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC):

The University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC) is the largest Acute Care facility within the Northern Health region, and a hub for specialized health services. It’s also a teaching hospital:
• Provides undergraduate physician training through the Northern Medical Program, run by the University of British Columbia and University of Northern British Columbia
• Hosts residents in UBC’s Family Practice Residency Program
• Is a key clinical education site for nursing and many health sciences students at UNBC, the College of New Caledonia,
BCIT and other institutions. UHNBC has benefited from nearly $100 million in expansions, renovations and new equipment since 2001:
• Patient care addition with an expanded emergency room
and updated ICU
• State-of-the-art maternal-child care centre (including a single room neonatal ICU)
• Facilities to accommodate undergraduate physician training
• MRI unit

UHNBC is also home to a cancer centre for Northern BC, featuring a wide range of cancer treatments including radiation therapy.