Royal Columbian Hospital and Surrey Memorial Hospital, the two largest regional hospitals within Fraser Health, serve as the primary sites for UBC Medical Students’ Year 3 Psychiatry Clerkship rotations, alongside Burnaby Hospital. These training sites offer broad and diverse clinical experiences, providing excellent exposure to the full spectrum of psychiatric practice and psychopathology.
For medical students considering a career in psychiatry, completing a rotation at Royal Columbian Hospital or Surrey Memorial Hospital offers a valuable opportunity to experience the clinical and educational environment of the UBC Fraser Health–Greater Vancouver Psychiatry Residency Program, connect with faculty and residents, and learn more about residency training within our program.
Royal Columbian Hospital
Royal Columbian Hospital is one of the highest-rated psychiatry teaching sites within the UBC system and offers Year 3 psychiatry clerkship rotations across a broad range of clinical settings, including inpatient psychiatry, outpatient psychiatry, consultation-liaison psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and emergency psychiatry. Medical students work closely with dedicated staff psychiatrists and psychiatry residents at various stages of training, benefiting from a supportive, hands-on learning environment and strong collegial relationships.
In addition to diverse clinical experiences, students participate in a comprehensive educational program that includes Grand Rounds, Journal Club, Lead Resident Rounds focused on core psychiatry topics, Psychotherapy Rounds with an emphasis on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and a structured Psychiatric Interviewing Course. Together, these experiences provide a strong foundation in clinical psychiatry and prepare students for further training in the specialty.
Surrey Memorial Hospital
Surrey Memorial Hospital offers an exceptional, hands-on learning experience within one of the busiest psychiatry programs in Canada. Supported by a dedicated team of faculty psychiatrists with a strong commitment to medical education, the Year 3 Core Psychiatry Clerkship provides comprehensive exposure to inpatient, outpatient, and emergency psychiatry, as well as both adult and child and adolescent mental health services.
Students benefit from a diverse range of clinical experiences, including community mental health, reproductive psychiatry, primary care psychiatry through a shared-care model, adolescent crisis response services, and child neuropsychiatry. This breadth of training provides valuable insight into the many subspecialties and practice settings within psychiatry.
Formal educational opportunities include Journal Club, Psychopharmacology Rounds, and Clinical Case Conference Rounds. As Surrey Memorial Hospital continues to expand its role in resident education, its academic offerings continue to grow, further enhancing the learning experience for medical students and residents alike.
Burnaby Hospital
Students completing rotations at this site benefit from a unique, blended clinical experience that integrates inpatient, outpatient, consultation-liaison, and emergency psychiatry. This innovative training model, which is uncommon among UBC teaching sites, provides broad exposure to diverse psychiatric settings and patient populations. Students also have the opportunity to observe and learn about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as part of their rotation experience.
Medical student teaching is a dedicated component of the rotation, with protected educational sessions built into the schedule. Seminars are delivered by psychiatrists, residents, and allied health professionals and cover a wide range of clinical and professional topics in psychiatry, complementing students’ hands-on clinical learning.
How to Choose a Psychiatry Rotation at Fraser Health
Preferences for Year 3 Psychiatry Clerkship rotations are submitted at the beginning of medical school Year 3. Rotation assignments are then determined through a rank-order lottery administered by the UBC Undergraduate Psychiatry Education Office.
For questions regarding psychiatry clerkship placements, please contact:
Undergraduate Psychiatry Program Manager
UGE.progmgr@ubc.ca
UBC Fraser Health Psychiatry 