Okay. Let’s cut to the chase. A lot of readers and followers have been asking “what Elaine does for a living?” as the only current wage earner in our Okanagan Valley household.

 

 

Excellent question. Thanks for being curious. The answer is so deep and clinical that I requested her job description in writing so I could better understand and describe her daily regimen of shaping young minds through academic excellence.

We’re talking about my blushing bride. She’s fifty shades of grey matter bundled into one smart cookie. Talk about marrying up! Yes, dear. Here’s my newly-coined relationship adage: “Behind every successful woman is a thankful man who likes to write about her brilliance, expertise, and beautiful spirit.”

 

 

 

 

Let’s start with Elaine’s book learnin’ and educational background. She has a Dual Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Women’s Studies. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Higher Education and Public Policy. Both sheepskins were earned at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS).

 

 

Let’s step back and review. Many moons ago the Calgary-born mother of five put family development first. No regrets. Then came the educational achievement in the high altitude and liberal attitudes of Colorado. No problem living abroad. Then came the border crossing to Kelowna in 2008, with no job or prospects in her hip pocket. Be bold or go home!

Let’s continue this uplifting saga of patience and perseverance with a fantastic finish. Elaine works for the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Medicine. She has been the Clinical Education Curriculum and Assessment Program Manager for five years.

 

 

The main UBC campus is in Vancouver. There are three distributed campuses around the province – in Victoria, Prince George, and Kelowna. Her Kelowna program is called the Southern Medical Program (SMP) – the last of the four sites to come on board.

 

 

 

 

“In October 2008, I was the first UBC administrator hired for the Kelowna distributed program and site,” offered Elaine. “That was before we had our buildings, before the Regional Associate Dean was hired, before we had students. I started as the Project Manager and got the program up and running. Before moving to Kelowna, I had worked as the Assistant Director of Student Retention at UCCS. I’m going into my seventh year at UBC.

 

 

“We now have two buildings here in Kelowna – one at the UBC Okanagan campus (out by the airport) and the one I work in which is the UBC Clinical Academic Campus across the street from Kelowna General Hospital. My office is 1.5 miles (30-minute walk) from our residence.”

 

 

The UBC Faculty of Medicine admits 288 students per year – 192 to Vancouver and 32 each in the three distributed sites. The curriculum is a four-year program. The SMP currently has its first fourth-year graduating class, so this is the first year the program will have a full class of students across all four years. In May 2015, 32 students will graduate from the first SMP cohort.

 

 

 

Students generally have an Undergraduate Bachelor’s degree before they enter medical school. The first two years are spent in lectures, small-group learning, and clinical time in family practice physician’s offices. The third and fourth years are their clinical years where students gain valuable hands-on experience in hospitals and clinics.

 

 

 

“My job is to manage the administrative delivery of their curriculum in their third and fourth years, as well as all of the assessments and evaluations,” enthused Elaine. “We currently have four main hospital sites within the Interior of BC where we place students – Kelowna, Kamloops, Trail, and Vernon.

 

 

 

 

 

“As well, we place students in small towns all throughout the large geographical area of the Interior. The distributed model of medical-education delivery is to ensure that as students and residents are educated in centers outside of the larger metropolis of Vancouver, they will be inclined to remain and offer vital physician services to smaller communities.”

 

 

Elaine supervises a team of eight staffers who provide program support for the delivery of the program. Her students work through the following 11 rotations – Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Psychology, Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, Orthopedics, Anesthesia, Dermatology, and Ophthalmology.

 

 

 

“This is my dream job,” she finalized. “I’ve been a part of this program from the beginning and watched it grow. We have an amazing team of faculty, staff, and students. It feels like family. Very supportive. I love every minute of my job. I couldn’t ask for a better place to spend my day. I’m proud to be part of such an intrinsically valuable educational program – training young physicians who will care for us in the years to come!”