University of Alberta - Family Medicine - Edmonton
2022 R-1 Main Residency Match - first iteration
CMG Stream for CMG
Last approved on December 13, 2021
Summary of changesAccreditation status : Accredited
Provincial Criteria
5-16 University Terrace
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Dept of Family Medicine
CanPrepp
Department of Family Medicine Facebook
Program Contacts
Important Information
1) For CARMS 2022 (this cycle) Family Medicine Programs have adopted the Canadian Family Medicine Structured Reference Form (SRF). Any FM program requesting a reference will require the form. Traditional narrative letters will NOT be accepted. Should your referee submit a traditional letter it will not be reviewed and your application may be deemed incomplete. Please direct your referees to the SRF on the CaRMS website.
2) The UofA Family Medicine Program is very excited to be one of 6 participating Family Medicine Residency Programs to use the FM-ProC (Family Medicine Professional Choices), which is a Family Medicine context-specific Situational Judgement Test. You will be required to write this Situational Judgement Test for your application to be deemed complete.
More details and information about FMProC can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vhPEe1iXqPY7SC1HlvzBGH-FA0EgWBEKag9-Pq9UQPM/edit?usp=sharing
Registration opens on December 13. 2021. To register for FMProC please visit https://fmproc.com
3) UofA Family Medicine does not require a traditional personal letter. Instead, please look at ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS and click on the Program Questionnaire and answer the specific questions.
Return of Service
There are no return of service requirements at the University of Alberta.
General Instructions
Program application language: English
Don't forget:
You will need three referees each using the STRUCTURED REFERENCE FORM.
You will need to register and complete FM-ProC during the test-window in January. Registration
information will be provided no later than December 8th, 2021. Program Descriptions will be updated in
CaRMS once this is available. You WILL be able to upload your results after the document deadline. For
more information about FMProC, click here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vhPEe1iXqPY7SC1HlvzBGH-FA0EgWBEKag9-Pq9UQPM/edit?usp=sharing
Please complete the Edmonton CMG stream Program Questionnaire instead of a personal letter.
Supporting Documentation / Information
• Canadian Birth Certificate or Act of Birth
• Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
• Confirmation of Permanent Residence in Canada
• Passport page showing Canadian Citizenship
• Canadian Permanent Resident Card (both sides of card)
• Record of Landing, clearly showing the date of landing in Canada
Canadian Permanent Resident card must be accompanied by Record of Landing, clearly showing the date of landing in Canada.
• IELTS
IMG and graduates of Canadian medical schools where instruction is not English (as identified by CPSA) must meet English language requirements required by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta for licensure. English Language Proficiency .
Effective January 1, 2018, IELTS will be the only English language proficiency test accepted by CPSA.
Please note that traditional narrative reference letters will NOT be accepted. Please ask referees to submit a FAMILY MEDICINE STRUCTURED REFERENCE FORM, available on the CaRMS website.
Forms completed by physicians with whom the candidate has worked in a CLINICAL setting are preferred. All three forms do not need to be completed by family physicians, however, at least one letter from a family physician is preferred.
Available from your Registrar.
MCCQE Part I - Statement of ResultsPlease note: MCCQE Part 1 results will be required if admitted to the program. If you do NOT have LMCC Part 1 you must notify the Program Director by July 1, 2019.
Medical Student Performance RecordAvailable from your Dean's Office.
Custom Résumé / CV Program questionnaire"OTHER" Instead of a traditional personal letter please answer the following TWO questions. Your answers will be used to evaluate your interest and suitability for Family Medicine as well as any connection to our community and any areas of concern.
1) Please highlight three things about yourself that you would like to ensure we do not miss in our review. Items may include special skills or accomplishments, your connection to Edmonton or anything else you feel will strengthen your application to UofA Family Medicine. Maximum 50 words per item (i.e. 150 words total). Please do not exceed the maximum word count.
2) Sometimes applicants are worried about certain items in their application. Please use this space to explain any concerns you may have. For example, academic performance, professionalism concerns, fam med experience or other. Maximum 100 words. If you have no concerns then simply write n/a.
Family Medicine Professional Choices AssessmentWhen you receive your FMProC result letter, even though this will be after the CaRMS Document upload deadline, please remember to upload this document into your CaRMS account to ensure your application package is complete.
Review Process
Applications submitted after file review has opened on January 31, 2022
Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened on January 31, 2022
Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on January 31, 2022
For details of our file review process, see "selection criteria".
Interviews
Dates:
- March 5, 2022
- March 11, 2022
- March 12, 2022
- March 16, 2022
Dress code is business casual, even via virtual interview.
As well, there will be NO ON-SITE visits, orientations, socials etc. Throughout the year as well as during the interview period we will offer virtual opportunities to "meet" us and get to know the program. Collegiality, community and a sense of belonging is very important to us and to your success and so we invite and encourage candidates to join in as many of these sessions as they wish.
Applicants will be contacted by the program directly if they have been selected for an interview.
For further details of our interview process, see "Selection Critieria".
Selection Criteria
Program goals
Our GOAL is to produce competent, caring, full service family physicians with a passion for serving their community.
The University of Alberta Family Medicine Program believes that the best learning comes from exposure to as many clinical experiences as possible including diverse settings and challenging levels of responsibility. We encourage all medical students interested in family medicine to apply to our program as we believe training with us will prepare you for practice anywhere in the country.
Vision
Alberta has a well-integrated, primary-care-based health care system in which all have access to a family physician who provides timely, proactive, individualized, comprehensive and continuity care through an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals led by that family physician. That team practices evidence-based, patient-centred care, and uses its own data, dialog with its stakeholders, and published research to continuously improve its service, quality, and safety.
Mission
The Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta exists to teach the discipline of family medicine for the future of practice and the needs of society, and to produce scholarly work that improves the practices of family medicine and primary health care.
Selection process goals
The University of Alberta ideal candidate:
1. Demonstrates a genuine passion for family medicine.
2. Demonstrates a solid knowledge base and excellent critical thinking skills.
3. Demonstrates superior communication skills.
4. Demonstrates a deep sense of responsibility to the community, including diverse populations and multiple settings.
5. Demonstrates adherence to the highest professional standards.
6. Takes responsibility for their own well-being in order to ensure they are able to fulfill their responsibilities given the physical and emotional demands of a rigorous residency training program.
File review process
Review team composition : Each file is reviewed independently by one faculty member and one resident using a computer-based, evidence-informed scoring rubric. Discrepancies or concerns are reviewed by a third party and taken to the selection committee as appropriate.
Average number of applications received by our program in the last five years : 401 - 600
Average percentage of applicants offered interviews : 76 - 100 %
The department endeavours to offer interviews to all eligible candidates, but uses the file ranking to determine cut-off level if demand for interviews exceeds resources.
| File component | Criteria |
|---|---|
| CV | required: content evaluated as a supplement to the application |
| Electives | Due to COVID restrictions, a lack of family medicine electives will not disadvantage a candidate this year. |
| Examinations | FMProC: professional integrity, adaptability, team-working skills, empathy/compassion |
| Extra-curricular | work and volunteer experience; special skills and interests; community engagement |
| Leadership skills | community service and engagement; family medicine oriented organizations and associations |
| MSPRs | required: academic proficiency, professionalism |
| Personal letters | NOT REQUIRED- see OTHER below |
| Reference documents | required: THREE STRUCTURED REFERENCE FORMS. Traditional narrative letters of reference will not be reviewed. |
| Research/Publications | prefer: relevance to primary care |
| Transcripts | required: academic proficiency |
| Other file component(s) |
"OTHER" Instead of a traditional personal letter please answer the following TWO questions. Your answers will be used to evaluate your interest and suitability for Family Medicine as well as any connection to our community and any areas of concern. 1) Please highlight three things about yourself that you would like to ensure we do not miss in our review. Items may include special skills or accomplishments, your connection to Edmonton or anything else you feel will strengthen your application to UofA Family Medicine. Maximum 50 words per item (i.e. 150 words total). Please do not exceed the maximum word count. 2) Sometimes applicants are worried about certain items in their application. Please use this space to explain any concerns you may have. For example, academic performance, professionalism concerns, fam med experience or other. Maximum 100 words. If you have no concerns then simply write n/a. |
Elective criteria
Interview process
Interview format :
We may accommodate requests to re-schedule interviews for applicants due to weather, technology failure, or unforeseen circumstances.
