The Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) was conceived in response to rural communities being overwhelmed by requests and expectations to train students from health education programs in BC. It became clear that interprofessional cooperation and collaboration would be necessary as schools continued to depend on rural physicians for valuable educational contributions.
On November 18, 2005, a meeting involving health educators, the Ministry of Health, health authorities and rural community representatives was held in Vancouver to discuss the concerns of rural communities. The group agreed to work together to respond to rural human resource needs through educational strategies. A development committee was struck, consisting of representatives from UBC’s medical schools, the BC Academic Health Council, rural communities, the College of Health Disciplines and the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues (JSC).
The committee decided that a single organization would best support and encourage collaboration for:
- preparing students for a career in rural health care professions;
- encouraging rural-based health education; and,
- recruiting and retaining health professionals in rural communities.
