FRCPC Program Descriptions: Info for Electives
Are you trying to decide where to do emergency medicine electives?
Would you like the inside scoop from EM residents about their respective programs?
Selecting sites for your pre-CaRMS emergency medicine electives can be daunting, as there are 13 potential FRCP programs in Canada. While the CaRMS website provides great formal descriptions of the programs, accounts from EM residents can offer an invaluable perspective into what daily resident life is like.
EM residents from across the country have compiled descriptions to highlight the educational and social aspects of each of the FRCP programs. These descriptions can help you decide which program you may want to check out for an elective.
Good luck and enjoy!
University of Ottawa True to its vision of “becoming Canada’s strongest teaching and most active academic Emergency Medicine department “, the Royal College Program at the University of Ottawa is the place of training for future leaders in our field. No other program in the country has grown with such enthusiasm and success over the past 5 years – what started as a training program with 1-2 graduates every other year, has now become a fully accredited Department accepting 5 CaRMs candidates each year.
It is not a destination for people looking to be merely taught; we seek high-energy individuals to compliment our multi-talented staff and residents. The program here at U of Ottawa is privileged to have leaders in many subspecialties of Emergency Medicine, including ultrasound, toxicology, pediatrics, sports medicine, and EMS…all of whom are eager to teach and share their experiences with residents. Lead by Dr. Ian Stiell, our academic research department is second to none in the country (if not the world), the spawning grounds of many of the decision rules we use everyday in the ER.
As part of our vision, high-quality and innovative education is critical in producing leaders of Emergency Medicine. Clinical exposure is extensive over the two tertiary hospital campuses and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Captained by the Director of Education Dr. Jason Frank, our Royal College training program is the most flexible, engaging, and dynamic of its kind in Canada. Academic half days are constantly shaped and reshaped by residents’ input, and clinical rotations are adjusted accordingly to the needs of the residents. Monthly Journal Club sessions are a balanced mix of critical appraisal of current literature and enjoyable social interaction (with free food of course!), and weekly Grand Rounds are usually high-caliber updates on relevant Emergency topics.
Outside of work, you’ll find an amazing group of friendly, supportive and easy-going residents who truly enjoy being in such a beautiful city. Ottawa provides opportunities for all manners of outdoor activities you can imagine. Our yearly residents’ retreat has developed into a fantastic getaway (past 2 years at the gorgeous Canada Club cottage) for solidifying bonds between the residents.
Please visit us at www.emottawa.ca for more information. Don’t hesitate to contact any of the Program Directors (Dr. Lorne Wiesenfeld & Dr. Steve Choi) or the residents; better yet set up an elective and see for yourself! We look forward to having you as part of this truly unique training program.
Queen’s University As the birthplace of the FRCP Emergency Medicine Residency in Canada, Queen’s is proud to continue to train some of the highest calibre emergency medicine residents in the country. My personal experience in residency so far at Queen’s has been nothing short of awesome. To start with, all EM residents begin with atleast 2 blocks of Emergency Medicine, so you are immediately working in your specialty and getting to know all of the great people here. There are tons of social activities involving both staff and residents throughout the year like barbecues, staff pool/cottage parties, pub-crawls, poker nights, baseball, golf, and other sporting events (including the Big Mac Challenge – 60 k bike race after eating 2 Big Macs!!). Also, clerks, residents, and staff have been frequently known to grab a drink after evening shifts or even breakfast after overnights.
Academically, we have Friday morning simulator resuscitation rounds all year (great way to get comfortable with the critically sick patients), and Thursday half-days with grand rounds and core teaching rounds. We have well attended journal club at staff homes once a month, and we have lots of staff with expertise in specialty areas like US, medical education, EMS, toxicology, critical care, and epidemiology. We are also very well supported financially (text-books, conferences, certifications, medical organisations, etc), and administratively (time-off, conflict resolution, flexibility etc.).
If you are a medical student planning an elective here, schedule as soon as possible as spots do fill up, but we will do everything we can to fit you in. While here feel free to track down any of our residents, or our great program director (Terry O’Brien) as he would be more than happy to chat about Emerg, or life in general!
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Andrew Hall
PGY-1 Emergency Medicine
Queen’s University
University of Toronto The Toronto Royal College Emergency Medicine program is an outstanding resident-driven program designed to train excellent emergency medicine consultants who are ready to manage busy emergency departments in academic or community centers. We are provided much autonomy as residents with respect to electives, academic projects, and our sub-specialty year. Past and current residents have pursued a wide range of sub-specialty areas, including prehospital care, medical education, research, critical care, pediatric emergency medicine, and aerospace medicine. The resident focus also applies to weekly protected academic full days, monthly journal clubs, mock Royal College exams three times a year, and strong support from our staff and program director. We have world-class facilities and resources in Toronto, including two major trauma centers, a multitude of tertiary care centers, patient simulators, disaster simulation exercises, the Ontario Poison Center at Sick Kids, and Ornge (Ontario Air Ambulance). Outside of work, we have a cohesive group of residents who certainly know how to enjoy life with frequent outings for meals and drinks, trips abroad, and a yearly resident retreat outside of the city. Clearly the strength of the Toronto program is its residents, who are generally laid back and fun loving individuals who also have great enthusiasm for emergency medicine. The senior residents are constantly a source of support and encouragement for the junior residents, and this resident cohesiveness is only expected to continue into the future. We hope you will become part of our program and encourage you to do an elective or contact one of our residents to find out more.
