Family Medicine: Emergency Medicine

Dr. Navdeep Dhaliwal
Program Director

Dr. Dhaliwal is a full time Emergency Physician at the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton, and is also the program director of the CFPC-EM residency program. His postgraduate residency training was done through the University of Alberta where he initially started as the co-chief resident in the CFPC-EM program and worked his way through as the Assistant Program director. He was lucky to have experienced the acute trauma environment of Detroit during his medical school education where his initial love of Emergency Medicine was established. Dr. Dhaliwal is originally from Osoyoos, British Columbia. In his spare time he can be found training Taekwondo with his family, playing with his children, or travelling.

Dr. Michael Lai
Assistant Program Director

Michael is a full time Emergency Physician at the Grey Nuns Hospital. He is currently enjoying his new role as assistant program director of the CFPC-EM residency program. Michael completed his medical school training and family medicine residency at the University of Alberta, and completed his emergency medicine training at the University of Manitoba. He is originally from Calgary where he completed his Bachelors of Science. Outside of clinical work, Michael enjoys playing hockey, spending time outdoors golfing, and playing volleyball.

Dr. Shoblak is a full time Emergency Physician at the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton. He serves as a Tintinalli Coordinator for the EM residents, as well as a faculty advisor. He moved around a lot in his younger days, so he decided to stay in one city for his university education: Edmonton. He completed his undergraduate, medical school, postgraduate, and fellowship training at the U of A. He is a previous grad of this EM program too! Outside of work, he enjoys travelling, hunting, spending time with his family, or perfecting his backyard landscaping.

Dr. Vickie Lee
Tintinalli Coordinator

Dr. Lee is a full time Emergency Physician at the Sturgeon Community Hospital. She completed her medical school and residency training at the University of Alberta. She enjoys travelling and spending time outdoors with her family.

Dr. Joshua Bezanson
Tintinalli Coordinator

Joshua is a staff emergency and hyperbaric medicine physician at the Misericordia Community Hospital and a recent Edmonton EM graduate. His interests include disaster medicine and prehospital care and he serves as the department of emergency medicine’s disaster medicine coordinator and also assists with Tintinalli rounds. He completed a masters in disaster medicine and an EMS fellowship. He is the Hazardous Materials Physician for the Calgary Fire Department and a transport physician with STARS as well as serving as the medical director for multiple EMS agencies including an international air ambulance service. He is also active with several disaster relief organizations including Canada Task Force 2 which is Alberta’s all-hazards disaster response team and has been a part of multiple large scale deployments in Canada and abroad. He co-hosts a disaster podcast called EPIC (Emergency Preparedness in Canada).

Dr. Houston is a full time Emergency Physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.  She started out her career as an emergency room nurse where her love for acute care developed. She pursued her medical school education at the University of Calgary. She returned to Edmonton to complete her Emergency Medicine training.  Her interests include working with marginalized populations, addictions medicine and teaching.  Outside of work she loves to hit the outdoors and can be found hiking, camping, skiing or enjoying time at the lake.

Dr. Michael Dussault
Assistant Ultrasound Coordinator

Mike is an emergency physician at the Grey Nuns Hospital and the Assistant Ultrasound Coordinator. He completed his medical school in Edmonton and Family Medicine residency in Calgary. He then completed his Emergency Medicine Residency in Saskatchewan and continued to work In the ED in Saskatchewan for two years after finishing his residency. He initially worked in Saskatoon to train with point of care ultrasound. Outside of the ED, he loves spending time outside doing whatever activity that gets his heart pumping. He has spent most of his years growing up snowboarding whenever he can, and lately has been enjoying biking, bouldering, and hiking.

After having done the EM year and now starting practice, I can say with complete confidence the U of CCFP-EM program prepares you in the most rigorous and academic way for staff life and the CCFP-EM exam. It is a challenging year but you come out ready to hit the ground running. Some of the highlights of the program are the critical care exposure, great EM rotations, and the faculty advisors. Edmonton itself is a solid city, moving from the west coast I wasn't sure what to expect but I loved the laid back vibe of the city, no traffic, and great restaurants. Finally, the best part was the tight-knit resident cohort we had, making lifelong friendships and colleagues. 

– Jas Hans (2023)

To aspire to become a competent and independent emergency medicine practitioner capable of working in a tertiary care centre with one year of additional training can properly be considered an ambitious undertaking. However, the University of Alberta CCFP-EM program has this process down to a science. Their time-tested curriculum is rigorous, comprehensive, and supportive. I sought out this program knowing that I would be thoughtfully coached and pushed to become an independent, safe, and efficient emergency physician. Now approaching the end of my year, I can honestly say that I feel well-prepared to step out into independent practice and I am very thankful to have been a participant in this program.

– Levi Johnston (2022)

The U of A CFPC-EM program is very challenging and academically rigorous. However, you will feel incredibly well prepared for practice at the end of your training here. One of the most unique aspects of the program is that all residents are assigned faculty advisors, who work with us over the course of the year to not only refine your clinical skills but provide guidance as we transition to practice. The program leadership is also very receptive to feedback and advocates on behalf of residents to help us achieve our learning goals. The resident cohort is very tight-knit and we rely heavily on each other through the good times and the bad. Edmonton as a city provides lots of recreational opportunities and an amazing food scene. Overall, my EM year has gone by in a flash.  Everyone I have encountered in the program along the way has truly helped make the experience a blast.

– David Deng (2022)

The Edmonton CCFP-EM residency program is a fast-paced, rigorous program that really elevated my ability to care for patients in an emergency department setting. After a year filled with all aspects of emergency medicine from critical care to transport medicine to toxicology, I feel prepared to work in any emergency department. I have gained knowledge and skills that will act as a foundation for me to continue building on throughout my career.

- Nicole Roshko (2022)

“ The Edmonton FM-EM Program is designed to prepare residents to be practicing emergency medicine in a city, regional centre, or smaller town by the end of the year. With only one year to do this, there can be a lot going on. We have monthly Tintinalli quizzes, 3.5 months of intensive care between ICU, PICU, and CCU,  multiple presentations/projects to prepare, and a longitudinal disaster medicine/prehospital medicine course and ultrasound training in the background. But as the end of the year approaches, and I'm now staring down my first independent shift as staff, I'm grateful for being pushed throughout the year. The program is filled with ED docs that seem to enjoy teaching and work hard to keep the program one they are proud of”

– Dr. Megan Cook (2021)

– Dr. Chloe LaBrie

“ The Edmonton FM-EM program is excellent. The academic portion will keep you organized and ready for each rotation. The off service rotations will strengthen your experience and knowledge for your emerg shifts. Emergency medicine in Edmonton has wonderful staff to work with and learn from, and interesting patient presentations at every site. ”

– Dr. Carly Rumley (2021)

I moved to Edmonton for this program not knowing what to expect. The faculty and my peers were incredibly supportive during a rigorous year. I would say the strength of this program lies in the longitudinal faculty advisors and other on-shift preceptors which have been "hand-selected" to ensure the best learning experience for the resident. The information gained during this challenging year is still unfathomable to think of, it has definitely set me up for success in my career and the journey for lifelong learning.

– Dr. Andrew Boivin (2021)

“The river valley is beautiful, with great trails for running and biking. In more normal times, there's decent cafe's/coffee as well - Eleanor & Laurent, Little Brick, and District being my favs. The almond croissants at Eleanor & Laurent got me through some of my busier ICU calls - highly recommended. “

– EM Resident (2021)