Southern Alberta Medical Program
An innovative educational partnership between the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary to expand physician training
About the Partnership
The Southern Alberta Medical Program (SAMP) will train undergraduate medical students at the University of Lethbridge and in rural communities across southern Alberta. It is one of two Rural Medical Education Program Training Centres in Alberta. Learners will train alongside other health-care professionals, gaining practical medical experience. The program will enrol learners who are identified as being likely to practice in rural areas upon graduation. Training these future doctors in southern Alberta will improve the availability of physicians in rural Alberta in the future.
Why This Initiative Matters
Access to a family physician is incredibly challenging for many families in small- to mid-sized centres across Alberta, particularly for rural and Indigenous communities. Research shows that recruiting learners from small communities and rural areas and training them in these locations leads to more doctors choosing rural practice. The program will allow Alberta to train more local physicians, with the training centres also expected to help attract doctors who are interested in teaching.
How the Program will work
SAMP will use a distributed medical education model. The University of Calgary’s curriculum will be adapted to capture the local context of regional and remote health care to be delivered in partnership with the University of Lethbridge in southern Alberta. Soon, learners will attend classes in Lethbridge and will learn from preceptors located across southern Alberta.
Frequently Asked Questions
The research and data show that when students train in rural locations, they are more likely to stay and work there. Alberta’s government is proud to support this partnership between the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary that will ensure rural medical training opportunities are available for students.
Hon. Rajan Sawhney
Minister of Advanced Education | Government of Alberta
We're excited about this important program expansion between the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge, which will open more doors of opportunity to attract, educate and retain the health workforce that is greatly needed in rural areas. The collective efforts of this post-secondary network will help to deliver quality health care and continuity of care across our province for years to come.
Dr. Ed McCauley
President and Vice-Chancellor | University of Calgary
We at the University of Calgary are excited about working collaboratively with our colleagues across the province, particularly at ULethbridge to provide innovative educational solutions for health workforce shortages in the rural areas and Indigenous communities. If we train residents rurally they are more likely to stay in smaller centres where the need is acute.
Dr. Todd Anderson, MD
Dean of the Cumming School of Medicine | University of Calgary
This innovative partnership with the University of Lethbridge will deliver an entire undergraduate medical education program and experiential learning in Lethbridge and surrounding rural communities, using the University of Calgary’s curriculum. We look forward to seeing additional learners in distributed settings gaining practical experience while serving the needs of patients in rural communities.
Dr. Lisa Welikovitch, MD
Senior Associate Dean, Education | Cumming School of Medicine | University of Calgary