Off-Service Residents

​Other Postgraduate Learners in the Emergency Department

Over the past decade, a growing number and range of postgraduate trainees have gained experience at the Department of Emergency Medicine. Most postgraduate trainees at the University of Alberta undertake clinical rotations in Emergency Medicine or Pediatric Emergency Medicine. A significant number of elective trainees from other Canadian universities come here each year for emergency medicine training.

Here are some of the reasons the Department has been so successful in meeting the educational needs of such a large and diverse group of trainees:

  • We have access to emergency departments at six active treatment sites within the region.
  • There are over 300,000 emergency department patient visits per year to these five sites, with a high-acuity and high admission rate.
  • The Edmonton Zone serves as the referral center for the entire northern half of Alberta, for the Northwest Territories, and for a large area of northeastern British Columbia. The vast majority of these out-of-region referrals gain access to the system through emergency departments.
  • All emergency department sites feature superb and dedicated teaching faculty.
  • The trainee/preceptor relationship and interaction in Emergency Medicine allows for continuous supervision, instruction, and evaluation for extended periods of time while trainees and preceptors are on shift together. It also lends itself well to daily written evaluation and feedback. Finally this extensive observation provides an unparalleled environment in which to emphasize, teach, and evaluate the CanMEDs competencies.