Family Medicine: Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM)

A comprehensive, flexible program that will prepare you for the full breadth of the unique and challenging practice of sport and exercise medicine.

 

EXPOSURE

EXPOSURE TO ALL SPORTS: TEAM, ENDURANCE, COMBAT AND PERFORMING ARTS

 

RELEVANT

YOUR TRAINING TIME IS SPENT DOING CLINICS AND ROTATIONS THAT DIRECTLY RELATE TO MSK MEDICINE.

 

FLEXIBLE

A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO MEET YOUR LEARNING GOALS AND FUTURE PRACTICE PLANS

 


Interview/CaRMS Specific Information 

We are looking for someone who is going to immerse themselves in the world of sport and exercise medicine for their year of training with us.

To demonstrate interest in this field, we look at sport medicine electives, but we consider supporting electives in areas such as emergency medicine, rheumatology, family medicine and physiatry to be important as well. We ask that one reference letter come from a CASEM-certified SEM physician.

We are interested in your team medicine or event work/shadow experience; please detail this in your application. We would also like to hear about your research and teaching skills, and your future plans for these areas. Please also tell us about your relevant conference attendance and how you contribute to your program, workplace and/or your community.

If you are considering applying for this program, we want to hear from you! We know that not everyone can make an elective work, due to our clinic availability as well as your schedule. However, there are many opportunities to interact with our residency program committee.

Options include:

  • Schedule an elective
  • Take a tour of our clinic if/when you are in Edmonton
  • Inquire if you can join one of us at a sporting event that we are working
  • Come to one of our Edmonton SEM Conferences
  • Introduce yourself to us at an SEM Conference, such as CASEM. Email any of the SEM physicians on the Residency Program Committee.

We are unable to accept residents who are completing a family medicine residency program outside of Canada or international applicants at this time.

We do not have designated funding for non-family medicine physicians applying out of practice.  In the future, there may be an opportunity for physicians to provide alternate funding sources, but at this time the program does not have the capacity for this.


dr.kristin

Dr. Kristin Anstey
Program Director

Welcome to Our Program

Welcome!  

The goal of this program is to immerse you in the unique and challenging world of sport, exercise and team/event medicine.  

Edmonton is a great place to do this training year. Not only does it boast the largest continuous stretch of urban parkland in North America, encompassing over 7400 hectares, it also is a major hub for local, collegiate, national, international and professional sport.

Come and see what this program and city is all about!

Dr. Kristin Anstey
Program Director


Our Program

We are a fully accredited program that follows the guidelines set out by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Program Highlights

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Flexible program design to maximize your learning goals and accommodate your future practice plans.

...
Opportunity to participate in a huge variety of sports, with the expectation that you will get experience in team, endurance, para and combat sports, as well as event planning and performing arts.
...

Weekly clinics at AMSAFE (Acute Medical Sports-Injury and Fracture Clinic) at the Northeast Community Health Center for fracture and cast clinic experience.

Work alongside excellent physicians with experiences that include national level and professional athletes and teams, with several doctors who have worked at the Olympics.

Emphasis on training for ultrasound guided procedures with experienced practitioners Drs Lebrun, Defrietas and Greidanus. Plus TWO clinic ultrasound machines!

Learn from other HCPs. Our clinic has physiatrists, physiotherapists, and orthopedic surgeons, and you will also work with athletic therapists and strength and conditioning in your work with Varsity Athletics.


Residency at a Glance

Clinical experience

The SEM resident will gain extensive clinical experience through one-on-one teaching with:

  • Primary care SEM physicians
  • Emergency SEM physicians
  • Orthopaedic surgeons
  • Physiatrists
  • A variety of allied health professionals including physical therapists, athletic therapists, orthotists, and strength and conditioning coaches
Core Components

The 9 Core Components of the Enhanced Skills SEM Program at the University of Alberta are:

  • The Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic at the University of Alberta
  • The Acute Medical Sports-Injury and Fracture Clinic (AMSAFE) at the Northeast Health Center
  • Continuing development in family medicine
  • Team and event experience
  • Orthopaedic surgery rotation
  • Ultrasound training and procedural skills
  • Scholarly project
  • Didactic lectures, rounds and teaching
  • Supporting rotations and electives
Team Experience

Team medicine is an important component of this program. Many physicians at this clinic are deeply involved in team medicine. This can be a difficult area of medicine to gain exposure in. We strongly encourage you to observe your preceptors as they navigate this challenging and rewarding area of medicine, and immerse yourself in the medical team as much as possible.