McMaster University Interested in learning more about the Royal College Program in Emergency Medicine at McMaster University? Look no further. Hopefully the following blurb will encourage you to come and visit us in Hamilton to see for yourself what McMaster Emergency Medicine can offer you!
Our residents receive most of their training in Hamilton’s three tertiary care hospitals, one of which is the regional trauma center. Here we experience the full spectrum of acuity and emergency medicine presentations. Ultimately, we graduate with the skills to manage the ER of a busy tertiary teaching hospital. The McMaster spiral curriculum setup allows for graduated responsibility where seniors are expected to help teach their junior colleagues. Academic half-day occurs once per week, where residents, emergency staff and visiting subspecialty experts present on curriculum topics. Residents also do case presentations where they research a clinical question related to an interesting case they have seen. Residents are also encouraged to explore subspecialty interests through their research projects and electives. In the past, residents have spent time in EMS/prehospital care, sports medicine, administration, emergency department ultrasound, toxicology, medical education and space medicine.
There are also many learning opportunities that occur in more informal settings. Monthly catered Journal Clubs at a staff person’s house help us keep up to date with emergency medicine literature. Many residents form study groups with others in their year. Finally, residents have numerous opportunities to attend conferences, including CAEP (of course!) and our own EBM in Emergency Medicine and BEEM.
Outside of academics, our program offers many social venues where residents can enjoy the company of staff and peers outside of a medical setting. Examples include our annual ER Golf Tournament, ER dodgeball team and “fluid rounds” at the local pub. We also like to take advantage of the many trail systems that surround Hamilton – groups of McMaster emergency residents can often be found outside jogging, mountain biking and road biking near the Escarpment. Hamilton is also home to Copps Coliseum, where you can take in many events and concerts. The Hamilton Tiger Cats and Bulldogs provide entertainment for sports fans. Finally, downtown Toronto is easily accessible, either by car or GO bus.
So if you think our program might be a good fit for you, please consider visiting for an elective. We really enjoy meeting medical students who are interested in emergency medicine. If you have any questions about the program or about setting up electives, please feel free to e-mail me: melissa.hayward@medportal.ca (Melissa Hayward, PGY-2)
Unique Aspects of the Program
· Resident & staff cohesiveness & collegiality
· Exceptional clinical teaching
· Simman teaching (included an additional trauma simman being implemented)
· Radiology teaching by staff radiologist with ER appointment
· ECG by teaching by staff electrophysiologist
· Social events
· ER sports cards (you'll have to come do an elective to find out)
· Elective experiences - NASA, flight & transport medicine, electrophysiology, trauma in South Africa, Toxicology in New York, Tropical Medicine in England, Wilderness medicine, Sports medicine (Fowler-Kennedy Clinic)
Academic Half-Days
Every Thurs
8 - 9am - Chief Rounds (informal teaching by the chiefs - bell ringers, cases, resuscitation, & sometimes guest speakers)
9 - 10am - Grand Rounds
10 - 12pm - Core Emerg Teaching
12 - 1pm - Lunch with the residents
Journal Clubs
· last Thursday of every month in lieu of grand rounds
· themed per month with articles & accompanying worksheets
Core Teaching
· topics are based on a well structured constantly updated curriculum
· prepared & taught by the consultants
· unique session include:simman teaching - residents work through cases in a fully equipped room with an interactive simman (incl. crics), specific advanced airway courses, emergency medicine law & bouncebacks
Research
· a rapidly growing part of the program producing many posters & publications every year
· new emergency medicine dedicated external research coordinator available to all residents & students
Social Events & Sports
· well attended by staff
· constant and often unpredictable - from Rock Band nights to pubs to cottages & seadoos to Chicago to Vegas ...
· Squash, tennis, volleyball, swimming, biking, running (or all of the above you are one of the ironman among us)
· Weekly lunch is well attended
University of Calgary The Royal College Emergency Medicine Residency at the University of Calgary is a fantastic learning experience that will prepare you to become an outstanding physician equipped to work anywhere in the world as an emergency medicine consultant. We are a well supported, generously funded, and resident driven program. As residents, we lead our weekly protected academic half-days, present at journal clubs held each month at the home of a staff member, and partake in numerous opportunities to teach medical students. We have great facilities available to us including three tertiary care hospitals, a dedicated pediatric hospital, human patient simulators, the Poison and Drug Information Service, and STARS, the provincial air transport system. Our residents have completed fellowships in toxicology, pediatric emergency medicine, research and medical education. A number of these individuals are still in Calgary and serve as great resources for the residents. Beyond work, we enjoy hanging out during our annual team building event in July (floating down the Bow River last year), our Resident Retreat in Kananaskis country or just enjoying a weekend of hiking in the beautiful Rocky Mpuntains that are within a 45 minute drive of Calgary. But, what truly makes Calgary a unique and superb program, however, is the residents themselves. As a junior resident, I feel supported and encouraged every step of the way in my endeavours to pursue emergency medicine, from medical school to residency. As I look forward, I continue to see how those that have come before me are striving to ensure that I receive the best residency experience possible. I look forward to being able to continue this tradition and hope that you will be able to join us soon for your residency training. Want to find out more about the program? Come for an elective or contact myself or one of the residents via calgaryER@gmail.com.
Upcoming Events
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June 2 - June 6, 2012Niagara Falls, ON