CCFP-EM Program Overview and Goals

This program residency is for  1 year(s)

Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.

The University of Calgary CFPC-EM program adheres to the standards and meets the objectives of the CFPC, as outlined in the “Red Book”. The program is based at the Foothills Medical Centre; however, residents receive their training at four hospitals in Calgary, and also at Banff Mineral Springs Hospital.

The year is comprised of 13 four-week blocks:

• Emergency Medicine – 6 blocks (4 adult, 2 pediatrics)
• Community Banff – 1 block
• ICU – 1.5 block
• CCU – 1 block
• Anaesthesia – 1 block
• Toxicology – 0.5 block
• Rural Emergency – 3 weeks
• Elective – 1 block
• Ophthalmology – 1 week

Elective opportunities exist in STARS, Stroke team, ICU, ENT, Plastics, Ophtho, EMS, Emergency Medicine departments across the country as well as international electives.

An academic/research project is an integral part of the program. This project may be a small clinical trial, contribution to ongoing research, a quality improvement study, a case report with literature review, or a survey. Residents are expected to present in April at Research Day, which is shared with the Calgary FRCPC program.

Residents are required to have ACLS, ATLS and PALS certification.

1. The Emergency Departments in Calgary are staffed by over 150 full time emergency physicians and roughly half hold the CCFP(EM) designation. The four adult sites and one pediatric site are fully integrated into one regionalized department of emergency medicine, with over 260,000 visits a year.
2. The toxicology referral service (PADIS) for all of Alberta, Saskatchewan and parts of Northern Canada, is located at Foothills Medical Centre. We have numerous board certified toxicologists who are formally involved in clinical and didactic teaching of toxicology.
3. Calgary EMS and the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) are both led by staff emergency physicians in the Calgary Health Region who are actively involved in teaching residents. Opportunities exist for experience in administration of pre-hospital care services.
4. The intensive care rotation takes place in a high acuity, high volume ICU with strong emphasis on learning through dedicated academic rounds as well as clinical experience. Residents can typically get as much procedural experience as they want during this rotation.
5. The pediatric emergency rotations are supervised by a dedicated residency director in a new start-of-the-art tertiary care pediatric hospital.
6. Several faculty have a strong interest in simulation based education, and residents are provided with multiple opportunities to improve their procedural and clinical skills in a simulation environment. Resources include both adult and pediatric human patient simulators and formal sessions on airway and central venous access simulation. There is also an opportunity to practice crisis resource management skills during simulation sessions with ancillary medical staff such as RNs and RTs.
7. Emergency Department Targeted Ultrasound is widely practiced within the Calgary Health Region with many CCFP(EM) faculty certified in its use. Due to the large number of CEUS certified staff, ample opportunities exist for residents to become certified during the course of their training.

The formal academic program is intensive and well organized. Approximately six hours per week are spent in various types of rounds and seminars (often interactive or case-based) for the purpose of teaching the curriculum of emergency medicine. This is concentrated in an academic full-day every Thursday. Residents are excused from their clinical responsibilities in order to attend. The academic curriculum has recently been redesigned based on resident feedback to place greater emphasis on clinical and procedural skills. All resident seminars are supported and attended by a designated faculty member. Tintanelli rounds occur once a month. This is staff lead and focuses on select textbook chapters incorporating written exam and case based discussion. Journal Club is also held monthly. This includes a review of the latest literature and important articles in emergency medicine as well as a focus on interpreting statistics. Multidisciplinary simulation sessions using the Human Patient Simulator occur monthly. There is an annual resident educational retreat in the Rocky Mountains which is highly regarded by the residents. Practice exams occur quarterly and written exams twice yearly. Residents are also encouraged to attend CAEP, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Annual Conference.

Alberta Children’s Hospital is a tertiary children’s hospital referral centre for Southern Alberta and South-eastern British Columbia. The emergency department sees many complicated pediatric problems as well as a large volume of common pediatric emergencies.

Rockyview Hospital is a large community hospital located in Southwest Calgary. The emergency department census is in excess of 70,000 patients per year with a wide variety of adult emergencies. The new emergency department recently opened in June 2010.

Peter Lougheed Centre is a busy teaching hospital in Northeast Calgary. The emergency department census is in excess of 70,000 patients per year with a wide variety of pediatric and adult emergencies.

South Health Campus is a state of the art hospital opened in early 2013 in Southeast Calgary. There is an excellent opportunity to practice community-based emergency medicine with pediatric volumes ranging from 30-40%.

Foothills Medical Centre is a comprehensive tertiary care hospital and Level I trauma centre. It is adjacent to the University of Calgary Medical School and the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, and serves as a referral centre for Southern Alberta and South-eastern British Columbia. The emergency department sees approximately 65,000 patients per year with very high acuity of sub-specialty, medical, surgical and trauma patients.

Poison and Drug Information Service (PADIS) is the regional Poison Centre for all of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and is located in the Foothills Medical Centre.