CCFP Emergency Medicine - Lethbridge Program

The MISSION of the CFPC-EM Residency Program is to train highly motivated and clinically competent physicians who will become leaders within emergency medicine in Southern Alberta and the rest of Canada.

We would like to instill the skills needed for exemplary patient care, lifelong learning, contribution to the field of emergency medicine and service to society. In this pursuit, we offer training in advanced procedures, ultrasound, simulation, clinical teaching and exposure to all aspects of clinical and academic emergency medicine.

The program and its objectives are closely aligned with the CCFP-EM and FRPC Emergency Medicine Programs in Calgary.

Program Highlights

Lethbridge CCFP-EM program is a new satellite site for the Calgary CCFP-EM residency program that will be based out of the Chinook Regional Hospital (CRH). CRH is the site of an established postgraduate program in family medicine as part of the University of Calgary’s Rural Alberta South residency program. It has also been a regional site for both University of Calgary and University of Alberta CCFP-EM residents for over 10 years. As part of the new CCFP-EM program, our residents will be the most senior residents on their Emergency Medicine, ICU/CCU, and Anesthesia rotations at CRH with a focus on learning and maximizing resident experiences with minimal service expectations. This is an ideal program for those wanting to work full

time emergency medicine in Southern Alberta upon finishing their training.

The Lethbridge CCFP-EM residents will benefit from a close association with the Calgary CCFP-EM and FRCPC program with a shared full academic day every week.

The curriculum is designed to maximize cooperation between the programs while ensuring the CCFP-EM residents get exposure to all emergency medicine core topics over the year. This includes videoconference lectures, small group discussions, oral and written examination practice, ultrasound teaching, procedural rounds, and monthly simulation sessions.

In addition to comprehensive clinical training, the Lethbridge CFPC-EM program includes a dense academic calendar that involves significant resident participation in delivering teaching sessions, hosting Grand Rounds, presenting at journal club and more. The Lethbridge CCFP-EM program does not require a research project to be completed. The purpose of this academic program is to prepare residents to become strong emergency physicians and leaders in Southern Alberta.

Other Advantages:

Two ICU Rotations - Exposure to both medical/surgical as well as neuro/trauma ICU rotations both at high acuity, high volume ICUs with a strong emphasis on learning through dedicated clinical and didactic academic rounds. Lots of exposure to procedures as the most senior resident on the CRH ICU rotation.

Ultrasound - All residents will achieve "EDE-1" equivalency by the end of their year and will have to opportunity for advanced EDE-2 ultrasound training.

Simulation -Residents will participate in a SIM bootcamp at the start of the academic year and then will have monthly longitudinal simulation program as well as simulation based procedural skills courses. There are multiple hands-on difficult airways days as well as a cadaveric procedure day.

Transition To Practice Rotation– this is a unique month at the end of the residency year designed to prepare residents for independent practice. The curriculum involves several emergency medicine shifts and small group sessions on managing department low, how to teach learners, billing and managing life and finances while practicing emergency medicine.

Social -Lethbridge emergency physicians are a closeknit group who regularly spend time socializing outside of work and we welcomeresidents to join. The Lethbridge CCFP-EM residents will join the Calgary CCFP-EM and FRCP in their 3-day resident retreat in July, multiple teaching events hosted at the homes of staff physicians, Christmas parties, a 3-day Winter retreat in Banff or Kananaskis (staff + residents), an end-of-year/welcome BBQ in June, and more.

Fulltime work upon graduation - All Lethbridge CCFP-EM graduates will be offered a locum position at CRH upon graduation.

Program Curriculum

This residency program is for 1 year. Weekly full academic days shared with the U of C CCFP-EM program.

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

The University of Calgary CCFP-EM Lethbridge program adheres to the standards.

Seminars

The formal academic program is intensive and well organized. Residents are excused from their clinical responsibilities each Thursday to attend a FULL academic day that will be shared with the Calgary CCFP-EM and FRCP programs. The academic curriculum is shaped by resident feedback and places emphasis on clinical and procedural skills. All resident seminars are supported and attended by a designated faculty member. Rounds based on selected readings from the textbook Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine are organized by staff each month. Journal club is held each month in a relaxed social setting to review the latest emergency medicine literature. Multidisciplinary simulation sessions using high fidelity patient simulators occur monthly. There is an annual resident educational retreat held in the nearby Rocky Mountains which is highly regarded by the residents. Practice exams occur quarterly and written exams twice yearly.

Training Sites

Chinook Regional Hospital (CRH) is the largest community hospital located in Southern Alberta providing services to Lethbridge and surrounding rural areas with a catchment population of ~150,000. The CRH Emergency Department is a level III trauma centre with 28 beds and over 65,000 patient visits per year. On a busy day the department sees about 200 patients a day. CRH also has 250 acute care beds, 45 geriatric beds, 20 ICU beds with 5 CCU beds and 15 NICU bassinets. CRH has coverage from ICU trained intensivists, multiple internal medicine sub-specialists, pediatrics, general surgery, obstetrics & gynecology, ENT, urology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, and plastic surgery.

Foothills Medical Hospital (FMH) is a comprehensive tertiary care hospital in Calgary and Level I trauma and cardiac 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 Southeastern British Columbia. The emergency department sees approximately 80,000 patients per year with very high acuity of sub-specialty, medical, surgical and trauma patients.

Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Calgary is a tertiary children’s hospital referral centre for Southern Alberta and Southeastern British Columbia. The emergency department sees many complicated pediatric problems as well as a large volume of common pediatric emergencies.

Poison and Drug Information Service (PADIS) is the regional Poison Centre for all of Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, and is located in the Foothills Medical Centre. Numerous board-certified toxicologists are formally involved in clinical and didactic teaching of toxicology.

Additional Information

Life in Lethbridge strikes a balance between the feel of a close-knit small community and the services and amenities of a growing urban centre with a population of over 100,000. Lethbridge has a diverse population, two modern post-secondary institutions, a thriving arts and culture scene, top-notch recreational facilities all set