A message from our Regional Academic Lead

The Northern Alberta Medical Program (NAMP) is a full four-year medical education (MD) program provided by the University of Alberta in collaboration with Grande Prairie's Northwestern Polytechnic. It makes a U of A MD degree achievable completely outside of Edmonton.

Together, the Edmonton site and Grande Prairie site make up the U of A MD program, with the NAMP extending the program's ability to develop rural and regional generalist physicians by expanding the geography and contexts of learning.

Unique within the traditional U of A MD program structure, the first two academic years (pre-clerkship) at the NAMP will be delivered in Grande Prairie, and the final two years (clerkship) may be delivered in Grande Prairie, other regional centers and numerous rural sites throughout north and central Alberta and beyond to the northern reaches of Canada.

Starting in August 2025, the incoming MD Class of 2029 will include up to 30 students in Year 1 of the U of A MD program within the NAMP, receiving their education fully in Grande Prairie and the north. Subsequent years will admit identical cohorts of learners.

Lecture components and other shared learning experiences are delivered simultaneously to students in both Edmonton and Grande Prairie using highly integrated technology. Clinical experiences and non-lecture facilitation will be led by an extensive network of experienced physician educators, supported by non-physician colleagues, throughout north and central Alberta, as well as the Yukon and NWT.

The success of this program will continue to rely, as it does now, on the energy, leadership, skills and passion for education that is the hallmark of the U of A MD program experience delivered by you and your colleagues throughout the network of distributed sites associated with the University of Alberta. Opportunities for leadership positions and expanded educational roles are available, and more will undoubtedly develop as the NAMP unfolds.

Please reach out to either myself (at ramartin@ualberta.ca) or Holly Handfield, Manager, Medical Education Expansion (at hlhandfield@ualberta.ca), at any time with questions, comments or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Richard Martin, MD, CCFP, FCFP Regional Academic Lead, NAMP

Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine