Program Contacts

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Important Information

The most up-to-date information about our programs can be found on our centralized website at: https://www.ualberta.ca/family-medicine/postgraduate/prospective-residents/index.html

Multiple opportunities to meet with our programs residents, faculty and administrators will be available throughout the CaRMS season. Please see CANPREPP - Red Deer for dates and registration.

Interviews for the Rural & Remote (Camrose, Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Yellowknife) streams are combined, and separate from the Urban (Edmonton) stream. 

 

To complete an application to the University of Alberta's Rural Program stream:

1) You will need 3 referees to submit the Family Medicine Structured Reference Form.

2) You must complete the Personal Letter as detailed in the “Additional Documents” section. Please note that the guidelines for the letter differ slightly between our urban and rural streams. 

3) You have the option of completing the CaRMS Self-Identification Questionnaire (CSIQ). The CSIQ is not currently being used as part of the application or selection process. More information can be found in the “Additional Information” section. 

4) You must complete the FMProC (Family Medicine Professional Choices) test as noted in the “Examination” section.

FMProC

All Family Medicine Residency Programs across Canada use the FMProC (Family Medicine Professional Choices) in their selection process, which is a Family Medicine-context specific Situational Judgment Test.

All applicants to the University of Alberta Family Medicine Residency Program will be required to write the FMProC for their application to be deemed complete. More details and information about registration for FMProC can be found here:https://fmproc.com/.

Applicants should register early and take the test early during the testing periods posted.

CaRMS Round 1:

Registration: Opens 11th September 2024 Wednesday 12 noon ET, closes 7th November 2024 Thursday 10AM  ET.

Test Window: Opens 28th October Monday 8AM ET, closes 11th November Monday 10AM ET. 

CaRMS Round 2:

Registration: Opens 25th February 2025 Tuesday 12 noon ET, closes 10th March 2025 Monday 12 noon ET.

Test Window: Opens 27th February 2025 Thursday 10AM ET, closes; 12th March 2025 Wednesday 10AM ET.

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Return of Service

There are no return of service requirements at the University of Alberta.

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

Candidates who match to our program are required to submit proof of ACLS certification prior to their start date. Without ACLS certification, candidates who match to our program will not be able to begin training on July 1.

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Supporting Documentation / Information

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Review Process

Applications submitted after file review has opened on November 29, 2024

Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened  on  November 29, 2024

Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on November 29, 2024

For details of our file review process see Selection Criteria.

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Interviews

Dates:

• January 19, 2025
• January 20, 2025

Selection Criteria

1) CaRMS Files

Factors that will be taken into consideration from the application file in establishing the candidate's suitability in family medicine residency include:

• Academic performance
• Clinical performance
• Family Medicine experience 
• References
• Rural interest/experience

2) Interviews

• Communication skills
• People skills
• Desire to become a rural family physician
• Maturity
• Team player
• Work ethic
• Readiness for challenge
• Self-directed learning
• Suitability for small collegial program

Program goals

Our goal is to produce competent, caring, full service family physicians with a passion for serving and living in a rural or remote 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 rural/remote family medicine to apply to our program as we believe training with us will prepare you for practice anywhere in the country.

Selection process goals

The University of Alberta rural family medicine ideal candidate:

• Demonstrates a genuine passion for rural family medicine
• Demonstrates a solid knowledge base and excellent critical thinking skills.
• Demonstrates superior communication skills.
• Demonstrates a deep sense of responsibility to the community, including diverse populations and rural and remote settings. 
• Demonstrates adherence to the highest professional standards.

 

File review process

Evaluation criteria :

Elective criteria

Interview process

Interview evaluation criteria :

Information gathered outside of CaRMS application

Specifically, we may consider:
Social interaction during program related events
Communication with program administration
Social media
Unsolicited reference letters
Unsolicited email references
Unsolicited verbal information on a candidate's prior performance
Unsolicited feedback from colleagues and co-workers
Other : The University of Alberta Family Medicine Program believes that all medical students should endeavour to work to their best abilities and behave in a professional manner throughout their training. Solicited or unsolicited feedback received regarding a candidate, in particular relating to the medical expert, communicator or professional roles MAY be considered if it is felt to be relevant and/or egregious and can be reasonably verified.

