Faculty profile: Meet Karin Maiwald 

July 1, 2025 (updated)

Meet Dr. Karin Maiwald

Role: UBC Vancouver Faculty of Medicine Adjunct Professor

Dr. Karin Maiwald immigrated to Canada 38 years ago. She worked as a physiotherapist in Prince George. After moving to the Kootenays, Karin took many teaching/learning/mentoring courses, both in-person and online, and started teaching.  She joined the Faculty of Medicine in October 2015, and supports medical residents in designing, developing and sharing scholarly research as part of the postgraduate medical curriculum at the UBC Kootenay Boundary Training Site as needed. Doctor Maiwald has an impressive career grounded in health professional education and health services here in British Columbia and recently joined the TUFH 2026 Social Accountability Fellowship.

PLEASE DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO IN THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE

I joined the UBC Vancouver campus as an Adjunct Professor and I work with teachers, rural communities, policy makers, health administrators, health professionals and academics both at UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan. What we have learned globally is that the Association of Medical Schools do an amazing job of communication and ensuring participation across all medical schools but do not necessarily have the infrastructure to implement. What we have learned regionally is that UBC campuses do a great job of engagement and ensuring the integration of various voices in rural research but do not necessarily have the capacity (talent, infrastructure) to implement further into rural and remote beyond the two main campuses Vancouver and Kelowna. Based on exploratory work, we are taking the right steps together to build partnerships for a "careers in health" mentorship program in the Kootenays. A program like this would be a strong fit for a CUES grant in the region. This joint work also advances jointly designed initiatives for interprofessional health education (CoPs), socially accountable research, and patient-oriented research in Canada. This position reports to the Department Head, Dr. Robert Petrella at UBC Faculty of Medicine.

WHAT UPCOMING PROJECTS OR CURRENT INITIATIVES ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?  

Through engagement with the Department of Family Practice and the Dr. Gilles Arcand Centre for Health Equity, my efforts have focused on building new relationships and (re-)connecting with individuals, groups, and organizations. This has led to several small grants and new affiliations across the country. We expect that I will continue my work in developing linkages between UBC and other members of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) in a national community of practice supporting social accountability. 

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE TO WORK AT UBC VANCOUVER? 

The lack of access to health professional development and health services in rural and remote is very real and polarizing. The BC health workforce is under pressure and has been for years, and there are consequences when their voices are not being heard. These system pressures are increasingly felt at the community level, where youth and families face increasing complexity navigating rural health care, mental health services, education systems and career pathways in rural and remote areas. Existing health systems and education systems are fragmented, leaving critical gaps in access (health and education), patient and/or community engagement ("nothing about us, without us"), continuity of rural health care and education and, in turn, long-term outcomes (health, education, society). What we have learned locally is that an emergent integrated mentorship and navigation model, this regional initiative development cooperation, brings together not only people but also central elements driving measurable social impact for positive change.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE KOOTENAY BOUNDARY ACTIVITY OR SPOT AND WHY? 

I love nature, the great Canadian outdoors, hiking, running, biking, and paddleboarding on beautiful Kootenay Lake. You can find me cross-country and downhill skiing in the winter here in the Kootenays and my favourite xc-skiing trails are at Black Jack, in Rossland. Being outside is like medicine to me. If the weather is not great, you can find me on the couch reading books and more books!

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