Frequently Asked Questions

Planning is underway for SAMP to welcome its inaugural, first-year cohort of medical students in July 2026. 

• At full capacity, up to 30 medical students will be admitted each year to undertake their three-year University of Calgary medical education at the SAMP campus at the University of Lethbridge or in Medicine Hat and other communities across southern Alberta. 
• The total number of medical students on-site in Lethbridge is expected to be about 60 by 2028, and a steady state of about 90 by 2029.

• Yes, UCLIC is being expanded in parallel to the development of SAMP.
• UCLIC has two students in Lethbridge now, with planned expansion to six medical students by 2026, a total of 10 by 2027 and 12 by 2028.
• The focus on rural generalism means that medical students at SAMP will have priority placement to UCLIC places in southern Alberta. 

• Yes, residency training spots will increase from 23 spots in 2024 to 36 spots over the next several years. 
• We expect the residency spots will provide opportunities for SAMP medical students to complete their entire training in southern Alberta.

• SAMP relies on an engaged and supported preceptor team to train Alberta's next generation of rural physicians.
• SAMP is focussed on sustaining and growing the rural preceptor team through engagement and dialogue to see what support preceptors need, including things like strengthening teaching and assessment skills, program support, compensation and recognition.
• We acknowledge that rural physicians must balance teaching with their busy practices and we want to find ways to positively support them in this important work.

• Yes, we’re confident there will be enough training clinics across southern Alberta to provide excellent clinical experiences for the SAMP medical students. 
• We have ongoing conversations with rural preceptors across southern Alberta to maximize clinical teaching opportunities. 
• Because enrolment is being phased in over three years, the bulk of clinical placements will occur in 2027 and 2028 which should provide ample time to secure any additional teaching spaces.

As a preceptor, will I have to take more students to teach and assess once SAMP is up and running?

• That depends on your interest and the amount of time you can commit to teaching and assessment, in addition to your available clinic space.
• Preceptors will not be required to take more students than they’re able to accommodate at any one time.
• SAMP will train new preceptors (and encourage former preceptors) to meet the additional teaching and assessment demands.

• SAMP is not a new medical school but instead a distributed medical education site of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary in collaboration and partnership with its delivery partner, the University of Lethbridge.
• Medical students at SAMP will learn UCalgary’s three-year undergraduate medical education curriculum and will earn a University of Calgary medical degree.
• The affiliation agreement between the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge will support SAMP medical learners. Learners will be able to take advantage of student services, the library, research opportunities and other benefits (e.g., campus recreation) offered at the University of Lethbridge’s accessible campus in West Lethbridge.
• We’ve looked across Canada -and the world- to learn about and apply the best practices of distributed medical education to SAMP.

• The unique partnership between the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary means that SAMP is more than simply a satellite of the Cumming School of Medicine.  Over time, there will be greater integration including joint academic appointments, integrated research activities and opportunities to utilize the University of Lethbridge’s globally recognized research programs to inform rural medical education and practice.
• The University of Lethbridge’s collaborative relationship with the Kainai Blood Tribe, funding partners and others offers significant opportunities to engage SAMP medical students in immersive clinical experiences and research in partnership with Indigenous communities.

What is the role of the two partners: the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge?

• SAMP is jointly governed under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding and Affiliation Agreement between the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge.
• The focus of the University of Calgary is on the delivery of medical education and academic affairs while the University of Lethbridge’s responsibilities include supporting both the academic and research goals of SAMP, as well as operational priorities including buildings, student services and support services. 

• Family Medicine and specialist physicians are integral to the success of SAMP and its mandate to train the next generation of rural physicians in southern Alberta.
• Rural and regional physicians can get involved in the design, implementation and ongoing work at SAMP including serving on planning committees, seeking leadership roles, helping with admissions, and program evaluation.
• SAMP is also looking for physicians who are interested in becoming teachers at the main campus in Lethbridge, in their community or hospital. 

• SAMP is building a family medicine training clinic on the University of Lethbridge campus.
• This model would enable medical students, residents and experienced preceptor physicians to work together in a team with nurses and other health-care professionals to provide care to community members.
• A total of $43 million is being invested at the University of Lethbridge including transforming the former Community Centre for Wellbeing building into a world-class teaching clinic including a classroom, study and office space.
• SAMP recognizes that existing integrated rural training centres in places like Taber, Pincher Creek, Cardston, Raymond and Medicine Hat also provide integrated team-based teaching experiences and there may be future investment opportunities at these sites as well.

• SAMP is an important step toward solving the current physician workforce crisis in rural Alberta.
• SAMP is part of a larger strategy to address challenges with recruiting and, more importantly, retaining physicians in rural communities and regional centres such as Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
• We look to partners such as the Government of Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Alberta Medical Association and organizations like the Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP) to be part of the solution.

Is there going to be an admissions process that supports applicants from rural and Indigenous communities and backgrounds for the Southern Alberta Medical Program (SAMP)?

• Yes, SAMP will use a customized rural admissions process that will improve equity for applicants from rural and Indigenous communities in Alberta.
• By considering factors such as rural background and Indigenous connections, a desire to practice in rural and underserved communities, written essays and panel interviews, the SAMP rural admissions process will provide greater opportunities for rural and Indigenous applicants to get into medical school.

Does SAMP training mean that medical students from southern Alberta can stay in the region for their training?

• SAMP is committed to providing greater opportunities for people in southern Alberta to complete their medical training closer to home and to retain that talent in southern Alberta.
• By valuing rural life experiences, and opportunities to do their pre-medical training in Lethbridge, SAMP is destined to attract and accept more rural and Indigenous applicants.

There’s talk SAMP could be part of a “rural pathway to medical education”.  What is that?

• The idea of a ‘rural pathway’ is an intentional program to help young people on their way to a career in medicine. 
• The ‘rural pathway’ has been proven in places like Australia to encourage people to pursue careers in rural medicine. 
  • For example, the Northern Medical Program in Prince George, B.C., is part of a program called the Healthcare Travelling Roadshow which enables medical students to visit rural high schools to talk about their journey and encourage young people to pursue medicine.
  • Another example is the Rural Pre-Medicine Program at Selkirk College in Castlegar, B.C. which is designed specifically to help rural people strengthen their prerequisites for medical school.
• There may be opportunities in the future for the SAMP partnership between the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge to consider a ‘rural pathway’ idea, in collaboration with regional school districts, colleges, Indigenous peoples and communities. This could include a rural pre-medicine preparation program and medical science-based first-degree undergraduate education that offers research opportunities and, potentially, clinical experiences.