Ranking process

The behavior(s) exhibited below during the interview process may prevent an applicant from being ranked by our program :
Unprofessional or inappropriate behavior   
Did not attend interview   
Interview performance was not competitive   

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Program Highlights

Red Deer

We are a rural family medicine training stream within the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta.  We strongly believe that future rural physicians should train in the setting in which they will practice. Residents in this preceptor-based program choose rotations in regional and rural sites across northern and central Alberta. 

Our small, decentralized program allows a focus on the individual's training requirements. Advances in IT provide close links with fellow residents. The full academic resources of the University of Alberta Family Medicine program are available to all residents. 

Resident Wellbeing and Support

Although extremely rewarding, we recognize that residency training is a very demanding and potentially stressful experience. In addition, we recognize that residents have lives outside of medicine which can also be the source of unexpected stressors.

The Red Deer site prides itself on the emphasis we place on resident wellbeing and the support we provide to our residents. As a small program, residents develop close, supportive relationships with their fellow residents, as well as with preceptors and administrative staff. 

When residents are faced with challenging situations, and find themselves in need of support, they have a great variety of resources to call upon. Often, they feel comfortable approaching a fellow resident, the Site Administrator (Jessica), or one of the Site Directors. If further assistance is required, the University of Alberta has a dedicated Assistant Program Director in charge of Resident Support. Residents who have required a special leave-of-absence have found the program to be extremely accommodating.

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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.

Rotations

First Year	Second Year
3 wks Addictions	6 wks Electives
2 wks Anesthesia	4 wks Emergency Medicine
1 wk Dermatology	8 wks Internal Medicine
4 wks Elective	6 wks Obstetrics
4 wks Emergency Medicine	2 wks Gynecology
2 wks Geriatrics	2 wks Palliative Care
8 wks General Surgery	8 wks Rural Family Medicine
4 wks Psychiatry	16 wks Rural Family Medicine
4 wks Orthopedics
4 wks Pediatrics
16 wks Rural Family Medicine

 

First Year

The first year of our program includes a mix of hospital based specialty rotations and an extended rural Family Medicine block.  Specialty rotations are often shared with other FM residents and sometimes with fellowship residents from Edmonton or Calgary.  Preceptor based learning ensures excellent access to clinical cases and individual teaching which is usually one-on-one.  Because clinical services are not dependent on the presence of house staff, on-call is often from home and learning experiences are focused on education more than service.

The 16 week rural Family Medicine rotation may be scheduled at any time within the first year.This prolonged exposure ensures a true experience of comprehensive care and continuity of care with a limited panel of patients for whom the resident can start to feel truly responsible.

There is an additional 4 weeks of elective time that residents can use to tailor their learning to their individual needs & interests.

Residents are assigned a Faculty Advisor at the beginning of their first year.  This will be one of the Site Co-Directors who will follow their progress and provide academic advice throughout the 2 years of training.  In addition, residents are paired with a family doctor in the area who has volunteered to act as a mentor to that resident throughout their training.

Second Year

There are further specialty rotations in second year but the main thrust of PGY2 is to develop the resident as a rural family physician, building on the knowledge skills and attitudes acquired in the first year. The key rotations are two additional rural Family Medicine blocks of 8 weeks and 16 weeks duration. These rotations provide further opportunities to experience comprehensive medicine and continuity of care in a rural setting.

Academics

The rural sites follow a structured, two-year academic curriculum, covering the full range of topics necessary for the practice of rural family medicine. Strong emphasis is placed on helping residents prepare to write their licensing examination, with regular practice sessions.

• Workshops and courses including; Evidence Based Medicine, Behavioural Medicine, CASTED, CPoCUS IP certification, Residents as Teacher, and Practice Management 
• Monthly Academic days (in person)
• Weekly hospital teaching rounds in relation to the 105 topics from CFPC
• Lots of interactive, hands on, simulation and case based learning

Academics sessions are also a great way for all rural residents to stay connected during residency.