It is expected that to gain experience in this unique subset of medicine that you participate in varsity or junior football and varsity hockey. You will be an important part of the medical team. These are very time-intensive sports and it is expected that you will schedule vacation time around these commitments and limit time away during the months of mid-August to November (football season) as well as February to mid-March (varsity hockey playoffs). To increase your exposure and comfort in different sports, it is expected that you work at least one combat, performing arts, distance/endurance and PARA event.

As an example of the depth of sport medicine coverage in our program, the below list is the sport coverage that our SEM resident in 2019/20 year participated in:

  • ITU triathlon
  • International beach volleyball
  • Skate Canada Challenge
  • Varsity football (full season)
  • Varsity hockey (full season)
  • Karate tournament
  • Women's Basketball Olympic Prequalifier Tournament
  • Women's varsity rugby
  • Boxing
  • Varsity Wrestling Tournament
  • Para-alpine Skiing Tournament
  • Sitting volleyball practice
Sample Week Schedule
Monday AM
Clinic with Sport and Exercise Medicine physician
Monday PM
Varsity Injury Management (VIM) Multidisciplinary Clinic

Tuesday AM
AMSAFE fracture and cast clinic
Tuesday PM
AMSAFE fracture and cast clinic

Wednesday AM
Academic/Research half day
Wednesday PM
US guided injection clinic with Sport and Exercise Medicine physician, and evening clinic for football after practice

Thursday AM
Clinic with Sport and Exercise Medicine physician
Thursday PM
Family medicine half day back

Friday AM
Clinic with orthopaedic surgeon
Friday PM
Clinic with orthopaedic surgeon

Saturday or Sunday
Event coverage for Edmonton sporting event

Teaching Hospitals

We are a fully accredited program that follows the guidelines set out by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. 

 


Program Supports

 

  • Designated private space for the residents to work and study in the clinic 
  • Quarterly Reviews one on one with the Program Director and quarterly SEM Program Committee Meetings
  • A designated resident-selected mentor that the SEM residents can go to if there are any program or personal concerns
  • Consistency of preceptor scheduling, so concerns or issues can be identified and addressed early
  • Dedicated time for conferences and scholarly project

Frequently Asked Questions

How many residents do you take?
The clinic has the ability to accommodate one Enhanced Skills Resident each year.
How is the year scheduled?

The year is scheduled in four blocks of three months. During each block, we try to keep you with the same preceptors so you have continuity and can see some patients in follow up. Typically, at least two days a week are spent in the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, and one day is spent at the Acute Medical Sports-Injury and Fracture Clinic at the Northeast Health Centre.

The program includes four weeks of hospital orthopaedics (typically two weeks in the winter and two weeks in the summer to see the different seasonal injuries). We also schedule two weeks of physiatry.

Supporting rotations and electives are planned on an individual basis to reflect your past experience and goals for future practice. In the past, SEM residents have done electives in emergency medicine, radiology, rheumatology, dermatology and SEM at a different centre.

Additional experiences include:

  • Time with physiotherapists, athletic therapists, orthotists, and strength and conditioning
  • Varsity Injury Management (VIM) multidisciplinary clinics
  • Participation in coverage (and organization, if applicable) of local sport tournaments
  • Varsity football and hockey medical coverage
  • Opportunity for ski-trip to cover PARA-alpine event
  • Teaching family medicine residents and medical students, and participation in rounds
  • Specialty clinics including: Acute Knee Injury Clinic (AKIC), Performing Arts Clinic and Complex Concussion Clinic
How many weeks of electives are allowed?

This program tries to be as flexible as possible to meet your needs and goals, and fit with your future plans. Out of town electives and electives in other specialities will be considered on an individual basis. The SEM Residency Committee has put a tentative maximum of four weeks of electives in SEM outside of Edmonton, unless approved by the SEM Residency Committee.

You may consider electives in another speciality (emergency, dermatology, rheumatology, radiology, etc). The SEM Residency Committee has put a tentative maximum of two weeks on electives in other specialities (not including orthopaedics or physiatry, which are included) unless approved.

How do you teach Ultrasound Procedural Skills?

The use of ultrasound is becoming an increasingly important skill. Dr. Terry Defrietas and Dr. Connie Lebrun have done extensive training and are the Ultrasound Skills teaching leads in this program. We are fortunate to have two ultrasound machines in the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic. The Acute Medical Sports-Injury and Fracture Clinic (AMSAFE) at the Northeast Health Centre also has access to the Emergency Department ultrasound machine.

