Education

The University of Calgary Cancer Rehabilitation Fellowship will provide Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation trainees comprehensive exposure to cancer rehabilitation to gain advanced skills in the design and delivery of rehabilitation, exercise and lifestyle interventions for the cancer population. During their training, fellows will run outpatient clinics and perform inpatient consults at the world-class Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre. Fellows will gain exposure to cancer pain, interventional pain management, cognitive impairment, lymphedema, optimization of daily activities, exercise prescription, electrodiagnostic and neuromuscular medicine, facilitation of return to school/work, functional prognostication, and mobility & home equipment recommendations. 

The fellow will have the skills to manage various neuromusculoskeletal impairments including shoulder impairment, hormone induced arthralgia or tendinopathy, radiation fibrosis, advanced oncologic disease including bone metastasis, and brain and spinal cord impairment.

The curriculum will include:

• Independent outpatient cancer physiatry clinics

• Multidisciplinary outpatient cancer rehabilitation clinics

• Inpatient consultations on medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology and palliative care units

• Training on exercise clearance, prescription, and prehabilitation including activity precautions in advanced cancer

• Procedural experience including peripheral soft tissue or joint injections including botulinum toxin, trigger point injections, and cortisone injections in peripheral joints and soft tissues

• Opportunities for additional exposure to ultrasound guided injections, cancer related electrodiagnostics, palliative care, and chronic cancer-related pain management

Schedule

Clinical work consists of 13 blocks over the year-long fellowship. 

A typical yearly schedule will consist of 10 blocks of regular clinic work in cancer rehabilitation, and 3 blocks of elective time (in fields mentioned above such as ultrasound guided injections, electrodiagnostics, etc.)

A weekly schedule while on cancer rehabilitation blocks will consist of 3-4 clinical days per week, and 1-2 days of academic work. For example:

• Monday morning = Inpatient consults; Monday afternoons = Outpatient clinics

• Tuesday morning = Outpatient clinics; Tuesday afternoons = Research/Education Time

• Wednesday morning = Inpatient clinics; Wednesday afternoons = Research/Education Time

• Thursday morning = Outpatient clinics; Thursday afternoon = Outpatient clinics

• Friday morning = Inpatient consults; Friday afternoon = Research/Education Time

Academic Education

Non-clinical education including the following opportunities:

• Regular scheduled and unscheduled teaching sessions on cancer rehabilitation topics

• Mentorship and protected time to complete a research project, medical education project or quality improvement initiative 

• Opportunities for teaching medical students and physical medicine and rehabilitation residents on rotation and during their academic half days

• Participating in regional and national tumour boards and Special Interest Groups

• Participating in & presenting at national journal club