Lethbridge

My favorite thing about the Lethbridge program is that you can curate your residency experience to best serve your future practice goals. It is very easy to set up electives with various specialties which would otherwise be saturated with residents in urban centers. I enjoy that the Lethbridge program is small enough to allow us to have experiences in different areas where we are typically the only resident. This while having a “full service” regional hospital with many specialists and consultants. Being the only resident on most services means that I can strive to achieve my goals, have an opportunity to perform procedures and interact with attendings one on one.
I have found the staff at the Lethbridge Hospital and every rural site very welcoming and happy to have residents. I have felt like a valued member of the multidisciplinary team during every rotation. The rural sites where I have completed rotations have been diverse in landscape, culture and services offered which has allowed me to learn about the different roles that a “rural generalist” can play.

The close relationships I have made with my coresidents have been a pleasant surprise. I assumed that rural training would mean I would be isolated from other residents, however the program works hard to ensure there is social interaction between colleagues.

The program offers several courses free of cost to the residents such as CASTED, POCUS EDE, Leap, ALARM, etc.

Undoubtedly! I am often the only resident on a given service or rural site which has allowed me to “get right in the action”. I have been able to set specific, ambitious goals for every rotation and my attendings will go out of their way to help me meet those goals. The attending teams work closely together and will communicate with one another when there is a resident on rotation. It is not uncommon to have someone come and get me to discuss or participate in cases that are somewhat rare or infrequently encountered.
I have also been able to join other members of the team such as nurses, paramedics, ortho techs and pharmacists on different occasions. They have taught me a variety of skills which will be very useful in my future practice.

Absolutely! This is the most valuable aspect of this program, in my opinion. Residency is hard work, no matter what but being allowed some flexibility and control has been invaluable. The program has been flexible and accommodating with my specific needs and those of my co-residents.
The fact that this is not a “service based” program has allowed me to arrange my call schedules and hours on service to best serve my family life while still completing every academic requirement and achieving my learning goals. This has been invaluable for my health and the well-being of my family, as well as for my training. I feel that I will be a well-trained, well-rounded rural generalist at the end of my residency while being able to be a good parent and looking after my own health.