University looking for very first medical students

By Lethbridge Herald on July 29, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

Admissions are now open for the Southern Alberta Medical Program (SAMP), a three-year Doctor of Medicine (MD) program to be delivered right here in Lethbridge through a partnership between the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge. 

SAMP’s first cohort of students will begin their training in July 2026 at the University of Lethbridge, and associate dean and local physician Dr. Richard Buck says he’s excited to be at this point of the process. 

“It is very exciting that this portal has opened. It is super exciting to see that all the work you have put into it is finally coming into fruition, so it is an exciting time.”

Buck said this is great news for those who have always wanted to get into the medical field but have been unable to do so in a different city.

“I have talked to many people at the hospital that have shown interest in the program, and they have said they wanted to become doctors, but they couldn’t uproot their families to move to a different city,” said Buck. 

“So, bringing the training to them will help with recruitment and retention of those wanting to remain in southern Alberta once they graduate.” 

SAMP offers students the opportunity to earn a University of Calgary medical degree while completing their training in the Lethbridge area.

“The students will do the entirety of their medical education in southern Alberta,” says Buck. “The first 18 months is what is called the pre-clerkship, and that is what we would consider the classroom teaching.”

The other 18 months are what is called clerkship, which is clinical work, and the entire program will be available at the University of Lethbridge in what is currently the Community Centre for Wellbeing. 

“This building needs to be renovated, so in the meantime for the first year, we will be using a temporary space at the university of Lethbridge, and right now we are expecting the building to be ready for 2027,” said Buck. 

Students will complete their degrees through an intensive, community-integrated curriculum that responds to the growing need for sustainable, locally grounded approaches to medical education, particularly in areas where physician access remains essential.

“It is anticipated that the students will do an integrated clerkship, and in their last 18 months of training, they will be based in most cases in a family medicine office, and will be distributed between Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and rural communities,” said Buck. 

The approach is based on the current placements across southern Alberta which includes Lethbridge, Pincher Creek and other places that have the program up and running. There are plans to expand the placement locations across southern Alberta. 

Funded by the Government of Alberta, Rural Medical Education Program Training Centres use a distributed education model that emphasizes continuity of care, community connection, and clinical readiness, all while contributing to a more resilient health-care system for the region.

“You never know when physicians will end up practicing when you train them in med school, but research has shown that if you recruit locally and train locally, there is a better chance they will stay local,” says Buck. 

While it will take seven years for those first doctors to be done with their training and education, Buck says this is a step in the right direction when it comes to providing residents with an opportunity to have a family doctor in the near future. 

“By having this medical school here, and by training our own folks, my hope is to create such a great teaching community with the physicians in the city, that this will become a desirable place to work.”’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

Applications are now open through the University of Calgary’s admissions portal and students from all disciplines are welcome to apply.

To learn more or begin your application, visit: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/future-students/admissions