Dermatology Residency Program
Welcome to the Dermatology Residency Program at the University of Alberta.
JULY 1987
The division of dermatology was founded by its first divisional director, Dr. Kowichi Jimbow
FOCUS
Focus on skin oncology remains the main clinical and research in the division since its conception
DR. T. G. SALOPEK
Who trained with Dr. Jimbow, established the multidisciplinary melanoma group at the the Kaye Edmonton Clinic, one of the most active melanoma centres
Interview/CaRMS Specific Information
Interviews will be held Wednesday, March 16, 2022, and will be virtual format via Zoom. It will be in MMI and panel form.
Program will notify all applicants through CaRMS Online and will send email invitations directly to applicants selected for an interview.
Details regarding the interview process:
Invitations for interviews will be posted by email, and only applicants selected for interview will be contacted. Please ensure that the program has your current email address.
The applicant/interviewer interaction will be that of MMI (Multiple Mini-Interview) formats as well as the panel format. In this MMI, applicants will complete a circuit of mini-interview stations, rotating from station to station, and then will have a panel interview.
The MMI is similar to an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) used by medical schools, except that it is not “clinical”. At each station, applicants will be presented with a “scenario” or question. They will then respond to a series of questions pertaining to this topic before proceeding to the next stations. The MMI does not require any specific knowledge of any topic (eg. dermatology-related expertise).
The MMI format is designed to determine non-cognitive characteristics of applicants we believe will make for good residents, and ultimately full-fledged specialists in dermatology. The stations will assess characteristics such as reliability, responsibility, collegiality, self-directedness, compassion, willingness to work hard, teamwork, altruism, and more attributes that we have established are important.
All applicants must complete a CASPer (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal
Characteristics) test. CASPer is an online test that assesses for non-cognitive skills and interpersonal characteristics.
To see an example of the test structure and schedule a test, please visit http://www.takeCASPer.com.
Please direct any inquiries on the test to support@takecasper.com.
Note: CASPer scores are only valid for the match cycle in which the exam was taken. If applicants have taken the test in a past match cycle, they must write a new exam for the current match. Applicants who take the test in the
Contact Us
Dr. Eunice Chow
Program Director, Dermatology
Reanne Lobay
Program Coordinator
Email: mednderm@ualberta.ca
Dr. Amy Du
Medical Student Liaison
Email: xdu@ualberta.ca
Dr. Eunice Chow
Program Director
Reanne Lobay
Program Coordinator
Welcome to Our Program
Welcome to the University of Alberta Dermatology Program!
Dermatology is the exciting and evolving branch of medicine dealing with the care of skin, hair, nails and their diseases. Our program has a longstanding history that goes back to 1988 when the program accepted its first dermatology residents. The program is run by a dedicated group of clinician-teachers and researchers. The main academic teaching centre is located at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic, a multidisciplinary ambulatory clinic that is home to nearly 100 specialized outpatient clinics attached to the University of Alberta hospital. In our dedicated clinic space of over 12 rooms and 3 procedural rooms, the dermatology team at the KEC provides consultative and ongoing clinical care for patients covering the entire spectrum of skin diseases: inflammatory, malignant, and genetic. In addition to general dermatology clinics, we have specialty clinics such as the Vulvar Dermatology clinic, Contact Dermatitis/Patch Testing clinic, Hair Diseases Clinic and Pigmented Lesions clinic. We also work collaboratively with multiple other specialties in order to provide the following multidisciplinary clinics: Multidisciplinary Melanoma Clinic, Hematology-Dermatology and Cutaneous lymphoma clinic, Dermatology and Rheumatology clinic, Occupational Hand and Eczema clinic, and Psychiatry-Dermatology Skin Health clinic. Our community-based colleagues also have a large role in teaching our dermatology residents, giving our residents a well-rounded education and clinical experience. Our dermatology residents are a tight-knit group who work collaboratively with the academic and community dermatology staff to provide excellent patient care to Edmontonians and also to patients across northern Alberta, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. We value honesty, collegiality and professionalism. A growth mindset is essential to a successful learning journey. If you believe you have these attributes and is ready for a challenging yet rewarding residency and career, we can’t wait for you to join our team!
Dr. Eunice Chow
Program Director
Our Program
Our mission is to promote and provide world class excellence in dermatology teaching, medical discovery through research, leadership, and clinical service as well as to provide a comprehensive, safe and supportive training program that allows our Dermatology Subspecialty Residents to not only achieve and excel at the competencies laid out by the Royal College, but also provide them the support to achieve their personalized career and life goals.
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases. A dermatologist takes care of conditions (in disease and in health) of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails.
It is a five-year program, where the first two years our residents spend in core and subspecialty rotations in internal medicine or pediatrics, followed by three years of core dermatology training.
2019-2020 SSRs (Subspecialty Residents)
Program Highlights
Residency at a Glance
Residents admitted to our program through the CaRMS match are selected by the Residency Program Committee (RPC). The functioning of the training program is administered by the RPC which is chaired by the Program Director; the RPC is comprised of dermatologists from academic and private practice, and two resident representatives (one junior & one senior) elected by peers. The RPC meets a minimum of FOUR times yearly. Residents admitted to our program through the CaRMS match are required to complete FIVE years of residency training, THREE of which are dedicated entirely to dermatology.
Our residents have ample opportunities for educational experiences during their training. Every week there is an academic half-day when they do not see patients, but spend time on lectures, patient rounds, etc. Lectures are delivered not only by divisional members but very often there are invited lectures from other divisions and other universities as well.
Years One and Two, although basic clinical years, are geared towards dermatology.
The hospitals involved in this training are: University of Alberta Hospitals, Grey Nuns Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Stollery Children's Hospital, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Misericordia Community Hospital and the Cross Cancer Institute.
