Work underway for new UPEI medical school as top health official raises concerns

With less than two years before the University of Prince Edward Island's Faculty of Medicine is set to open, officials say progress is being made to get school up and running — but the head of Health PEI concedes the timeline is ambitious and significant roadblocks remain.

The co-degree program — a partnership with Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador — was announced earlier this fall, alongside an expansion of UPEI's nursing program and health centre.

UPEI president and vice-chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz said without the partnership with MUN, the timelines would be different. But currently, the plan is to welcome the first cohort of Island students in September 2023. 

"If we needed to do the work alone, it probably would have taken us about five years," said Abd-El-Aziz.

"But working with Memorial, that will allow us to be able to provide a quality degree, and get the approval from the accrediting body, hopefully within two years."

The two universities have a long to-do list, with everything from facilities to faculty to establish.

Abd-El-Aziz said a request for proposals for the building that will house the faculty of medicine — as well as the expanded nursing program, the doctor of psychology program, and UPEI's health clinic, which will serve as a teaching site — has already closed. 

In the meantime, multiple working groups are being established, according to Dr. Margaret Steele, dean of the faculty of medicine at Memorial University.

Steele said one is an accreditation group, which will advance the process of accreditation for the new co-degree, in which the two universities are developing a joint doctor of medicine degree.

It should take about 18 months through the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools, she said.

There's also a community engagement group that will work with hospitals, local physicians, towns and municipalities, regulatory bodies and the medical society. Community engagement should get underway early in 2022.

As well, there will be a working group to look at admissions requirements, and one to focus on faculty development, taking what is currently taught at Memorial and adapting it for the program at UPEI. 

The new faculty aims to provide seats for 20 Island residents annually, including at least one seat for an Indigenous student.

But as MUN and UPEI work to get academic and administrative details in place, questions remain about how to avoid adding pressure to an already strained Island health-care system.