Doctors of BC’s bursary supports UBC medical students pursuing their dreams of a medical career by providing financial assistance. Each year, hundreds of students receive funding thanks to these bursaries. In the 2024–2025 academic year, Doctors of BC supported 360 medical students throughout BC. Here are two of their stories.
Elsie Wang—seeing the beauty in Family Medicine
For as long as she can remember, Elsie Wang aspired to have a career in medicine. But growing up in an immigrant household made that dream feel challenging and uncertain.
While she initially completed her undergraduate degree at UBC in integrated science, her involvement in research projects ranging from ones that used pre-clinical disease models to study Multiple Sclerosis to ones that co-developed virtual reality tools for health research only fueled her desire to become a physician.
“A lot of my research and volunteer experience in undergrad made me feel like I was on the sidelines of medicine,” says Elsie. “I was helping people through the lens of research, education, public health and technology, and really wanted to pursue medicine directly to further my role in the health of individuals and society.”
Now in her third year at UBC’s Faculty of Medicine’s MD Undergraduate Program, Elsie has her sights set on becoming a family physician and is already part of the inaugural Fraser Medical Cohort—the region where she grew up.
“What appeals to me about primary care is being able to meet patients where they’re at,” says Elsie. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity to cultivate a stronger primary healthcare system through different avenues like technology, and I want to help fill in some of the gaps. I think family medicine is beautiful.”
Receiving the Doctors of BC Bursary in Medicine has given her the freedom to pursue areas that she’s passionate about—including researching fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) alongside a developmental pediatrics team, working as Wellness Director for the MD Undergraduate Program, and much more.
Rylen Williamson—Playing an integral part in the recovery process
Rylen Williamson has always been passionate about science and technology, but a career in medicine felt like a big challenge. He initially enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology, where his involvement in a research project on rural medicine in teaching hospitals across Alberta and his participation in concussion-based research sparked a strong interest in human physiology and anatomy.
After finishing his degree, Rylen worked as a research coordinator at the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre. During this time, he decided that medicine was the right path for him and applied to UBC’s Faculty of Medicine’s Southern Medical Program (SMP).
For Rylen, receiving the Doctors of BC Bursary in Medicine made his dream of attending medical school possible. “It’s nice to be recognized and to have an organization like Doctors of BC acknowledge where I’m at and what my hopes and dreams are for the future,” he says. “Receiving this bursary means a lot to me.”
As Rylen begins his third year of medical school, he is eager to explore different specialties. “I’m currently interested in pursuing orthopedic surgery because I enjoy the clarity and precision it offers. I find orthopedic surgery very rewarding because I get to be involved in a patient’s treatment and recovery from start to finish, and I will have a direct role in helping them restore their health and function.”
