The Rural Continuing Medical Education (RCME) Community Program makes funds available to groups of physicians living and delivering care in Rural Subsidiary Agreement (RSA) communities, to address their collective learning needs. The program aims to improve the capacity of local health care systems to address the needs of community members by giving physicians more control over collective learning activities, reducing the challenges of accessing funds, and improving relationships among health system partners.
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RSA communities integrated into RCME program
BC Ministry of Health RCME Community Funds Program Policy
What is the RCME Community Program?
The RCME Community Program addresses the needs of local physicians and their teams for collective learning by enabling activities that strengthen the well-being and capacity of local health systems to address the health care service needs of the community. This frequently involves generalists, specialists and interprofessional learning.
Funds for the RCME Community Program are available to the community of physicians and may be applied to meet collective learning needs, unlike RCME for Individuals which is paid directly to the rural physician to facilitate individual learning needs.
Guidelines for Community Program
How can the RCME Community team help you?
The RCME Community Program’s skilled team members are embedded both within RCCbc and within regional health authorities. They support rural communities with the implementation of the program, so that your community can receive annual RCME Community Program funding, including help with:
- Designing or describing your local RCME Community Program model, including an annual budget;
- Developing agreements with other communities if you want to include several communities;
- Building or adapting policies and processes and anything else you need to have a robust model.
RCME Drop-In Sessions
To support this process and answer any questions you may have, we’re also hosting a series of drop-in Zoom sessions. These are informal opportunities to connect, share feedback, and hear more about what’s ahead. If interested, please register to one of the sessions below, all to be held on Fridays from 12:00-13:00 (PST) for the next three calendar months.
Register for the drop-in Zoom session (Pacific Standard Time):
2024-25 RCME Community Program and Rural Program Liaison Annual Report
The Rural Continuing Medical Education (RCME) Community Program and Rural Programs Liaisons (RPL) 2024-25 Report highlights that it’s about building confidence, deepening collaboration, and ensuring that rural physicians have access to learning that directly impacts patient care.
RCME Stories
Read our RCME newsletter
Stay up to date with our latest RCME Community Program updates and community highlights.
- RCME Community Program Newsletter – Fall 2023
- RCME Community Program Newsletter – Spring 2024
- RCME Community Program Newsletter – Spring 2025
- RCME Commutnity Program Newsletter – Fall 2025
Questions About the RCME Community Program?
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