Dreamers, Skeptics, and Healers

A legacy of care.

Hailed as one of the world’s top-ranked medical schools, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is globally recognized as a leader in medical education and health sciences research. In celebration of its 70th anniversary, this richly illustrated history is an inspiring reflection on the Faculty’s rise from humble beginnings to its standing today as a beacon of excellence.

This beautifully illustrated book documents the history of the UBC Faculty of Medicine, from its creation to the present day. Tracing the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the many people who strove to first bring the Faculty into existence, and then to ensure its success, it is a testament to their work in transforming aspiration into reality.

Unlikely though it may seem today, the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s creation was threatened from the moment British Columbia entered Confederation in 1871. Proposals for a provincial medical school encountered myriad challenges. There was no university until 1915, and it took eight decades from the early dream to enrollment of the first medical students. And yet, establishing the medical school was only the first of many milestones reached despite great odds.

Today, the Faculty’s medical undergraduate program is the fourth largest in North America. Its faculty members have garnered numerous illustrious awards—including the Nobel Prize. Its province-wide, distributed undergraduate and postgraduate program, established in 2004 as the first of its kind in Canada, is developing a new generation of doctors, bringing health education to remote regions and communities, and enhancing the quality of health care. And its researchers continue to make breakthroughs in the priority areas of precision health, cancer, brain and mental health, heart and lung health, population health, and chronic diseases as well as across the breadth of health and life sciences.