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Curriculum

PGY1

The first year starts with 12 weeks in the Regional Centre and is comprised of 4 weeks of Family Medicine within the Regional Centre itself and an 8-week specialty rotation. This allows an orientation to regional Family Medicine and to the community as a whole.

The remainder of the year includes an 8-week rotation at a rural site and specialty rotations at the Regional Centre. Weekly half-day back sessions to the regional Family Medicine practice maintain the context of Family Medicine during the specialty rotations. Rural family physicians often use a wider range of procedural techniques than their urban colleagues, so the rotations have been designed to facilitate exposure to a wide variety of acute conditions and to the acquisition of procedural skills. Often the resident will be the only learner on the team ensuring access to clinical cases combined with individualized teaching. Clinical services at the regional centres are not dependant on the presence of house staff; with the agreeable consequence that the on-call schedule for most rotations is made from by the Resident and often is home call.

PGY2

The second year focuses on rural Family Medicine, spending 28 weeks in rural practices. The 20-week rotation allows time for continuity of care and for integrated programming. Residents use a further 8-week rural rotation to experience a different flavor of rural family practice. Some choose practices close to home, however a rotation in any rural setting within the province or in the Territories will be considered. The year is supplemented with 8 weeks of Emergency Medicine, 4 weeks of Psychiatry in the home base, together with 12 weeks of elective time. Grande Prairie residents may complete a 4 week rotation in ICU/Anaesthesia in Edmonton, which would then reduce to 8 weeks the amount of elective time available.

Behavioral Medicine, Palliative Care and Care of the Elderly are integrated within the program using models of shared care and Telehealth. Academic course delivery for these areas will be by conventional academic programming, by tele- and videoconferencing and the Internet. A four week selective in Care of the Elderly is available as an alternative to integration within Family Medicine rotations.

There is a requirement for research activity in both years of the program, including Evidence Based Medicine projects and a practice quality improvement project.