| Interview components | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Collaboration skills | not specifically evaluated at interview |
| Collegiality | behaviour, attitude and ability to interact well with others |
| Communication skills | strong verbal and non-verbal skills |
| Health advocacy | not specifically evaluated in interview |
| Interest in the discipline | understanding of family medicine |
| Interest in the program | connection to and/or interest in our community |
| Leadership skills | involvement in teaching, mentoring, organizations etc. |
| Professionalism | interactions with faculty, staff and residents |
| Scholarly activities | not specifically evaluated in interview |
| Other interview component(s) | Clinical reasoning skills- problem solving |
Information gathered outside of CaRMS application
Specifically, we may consider:Ranking process
The behavior(s) exhibited below during the interview process may prevent an applicant from being ranked by our program :Program Highlights
| Strengths of the Program | |||
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Academic highlights:
Clinical resources:
Social activities and other perks:
Resources:
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Program Curriculum
This residency program is for 2 years.
Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.
| First-Year Curriculum | |||
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Family Medicine - 24 weeks minimum -integrating maternity and newborn care, Enhanced Reproductive and Sexual Health Experience, Behavioural Medicine workshops and opportunities for horizontal electives Adult In-patient Medicine - 8 weeks. Depending on the site and capacity, experience will be divided between Internal Medicine and Family Medicine In-patient units. CCU - 4 weeks Pediatrics - 8 weeks total - 4 weeks Peds ER, 2 weeks community hospital based and 2 weeks CTU at the Stollery Children's Hospital. Emergency - 4 weeks Vacation - 4 weeks Integrated Options - Care of the Elderly, Palliative Care, Psychiatry, PCHT. Internal applications for integration are reviewed once accepted to the program. Continuity clinics - bi-weekly full day clinics at your home site for teaching and clinic continuity |
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| Second-Year Curriculum | |||
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Family Medicine - up to 20 weeks of family medicine block time may be spent with either urban or rural based community family physician(s). A minimum of 8 weeks of rural family medicine is required, but all 20 weeks can be done in rural location(s). Geriatrics - 4 weeks (unless integrated in year 1) Emergency - 4 weeks General Surgery - 4 weeks MSK/Ortho Selective - 4 weeks (currently under review to meet learner needs) Palliative Care - 2 weeks (unless integrated in year 1) Psychiatry - 4 weeks (unless integrated in year 1) Electives/Selectives - minimum of 10 weeks Vacation - 4 weeks Continuity clinics - bi-weekly full day clinics at your home site for teaching and clinic continuity Selectives can include: Family Medicine, Obstetrics, Primary Care Obstetrics, Intensive Care (ICU), Family Medicine Hospital or In-patient Team, Palliative Care, Inner City Medicine, Anesthesia, Long Term Care and others as approved individually. Electives are chosen individually by each resident with the guidance of the resident's faculty advisor. Electives can include but are not limited to: Dermatology, Sports Medicine, Rheumatology, ER, Child Psychiatry, Cardiology, Diabetic Care, Ophthalmology, Plastics, Urology, etc. They may include interprovincial and international experiences if approved. |
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| Academic Curriculum | |||
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Foundations Course Two day Foundations workshop including introduction to family medicine residency, CBT, and procedural skills. Academic Days (AD) The Academic curriculum consists of 24 rotating monthly topics on a two-year schedule. Monthly academic days include small group case-based learning, journal review, ethics cases, practice exam (SAMP) questions, literature updates, and didactic lectures by family doctors and other specialists and professionals. We use online tools, including recorded video lectures to enhance learning. Exam Preparation At each monthly Academic Day, all residents practice exam questions (SAMPs) prepared by the Program. In first year, residents are introduced to Simulated Office Oral exams (SOOs). In second year, practice exam workshops are held. Evidence-Based Medicine Curriculum components include a mandatory 2 day EBM workshop to establish basic EBM knowledge; Brief Evidence-based Assessment of the Research projects (BEARs) enhancing integration of evidence based medicine in to daily practice; and a Journal Club to support peer learning and growth of rapid appraisal skills. Procedural Skills workshops Procedural skills workshops are provided at Foundations and at the Annual Resident Education Retreat. Simulated skills include, but are not limited to, IUD insertion, endometrial biopsy, central lines, LPs, obstetrical perineal repair, joint injections, biopsy and excisions and more. Home Site Noon seminars Structured seminar programs at each of the Family Medicine Centres occur weekly, usually over the noon hour. These cover a wide array of