The former students now move into two to seven years of medical residency and fellowship training, depending on specialty.

The UBC Northern Medical Program held a festivity at UNBC for its sixteenth graduating class, the Class of 2023.

The 30 progressing students received their cedar shingles and their long white coats to mark their change from students to doctors. The shingles have a new look this year with a special connection to the Village of Valemount, a community member of the Northern Medical Programs Trust.

The cedar was sustainably sourced and sawed by Cedar Valley Holdings Ltd. and each shingle was sanded, slanting, etched and coated by Glacier Ridge Services.

Eighteen former students will be entering family medicine residency programs, with many training in rural and smaller communities. The remaining students have matched to a range of other specialties including anesthesiology, common surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology (head and neck surgery), pediatrics, and plastic surgery.

The UBC Northern Medical Program (NMP) graduation festivity precedes the formal graduation for the students, taking place at UBC on May 24, at which they will get their official medical degrees.