For the majority of the year, our goal is to schedule you once a week with a preceptor that regularly does ultrasound. We recommend ultrasound course attendance (though this is not mandatory) and find that doing it earlier in your training year maximizes learning opportunities. However, this must be balanced with team coverage for varsity hockey and football.
Is there an opportunity to complete a master's program?

If the resident chooses, the program may be extended to accommodate completion of a Master's Degree Program at the University of Alberta. (This option will require advance consultation with the Program Director for SEM, as there are a number of available options).

What qualifications do I get from the SEM Enhanced Skills year?

In the spring of their program year, the resident is eligible to sit the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine Diploma in Sport and Exercise Medicine examination. Success in this exam leads to the Diploma in Sport and Exercise Medicine credential (Dip Sport Med).

Upon satisfactory achievement of the required competencies for SEM as listed in the Red Book of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), residents who have already completed their family medicine program and obtained their CCFP will be awarded a Certificate of Added Competency (CAC), and can then list CCFP(SEM) as their credentials.


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: Edmonton has great trails for walking and biking along, as well as lots of excellent restaurants.  I felt welcomed and part of the community very quickly after moving to the city for my training.

What are the highlights of the program for you: I enjoyed working with a great group of physicians, physiotherapists, athletic therapists, and other team members throughout the program. Everybody has a passion for teaching and for their work, which makes for such a great learning environment. The opportunities for game and event coverage are endless! There were so many cool experiences that I was able to take part in, and getting to have first dibs to these opportunities as the only sports medicine resident was a privilege. The program also has a comprehensive longitudinal training with ultrasound procedures, which gave me enough experience to feel ready for practice.

What is one piece of advice that you want to share with applicants about the interview process: Remember that the interviewers are wanting to get to know you, so be yourself, and be open about your interests and what you are looking for from the extra year of training. It isn’t just about hours of event or game coverage, it’s also about your passion and your interest in learning how to become a skilled and competent sports and exercise medicine physician. 

Isabel Hedayat (2022-2023)

james

 

What do you like about Edmonton: The city loves sports of all kinds, training sites are easy to travel to, lots of outdoor activities to enjoy.

What are the highlights of the program for you: Comprehensive experience, supportive mentors, hands on training.

What is one piece of advice that you want to share with applicants about the interview process: Be yourself, enjoy the process!

James Xu (2020-2021)

olesia

 

What do you like about Edmonton: Massive park and trail system for outdoor activity, there is always something to do between festivals, events, concerts, etc. The communities and people are great and it's close to the mountains for weekend getaways.

What are the highlights of the program for you: Flexibility to include electives to help develop specific interests, a TON of opportunities to do sport and event coverage in a variety of different disciplines, and many preceptors to work with and develop skills to see a variety of different practices.

What is one piece of advice that you want to share with applicants about the interview process: Answer your questions honestly, and try not to think too much about what we want to hear.  We are trying to get to know you as a person during the interview, and want to hear what YOU have to say.

Olesia Markevych (2016-17)

rosh

 

What do you like about Edmonton: Edmonton is a great and vibrant city! There is so much going on at all times, especially through the Summer. In the Winter there are plenty of indoor activities and concerts, as well as hockey season to keep you occupied.

What are the highlights of the program for you: There were so many highlights to the SEM fellowship at the Glen Sather. My top two were the physicians and allied health care practitioners I got the opportunity to work with, and the sideline team experiences that were available. All of the staff at the Glen Sather were extremely knowledgeable and had their own unique approaches to Sports and Exercise Medicine. This is extremely useful as a learner to experience, as you start to develop your own style of practice. The physicians are all very invested in the fellowship and are keen to pass on their knowledge. This extends to the talented and highly experienced physiotherapists and athletic therapists that work at the Glen Sather and with the various teams as well. Their knowledge and experience was invaluable.

What is one piece of advice that you want to share with applicants about the interview process: My advice would simply be to be genuine. If you have an authentic passion for Sports and Exercise Medicine this will come through in the interview if you answer naturally. The interviewers are only trying to get to know you as a person and ensure that you are well informed about the specialty and that it is right for you.

Rosh Wadhwa (2018-2019)

chris

 

What do you like about Edmonton: The river valley, the University (of Alberta), and the people.

What are the highlights of the program for you: Lots of opportunities for game/event coverage. Excellent elective opportunities and flexibility to cater the program to your interests. This program was a great way to learn more and practice MSK ultrasound.

What is one piece of advice that you want to share with applicants about the interview process: Do your best to articulate your passion for sport and exercise medicine and explore some of the anticipated challenges or clinical scenarios faced by sport and exercise medicine clinicians.

Chris Beavington (2017-2018)