Distributed Sites Curriculum Overview

ACADEMIC CURRICULUM

The rural stream follows a structured, two-year academic curriculum, covering the full range of topics necessary for the practice of rural family medicine. Each Friday morning residents attend a half day of formal academic programming, taught by preceptors and residents. In addition, residents attend approximately 10 full Academic Days per year, which include interactive sessions on therapeutics, guideline review, and ethics. Strong emphasis is placed on helping residents prepare to write their licensing examinations, with regular practice sessions of SAMP’s and SOO’s.  

As a rural training stream enhanced training in areas which are crucial for practice in a rural setting, including Emergency Department Ultrasound, the CASTED course (hands-on orthopedic training), as well as regular practice of critical care simulations and procedures.

Practical, interactive workshops on Communication Skills and Cognitive Behavioral therapy round out the academic curriculum. These courses are provided in interactive ways during retreats to collectively collaborate with all rural stream residents.

The rural program is dedicated to education development by providing reimbursement for conferences. There are a wide variety of conferences available, some of the common being PIEP, FMF, St. Paul’s, and the Rural and Remote conference. In addition, each resident will be provided with a 2 year up-to-date subscription. 

Life Support Courses: Residents must be ACLS certified before starting the residency program. 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 completes four EBM projects (BEARs) throughout the year.

A Practice Quality Improvement (PQI) project is assigned in the second year and is completed in the 16 week family medicine block. Residents are expected to present their PQI to the practice group in which they completed the project. Funding may be available to support presentation of resident projects at family medicine conferences and meetings, and research assistance is accessible through the Alberta Primary Care Research Unit as well as the division in the Department of Family Medicine. 

Resident Wellness and Retreats: There is a strong focus on supporting residents in the rural program. In addition to access to the U of A Family Resident Support Services, the site admins and site directors provide close support for residents. Residents also attend a yearly retreat in Hinton where they are able to participate in workshops, outdoor activities and resident bonding. Another program, Finding Meaning in Medicine, is a monthly session led by one of the rural faculty members where residents are able to meet in a confidential safe space for residents to connect to their peers, share their personal challenges and find support. 

Vacation: There are 4 weeks of vacation days each year but not allotted as block time. Additionally there are 6 consecutive holidays at Christmas (or other religious holidays) and up to 5 days to prepare and write the national exams.  Our residents have the flexibility to work their vacation time into their rotation schedule. 

Rotation Structure
Grande Prairie		Red Deer		Yellowknife
PGY1	PGY2	PGY1	PGY2	PGY1	PGY2
Rural Family Medicine 16 weeks	Rural Family Medicine 16 weeks	Rural Family Medicine 16 weeks	Rural Family Medicine 16 weeks	Family Medicine 16 Weeks integrated with obstetrics, emergency medicine and hospitalists	Family Medicine 16 weeks integrated with psychiatric, LTC and orthopedics
General Surgery 4 Weeks	Rural Family Medicine 8 Weeks	General Surgery 8 Weeks	Rural Family Medicine 8 Weeks	General Surgery 4 Weeks	Women’s Health 4 weeks
Elective 4 weeks	Electives 8 weeks	Electives 7 weeks	Electives 6 weeks	Pediatrics 4 weeks	Emergency Medicine 4 weeks
Obstetrics & Gynecology 8 weeks	Emergency Medicine 7 weeks	Emergency Medicine 4 weeks	Emergency Medicine 4 weeks	Anesthesia 2 weeks	Internal Medicine (GP/RD) 8 weeks
Orthopedics 4 weeks	Internal Medicine 8 Weeks	Obstetrics & Gynecology 4 weeks	Obstetrics & Gynecology 4 weeks	Psych 2 weeks	Geriatrics & Palliative (GP/RD) 4 weeks
Regional Family Medicine 4 weeks Pediatric EM 4 weeks	Psychiatry 4 weeks	Orthopedics 4 weeks	Internal Medicine 8 Weeks	Family Medicine Community Block (Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, or Hay River) 8 weeks	Family Medicine Community Block 8 weeks
Pediatrics 4 weeks	Palliative 1 week	Pediatrics 4 weeks	Psychiatry 4 weeks	Pediatric Emerge (EDM) 4 weeks	Electives 4 weeks
Anesthesia 4 weeks		Geriatrics & Anesthesia 2 weeks each	Palliative 2 weeks	Addiction Medicine 4 weeks
		Dermatology 1 week		Electives 4 weeks