Become a Member
Membership Information
The Vancouver Division of Family Practice is all about bringing together family doctors from across the City of Vancouver to leverage their collective wisdom and experience to improve the way our health care system works in Vancouver.
The Vancouver Division has many facets of work:
- Tools and services that support you as an individual family doctor
- Opportunities to connect and collaborate with your colleagues across the city
- System-focused change initiatives, including the development of Primary Care Networks (PCNs)
To become a member of the Vancouver Division you must:
- Either be a resident, actively practicing family physician, or a retired physician who practiced in Vancouver
- Practice 51% of the time in the City of Vancouver
Membership is Free!
To apply to become a member, please complete this provincial online form to join one of BC’s 35 Divisions of Family Practice. Select Vancouver as your practice community in the application to join the Vancouver Division of Family Practice. Our administrative team will follow-up with an additional intake form, gathering specific information for Vancouver.
As a member of the Vancouver Division, you gain access to a series of benefits listed below.
Member Benefits
Products & Tools
- Access to free UpToDate subscription, which is the go-to resource for members to help make appropriate care decisions. UpToDate delivers evidence-based clinical decision support that is clear, actionable, and rich with real-world insights. * (Note: Resident members receive free UpToDate access via the Provincial office)
- Access to the Pathways system, which provides members quick access to current and accurate referral information. This includes wait times and areas of expertise of specialists and specialty clinics. It also provides access to hundreds of patient and physician resources, as well community service and allied health information that is categorized and searchable.
- Members have free access to telephone interpreters from PHSA’s Provincial Language Services (PLS). PLS provides interpreting services to any BC primary health care provider and can be accessed over the phone within minutes. Click here for the list of languages offered.
Supports and Services throughout Your Career as a Physician
- The Division has developed a successful approach to locum matching that focuses on building relationships to ensure compatible matches. Opportunities are posted on Work in Vancouver and members can connect with our talented Recruitment and Retention team to find out more.
- Resources to support managing your practice, with staff available to help guide you to the right information on topics such as information on billing, clinic communication tools and resources, and virtual health support.
- If you are looking to grow your practice and panel, the Division has dedicated programs to explore adding patients in a controlled and intentional manner.
- The Division’s Long-term Care Initiative has a strong infrastructure of programs and supports to help interested family doctors add a long-term care panel to their practice.
- Free education and training events on a variety of topics, many of which are continuing medical education (CME) accredited.
- Over the years, the Division undertakes many initiatives to support full-spectrum primary care. Examples include bringing the CBT Skills Group Program to Vancouver and the ongoing development of Primary Care Networks.
- The Division’s Recruitment and Retention Team also provides several Retirement Supports to help you plan for your transition to retirement.
Staying Informed and Connected
- Members receive our bi-weekly Fast Facts eNewsletter which curates all the relevant information you might need.
- Physician wellness is a priority. Our regularly held “Healthy Minds, Healthy Distractions” series fosters a culture of compassion by offering members a time to come together for creative and unique experiences. They are meant to be an intentional distraction from the increasing demands of family practice.
- Members can join a variety of Communities of Practices (CoPs) that are both established and emerging. These consist of colleagues who have similar interests, focused practices, or geographical practice locations. Established CoPs include members who provide maternity care and FPs who have or wish to include a long-term care panel in their practice.
- The Division often collaborates on events and opportunities to strengthen relationships with specialists in Vancouver.