Mandatory rotations for dermatology residents, as stipulated by the Dermatology Specialty Committee (RCPSC), are infectious diseases and rheumatology; as well as completion of either ONE year of internal medicine OR ONE year of pediatrics during the PGY1 and PGY2 years.
During PGY3 to PGY5 years, residents attend both general dermatology clinics in a longitudinal time frame, and rotations dedicated to a specific field or subspecialty of dermatology. Additionally from the part way through PGY4 to a portion of PGY5, the residents also take on the added responsibility of senior dermatology resident clinics, which constitute a key element for transition to practice. We also have an inpatient/consultation/ on call rotation in which the resident primarily sees inpatient consults, urgent cases, and on-call related cases in the ER, hospital(s), and in the clinic.
General dermatology clinics provide exposure to adult dermatology, pediatric dermatology, cutaneous oncology, contact dermatitis, skin diseases caused by infectious agents, and others. In addition, various procedures are carried out in these clinics, including punch biopsies; shave biopsies, cryotherapy, skin scraping, wood’s lamp examination, electrosurgery and others. Specialty clinics include rotations in lupus and other connective diseases, melanoma, wound healing, lymphoma, vulvar disease, contact dermatitis, occupational dermatitis, pediatric dermatology, and cutaneous surgery.
Teaching Hospitals
We are a fully accredited program that follows the guidelines set out by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Clinical rotations are conducted at the following sites:
University of Alberta Hospital (UDC - Kaye Edmonton Clinic)
Misericordia Community Hospital
Each site has a hospital library for access to reference materials. In addition, the Walter F. Scott Health Sciences Library, located at the University of Alberta Hospital Site serves the region.
Education by Research
Research is an integrated part of the residency program, and the residents can choose to take a research block to initiate or finish a research project. Since all academic staff have a significant research component, the residents are usually supervised by one of them. Even simple research projects: case reports, description of case series, or similar, teach our trainees useful skills, such as literature search, formulating research hypotheses, writing skills, critical appraisal of the literature, or basic statistics. Participation in review papers allows them to gain a deep knowledge of selected diseases or pathogenetic processes. Most of the scientific papers from our division have been authored or co-authored by a dermatology resident.
All residents are highly encouraged to present at national and international academic conferences.
Residency Leadership
The Dermatology RPC (Residency Program Committee) is chaired by a Program Director, Dr. Eunice Chow. The RPC includes academic and community faculty. The RPC holds six to twelve meetings annually, depending on the needs of the program. The Chief Resident and the resident representing junior residents are invited to the RPC meetings.
We have recognized a number of strengths and weaknesses of the program. Because of its smaller size, the residents generally are given more individual attention by the academic faculty, and the residents have more opportunities to work with the various staff members. Attendance in specialty clinics allows for more in-depth knowledge development in areas where the expertise is not readily available, such as melanoma, cutaneous lymphoma, autoimmune diseases, psychodermatology, hair diseases, etc. The program also has a large component of community-based rotations where the residents are exposed to higher volumes of patients, general dermatology, cosmetic dermatology and lasers, and special surgical techniques such as Mohs surgery.
Teaching Rounds
Dermatology Journal Club
Subspecialties
There are multiple subspecialties of dermatology you will be exposed to throughout the residency program.
During general dermatology clinics, patients often require biopsies. These are most commonly punch biopsies, but shave biopsy and elliptical excision are also performed. These are generally performed by the resident under the supervision of the attending dermatologist.
Dr. Salopek offers two dermatologic surgery clinics per week, on Tuesday. In these clinics, excisions of benign and malignant lesions are done. Procedures include punch biopsies, punch excisions, shave excisions, curettage, electrosurgery, wide excisions, flap closures, nail surgeries from simple avulsion to ablation of the nail unit, and cryosurgery.
Residents also participate in the surgical clinics of Dr Lortie, M. Taher and Keeling, all certified Mohs surgeons.
Resident Testimonials
We asked our residents what they like about Edmonton, their highlights of the program, and one piece of advice for applicants about the interview process. Here is what a few of them had to say.
What do you like about Edmonton: Great sports town. Offers a lot of outdoor activities all year round. The restaurant scene is great. There are a lot of affordable housing options. A huge variety of geography is available with only a short drive out of town.
What are the highlights of the program for you:
The great teaching from the staff at the University. Opportunities to learn from community staff. The support from residents of all years.
– Dr. Brent Chambers (R2)
What do you like about Edmonton:
Near the ski hills, i.e. Banff, Canmore, & Jasper! Also my family is in BC so this is much closer for me since I went to Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS for Medical School.
What are the highlights of the program for you:
Resident unity - there is resident cohesion, we are a really strong working group here in Edmonton. Our seniors advocate our voices on our behalf to the program. There is a lot of support between residents during calls, studying, presentations. Our newly revamped Academic days are an absolute unique and fresh way of getting to learn as much as possible from our 2-volume 10kg (Bolognia) bible! We have state of the Art facilities at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic. Our pediatric dermatology director (Dr. Loretta Fiorillo) is second to none in terms of learning from her especially on call (which she is 24/7!) because she is certified in both a pediatric residency and a dermatology residency. We also have subspecialized clinics at the Kaye: Multidisciplinary Melanoma, Cutaneous Lymphoma, Connective tissue disease, Vulvar dermatology and Psychiatric Dermatology.
– Dr. Fatmah AlZahrani (R4)
What do you like about Edmonton: Great food scene, a city built around nature, ski trips, friendly people.
What are the highlights of the program for you:
Dedicated staff, good combination of self-directed learning and organized curriculum, great facilities (Kaye is beautiful), interesting patients.
– Dr. Mariah (R5)