You might be wondering how the MPT-North came about. As with all great initiatives, there is a story behind it, so pull up a chair.
Despite the fact that British Columbia (BC) has the greatest number of Physiotherapists (PTs) per population of any province in Canada, supply does not meet the demand for Rehabilitation services, particularly in northern and rural communities. A maldistribution of practicing PT clinicians means that less than 7% of PTs in BC work in northern and rural regions, to serve the approximately 18% of the population who resides there (Canadian Institute of Health Information, 2018). There are many vacant PT positions across the province – some unfilled for months or years – and often long waitlists for physical therapy services.
Research indicates that health professionals are more likely to work in rural locations after graduation if (1) they have a rural background (i.e. have lived or worked in rural areas) and (2) they train in a rural location. Due to the collective efforts of UBC, UNBC, and a tireless group of community advocates in Northern BC, the Northern Medical Program was born, meaning that a cohort of medical students has been trained in the North each year since 2004.
Over the last 2 decades, similar lobbying and advocacy supported by PABC and CPTBC has been ongoing to bring physical and occupational therapy training programs to the North, in 2012 these efforts resulted in government funding for the “Northern and Rural Cohort” (NRC) which saw 20 PT students complete their academic training at UBC but undertake at least 4 of their 6 clinical placements in northern and rural locations. As part of capacity building for NRC clinical education, partnership with Northern Health fostered initiatives such as the Prince Rupert Interprofessional Student-led Model (PRISM) Clinic and the Prince George Cardiac Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program, as well as the addition of physical therapy services to Central Interior Native Health. UNBC was designated the clinical hub for the NRC, where a Physical Therapy Plinth Lab—a state-of-the-art teaching and learning space—was constructed to support MPT students on clinical placement in Northern BC and also to host continuing professional development for Physical Therapy clinical faculty and clinical educators. The lab also allowed a trial proof of concept for academic distribution connecting NRC students with their counterparts at the UBC Point Grey campus – illustrating that distributed physical therapy education was feasible.
The first NRC students graduated in 2014 and while the numbers are just reaching statistical significance, approximately 43% of NRC graduates end up working in northern or rural locations after graduation as compared with 7% of graduates in the regular (non-NRC) MPT cohort.
While early results of the NRC were promising, the quest for a fully distributed (academic and clinical) program in Prince George continued with continued lobbying from a multiplicity of stakeholders, including the local community.
Finally, the news came on May 24, 2019, when the Honourable Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, came to UNBC and announced the expansion of the UBC MPT program to 100 seats including 20 MPT seats located at UNBC starting September 2020. She also announced an incremental increase in seats for occupational therapy including a northern and rural cohort transitioning to a distributed program at UNBC by 2022. The cheers from folks in northern and rural BC, as well as from the academic institutions, professional association, employers and the regulatory body could be heard across the province! Many hours by many folks from many sectors are behind bringing the MPT North to life.