Sunridge Family Medicine Teaching Centre

Overview

• The Sunridge clinic is located in NE Calgary directly across from the Peter Lougheed Hospital.
• It is close to the Sunridge Mall, which offers shopping, eating opportunities, a fitness centre, pharmacy and post office.
• Sunridge is a primary teaching site for Family Medicine Residents, with, 14 teaching physicians and many other members of an integrated health care team providing teaching and patient care out of three microsystems, each designed around one large teaming room and nine exam rooms.
• Each microsystem includes a resource room with library, teaching, and education resources.
• Direct observation is available in all microsystems.
• Residents are provided with EMR access (Med Access). Each microsystem contains work stations and multiple computer stations.
• Sunridge physicians belong to the Mosaic Patient Care Network (PCN), which serves the Northeast population of Calgary.
• Several meeting rooms with videoconferencing offer distributed learning, meetings and telehealth through connection to the other University of Calgary and AHS sites, including Health Sciences Centre, Central Teaching Clinic and South Health Campus.

Patient Population

• Physicians at Sunridge provide care to approximately 8000 patients through some 25,000 annual appointments.
• Sunridge physicians serve a community of patients who are diverse with respect to age, health status including a higher proportion of multi-ethnic immigrants, refugees and lower socioeconomic status families, providing additional challenges in care. The result is ample opportunity to experience and learn from the bio-psycho-social presentation and management of illness in the community.
• The average number of patients in each Physician clinic half day ranges from 10 - 12.
• Preceptors deliver comprehensive care, including pediatric, adult, pre-natal, and geriatric care to the panelled population.
• Several physicians provide focused services in other locations, including sports medicine, hospitalist care, women’s health and occupational medicine, adding experiential depth to the program

Clinic Structure & Services

• Sunridge uses a team-based approach to teaching supported by preceptor-resident scheduling. Patients schedule appointments with the resident (secondary provider) assigned to them. Residents work mainly with their primary preceptor, providing continuity of patient relationships with residents and providers.
• There are regular opportunities to learn from and interact with different preceptors (clinics, weekly teaching rounds, microsystem meetings).  In addition, residents benefit from direct learning from on-site allied health professionals.
• The onsite allied health team consists of: respiratory educator, behavioural health consultant, mental health therapist, shared mental health, health management nurses, pharmacist, social worker, diabetes nurse educator and dietitian.
• Sunridge has a Health Management Program using case management, a collaborative process between the patient, health management nurse, physician, resident and the allied health team. The goal of the program is to help patients manage their own health, regain or maintain optimum health, improve functional capability, provide high quality patient centred care and ultimately improve patients’ and providers’ experience of care while reducing visits to the attending physician. Case conferences are currently scheduled once a month alternating Tues and Wed.
• On site EKG, spirometry, slit lamp.
• Teaching rounds are held 2 days a week to encourage discussion and collaboration among all health care providers at Sunridge. Residents, physicians and the allied health team all take turns presenting topics for discussion. Topics can include: case based presentations, “aha” moments, ‘Tips and tricks’, quality improvement, sharing medical information, etc.
• Residents are invited to monthly microsystem meetings regarding clinic operations.