Arrange Payroll & Benefits

Overview

In this chapter, we work on making sure you get paid. The associated section on the UBC Registration Guide (Payroll, Benefits & Reimbursements) acts as a reference for residents at all stages of their residency. Therefore, it can get a little bit overwhelming for new residents to sift through.

Fortunately, we are here for you! Below, you will find that we have reframed it into tasks to complete for new incoming residents.

1. Learn about who pays you

2. Complete PHSA employee forms

3. Create a Resident Doctors of BC (RDBC) account

4. Learn about who’s giving you health coverage

5. Enroll for MSP

6. Create a Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) account

A good time to work through this section is from late April to early May.

Learn about who pays you

Here’s a quick summary of the three parties involved in paying us, what each pays for, and where the money is deposited.

Item	Who pays	Where the money goes
Payroll Regular salary	Our employer is technically the Health Authorities of British Columbia Our payroll is administered by Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) Paychecks show up as “Payroll Deposit VCHA” on our bank statements	Paychecks are directly deposited every 2 weeks It will go to the bank account that you will provide to PHSA (see below)
Stat Pay Extra money for working shifts on Stat holidays	Same as Payroll	Gets incorporated into our regular paycheck
Call Stipend Extra money for working shifts when you're on-call	Processed by Resident Doctors of BC (RDBC) Paid by PHSA	Gets incorporated into our regular paycheck
Reimbursements Ex. Mandatory courses, rural rotations, educational fund, conference registration)	UBC Shows up as "UBC PGME" or "UBC CAD GENERAL"	Directly deposited to the bank account that you provided on UBC Workday

Resident Insight: Don't get overwhelmed

Further details about how to view your paystubs online and how to submit stat days, call stipends and reimbursements can be tackled at a later time. It is not important to learn how to do all of that right now and it can be very overwhelming.

However, if you’re feeling keen, here are the relevant pages:

• Resident Insider Pages
  • How do I access my paystubs online?
  • How do I submit Stat days?
  • How do I submit for extra pay for call shifts?
  • Do I get reimbursed for some of my expenses?
  • When do I get paid?
• UBC PGME Registration Guide pages
  • Pay Information & Benefits
  • Payments & Reimbursement

Complete PHSA employee forms

Completing the PHSA Employee Forms have 2 steps: submitting your SIN number, and completing the new hire packages. Both steps require waiting around for PHSA to contact you before you can proceed.

Insider Tip

You will eventually be able to access pay stubs online but this requires a VCH login, hospital computer access, and employee number. For this reason, we recommend you do this after residency starts. For now, you will receive your first pay stub in the mail.

Create an RDBC account

You will need a Resident Doctors of BC (RDBC) Account for a few important reasons. You will need it to register for RDBC events (including RDBC Orientation Day), submit call stipends (ie. get extra pay for doing call shifts), and view RDBC members-only content on their website including the Collective Agreement (ie. view your rights as a BC resident).

Steps:

1. Wait for an email invitation from RDBC (info@residentdoctorsbc.ca) sometime in May

2. Simply follow the instructions in the email. You don’t technically need to use your UBC email for your account but it’s advisable that you do.

Learn about who's giving you health coverage

• Medical Services Plan (MSP):

  CMGs will already be well aware of MSP so you can go ahead and skip this. For those IMGs that are unaware: you are entitled to basic health coverage through the Medical Services Plan (MSP), at no cost. Each BC resident must have their own MSP account, identified by their Personal Health Number (PHN).

• Pacific Blue Cross:

  As a UBC Medical Resident, you are entitled to extended health coverage through Pacific Blue Cross, a third-party insurance company. You can also register your dependents (spouse, common-law partner, and children) under your extended health coverage. You can do this when submitting the PHSA employee forms, which will be discussed in the next section.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of what is covered under MSP vs Extended Benefits. Note that there is a waiting period for when these benefits come into effect.

Health Insurance	Coverage	Waiting Period
MSP	Essential medically required services (ex. GP visits, ER visits)	3 months from MSP effective date
Extended Benefits	Dental Vision Drugs Allied Health: Acupuncture, Chiropractor, Counseling, Massage Therapy, Naturopath, Physiotherapy, etc Medical Equipment: Orthotics, prescription glasses, maternity supplies Out of Country health insurance	1 month from official start date

Enroll for MSP

If you already have an MSP number, then you can disregard this section.

Insider Tip

It is in your best interest to apply for MSP as soon as you arrive in BC. Do not delay in signing up as there is a 3 month waiting period from when your MSP coverage is approved and when it comes into effect.

Create a Pacific Blue Cross Account

Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) provides our extended health coverage. You will need a PBC account to submit and view your claims online, and to see what benefits you have in detail, including how much you’ve used.

Steps:

1. Complete the Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) application as part of the New Hire Package sent to you by PHSA

2. Wait to receive your policy number and identification number in the mail

3. Visit Pacific Blue Cross Member Login and follow the provided instructions.

Insider Tip

Unfortunately, processing times vary. If you have not received your Pacific Blue Cross information by September, contact the PHSA representative to whom you submitted your new employment package.

Insider Tip

Please note that PBC benefits do not come into effect until 1 month after your official start date.

Learn about who pays you Complete PHSA employee forms Create an RDBC account Learn about who's giving you health coverage Enroll for MSP Create a Pacific Blue Cross account