topics including various clinical subjects, economic and practice management issues, medical legal issues, community resources, computer and data management issues, etc. Practice Quality Improvement projects and BEARs are also presented by the residents during these seminars. Behavioural Medicine Workshop Topics include patient communication, ethics, physician wellness. These skills are applied throughout residency. We make use of online tools, small group learning, simulation and reflective practice to impart this essential part of Family Medicine. Resident As Teacher (RAT) The Resident as Teacher Program is a joint initiative with the University of Alberta MD program where family medicine residents teach small group sessions of communication and/or physical examination sessions to Year 1 - 4 medical students. The Family Medicine program believes that residents not only learn by teaching, but that teaching is a vital skill that allows graduates to mentor and ‘pay forward’ their knowledge, clinical skills and attitudes to their future learners. Practice Management Each year there is a mandatory 2 day Practice Management workshop organized by the program for PGY2s. In addition there are added seminars throughout the year, usually clinic-based. New initiatives may include Ultrasound course and CASTED. Other Postgraduate Courses: ACLS is required before a resident starts the program on July 1st. ACLS, ATLS, ALARM, PALS and NRP courses are mandatory and reimbursed by Alberta Health Services upon successful completion. We recommend that PALS be completed prior to start of residency. |
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| Research Opportunities | |||
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All residents are required to complete Practice Quality Improvement projects to develop skills required to implement the process of quality assessment and improvement in the practice setting. Residents interested in developing research skills have the additional optional opportunity to do a research project. The research project is supervised by a faculty member. Residents have the opportunity to do a research elective in either the first or second year of the residency program. During year 1, the research elective is offered as a 2-week horizontal elective, while in year 2 it can be 2-6 weeks. The research elective can be adapted to the needs of the resident. The Family Medicine Research Day occurs each year in June. Faculty members and residents have the opportunity to present their scholarly work (oral presentation and posters). Attendance at Research Day is mandatory for residents. A monthly Resident Research Evening is organized by the Research Director to assist those residents interested in pursuing research/scholarly activities in greater scope. The focus of the sessions is on the resident's individual scholarly interests and needs. Various faculty members also attend. The Research Committee of the Department is comprised of faculty and resident representation (one first year and one second year resident representative). The committee meets monthly during September to June and acts as a resource to family medicine residents on matters related to research and scholarly activity. |
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| Special Events and Conferences | |||
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The program funded Faculty and Resident Education Extravaganza Education Retreat (FREzER) is held every March in Jasper, Alberta. In September, residents sign-up for the Wilderness Retreat, which has been very popular every year and focuses on wilderness or remote medicine managing with limited resources in austere environments. In addition, residents are allotted some money each year for conference registration fees. In June, we celebrate the completion of residency with a Graduation dinner. |
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Training Sites
Teaching Resources
Teaching sites:
In Edmonton: Grey Nuns Family Medicine Centre, MacEwan University Health Centre, Misericordia Family Medicine Centre, Northeast Family Medicine Centre, Family Medicine Clinic - Kaye Edmonton Clinic and Westview* Physician Collaborative Community Teaching Sites in Spruce Grove. Community teaching sites (including those in St. Albert*, Leduc*, south Edmonton and Meadowlark areas) affiliate with core sites for administration and academic activitiy.
*Westview, Leduc and St. Albert sites are considered suburban or rural-like in their settings, utilize their local community hospitals, and each is located within a 15 minute commute from the city boundaries.
Maternity Stream: Based at Heritage Medical clinic (all residents get Primary Care Obstetrics exposure).
Inner City Stream: Based at Boyle McCauley Health Centre
All residents enter an internal match after CaRMS for their choice of site. Requests are considered based on interest and plans for future practice and accommodated as much as possible.
Other resources:
Outpatient departments, family physicians' offices in Edmonton and rural locations, specialists' offices, and other community hospitals outside major metropolitan areas.
Additional Information
Driver's License: A current driver's license and access to a vehicle are mandatory due to the distance between teaching sites.
Summary of changes
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