Our Roots

If you’re looking at this now, you’re probably starting to think about CaRMS and where you want to be (or do) next year.

In Abbotsford, we’re climbing out of the pandemic, but life and residency has changed. We’ve learned that Residents who have trained during the past two years are rising to the occasion and getting better. Like many places that have struggled in the last few years, the heavy lifting of the pandemic has fallen on all physicians but especially family doctors. You might know them by different names, like hospitalists, ER Docs, and maternity care providers. In Abbotsford-Mission, all these roles are filled by family doctors. Even our ICU night coverage has been covered at times by family physicians. At the same time, community primary care remains a cornerstone in our cities.

Our site is very busy and you’re likely to get exposure to a variety of patient cases and demographics. We’re also fortunate in that competition for rotations, electives, and patients is minimal. That means you’ve got a multitude of opportunities here to learn and we encourage you to be creative and self-directed in driving your own journey. For example, our maternity department delivered over 2,000 babies last year. Our ER department receives over 50,000 visits per year. The Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Center is a 300-bed facility in which FP hospitalists and specialists work closely together. Our proximity to and distance from Vancouver put us in a unique position where we have access to tertiary care but manage our acute patients more so than in larger urban centres.

In the last couple of years, we’ve also made adjustments to accommodate and adapt our learning journey. Despite the potential ongoing limitations of the pandemic, Family Practice remains strong in Abbotsford and Mission. Our graduates are well prepared and ready to practice, whether it involves moving up north to Rural BC, or doing a mix of community family practice and Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH) hospitalist shifts, or adding youth clinic, addictions, or maternity care to their portfolio. As a group, we believe that family doctors should be well-trained as generalists and should have the skills to provide ongoing care to the entire population. We believe that family doctors should be able to work in the hospital and community setting and so we have you learning side-by-side with physicians who are skilled in both environments. We believe that it’s through this collaborative and patient-centred approach that you’ll evolve into an excellent physician!

What is it like to live here? For those outside the West Coast, be prepared to bring your winter gear… but just so you can go skiing! We have hot summers and moderate (wet) winters. We get snow on average less than 1 week per year. You can access Vancouver in 1 hour, Seattle in 2 hours, and Whistler in 3 hours. Your friends and family can visit by flying directly to Abbotsford. As part of the Lower Mainland we’re still relatively affordable and easy to drive around in with minimal traffic. Of course, there’s the range of outdoor BC activities that you’ll have easy access to including hiking, kayaking, golfing, skiing, mountain biking, and ice climbing.

We’re happy to see that you’re interested in Family Medicine. Our Abbotsford-Mission preceptors love to teach, despite the current challenges of our system, and are excited to welcome you into their clinic. We hope you seriously consider Family Medicine as a career and would love to have you join us! We encourage you to visit us again in September as we will update our message on specific CaRMS information.

Enjoy your summer!

Phone: 604.851.4700 ext. 642326
Fax: 604.851.4897
Our Abbotsford-Mission Family Practice Residency Program is located at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre (ARHCC).

Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre
32900 Marshall Road
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada V2S 0C2
Phone: 604.851.4700
Map of ARHCC and Parking

Learn more about the City of Abbotsford here.

We are honoured to work on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Lower Fraser Salish peoples of the Sema:th (Sumas) and Matsqui Nations.