Life Support Courses

Residents must be ACLS certified before starting their residency.  ALARM, ATLS, NRP and PALS courses are all reimbursed to the resident when successfully completed during residency.

Research 

In the first year, each resident does a workshop in Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and then throughout the year, utilizes these skills to complete four small EBM research projects to answer clinical questions they have encountered.  A Practice Quality Improvement (PQI) project is assigned in the second year and is completed during the rural family medicine block. 

Residents are expected to present their research projects to their colleagues. Residents also have the option to present their research at the annual Family Medicine Research day. Funding may be available to support the presentation of resident projects at Family Medicine conferences and meetings, and research assistance is accessible through the Department of Family Medicine and Alberta Primary Care Research Unit. 

 

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Training Sites

Red Deer

Residents have their home base in the regional city of Red Deer. This community of 100,000 lies within the Edmonton - Calgary corridor, 150 km from both cities. The 390-bed Red Deer Regional Hospital has a full complement of specialists providing care to the roughly 300,000 residents of the region. Family physicians continue to have a key role within the hospital and act as the attending physician for half of all admissions. The city has a thriving recreational base, together with a complete range of cultural and educational activities. Check out more things to do using this link: RD Tourism

Residents are responsible for their own housing in Red Deer.

Rural Sites

Training in rural sites occupies 16 weeks of the first year and 24 weeks of the second year. Rural sites are specifically chosen for the quality of learning opportunities available. These sites are generally medium-sized communities with active surgical and obstetrical programs in addition to a high-volume emergency department. Residents will train with experienced full-service rural family physician preceptors. The length of each rural placement allows residents the opportunity to follow a panel of their own patients, with progressively increasing independence and responsibility.

Residents enjoy considerable flexibility in their choice of the rural site and many of the rural sites can accommodate more than one resident at a time. Find out more about the rural training sites using this link: Community Site Profiles

Access to a vehicle is necessary during these rural rotations as public transport is minimal in rural Alberta.

Accommodations for rotations outside of the regional home base of Red Deer are arranged and funded by RhPAP. Accommodation at a rural site could be an apartment, condo or a house. Accommodations suitable for a couple or a family may be requested. Residents should not assume that their rural accommodations will accept pets.

The program also provides or reimburses travel expenses for rural rotations and mandatory academics. 

Outside of their training, residents often find that they become quite integrated into the local community, and are able to take advantage of the unique social and recreational opportunities available at each site.

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Additional Information

Travel Requirements

It is expected that residents in the Rural programs utilize their own transport when traveling to and from teaching sites, within Red Deer, and for rotations outside of Red Deer. A current driver's license and access to a vehicle are mandatory in the U of A Rural Residency Program due to the distances between teaching sites.

Rural residents will also be required to attend several mandatory academic workshops during residency. These workshops are held in numerous locations in Alberta and the Northwest Territories and can be up to a week in length. Travel and accommodations costs are provided or reimbursed by the program for the resident only.

CaRMS Self-Identification Questionnaire (CSIQ)

The University of Alberta recognizes the importance of diversity, equity, inclusivity, decolonization, and indigenization (EDIDI) and is committed to the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry’s policy on anti-racism.

Further, the University is committed to implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action that are relevant to education and medicine.The pursuit of diversity and equitable opportunities is a core value that guides our selection practices.

The University encourages applications from underrepresented groups, including Indigenous persons, persons with a disability, racialized persons, women, persons of a minority gender identity or sexual orientation, and individuals who would contribute to the diversity of the medical community. The CaRMS Self-Identification Questionnaire (CSIQ) is an optional form that candidates can fill out.

Our program recognizes the importance of EDIDI and anti-racism in residency selection. We invite applicants to optionally complete and include the CSIQ to assist our understanding of the diversity of applicant pools, but the CSIQ is not currently utilized as part of our application or selection process. We are using other methods to ensure mitigation of bias and equitable opportunities for all applicants.