About IRPbc

The Interprofessional Rural Program of BC (IRPbc) is an exciting way to provide education for students in health and human services programs. IRPbc represents a partnership across rural communities, health authorities, and post-secondary education institutions.

 Background

To read more about IRPbc, please view our IRPbc Backgrounder .

People

Communities

IRPbc communities are selected based on long-standing commitments to educating health professional students. In particular, the communities play an active role through providing:

• Housing for an interprofessional student team
• A welcoming environment in the health facilities as well as in the broader community
• Preceptors representing rural health practitioners in medicine, nursing, and allied health, and who demonstrate interprofessional collaboration
• Orientation and ongoing learning opportunities relating to rural healthcare, Aboriginal culture, etc.
• A program lead and coordinator who champion the program locally and interact with the students and preceptors to facilitate a positive experience and contribution to the community

Student Teams

Students are placed into rural communities in teams of four or more students representing a broad range of health professions including medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, social work and others. The students share the knowledge and skills of their professions and undertake team activities in addition to their discipline-specific workload.

Reports & Poster Presentations

These posters were presented in May 2004 conference, "All Together Better Health: Progress in International Education and Collaborative Practice," organized by the College of Health Disciplines, University of British Columbia.

Click on the thumbnails to access the .pdf version
Overview of the program and how it works, key success factors, and student perspectives of what the IRPbc experience provides

IRPbc community information, and perspectives from Bella Coola, Hazelton, Port McNeill, and Fort St. John

Winter 2004 students in Trail reflect on their IRPbc experiences

IRPbc also complements the work of Health Match BC (the province’s physician and nursing recruiting service) by exposing students to rural practice and life in a small community, and by revitalizing the work environment for health professionals who currently practice in rural communities.

IRPbc Final Report

The Interprofessional Rural Program of British Columbia (IRPbc) is pleased to provide this overview of the program, its progress and outcomes of the past 22 months. Click here for the .pdf version.

IRPbc Program Evaluation Final Report

To view IRPbc’s Program Evaluation final  report please click here.

IRPbc Overview and Findings

To view IRPbc’s Overview and Findings report please click here.