Developmental Pediatrics

Developmental Pediatrics

Developmental pediatrics, as defined by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, is the branch of medicine that focuses on developmental trajectories of children with congenital or acquired disorders and/or individual variations in physical, motor, cognitive, sensory and social-emotional development.

  • Pediatric Residents are scheduled to do one period of 4 weeks of Developmental Pediatrics as part of their first postgraduate (PGY-1) year training. This is arranged through the General Pediatric Post Graduate Program.
  • The rotation is comprised of outpatient clinics involving children with various developmental presentations (e.g. high-risk neonates in the Neonatal Follow-up Clinic, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy). During and in your rotation you will be in clinics with Developmental Pediatricians, Pediatric Neurologists, and Neonataologists who specialize in neurodevelopmental follow-up. You will also be expected to present a critical review of a journal article during your rotation. In addition a practice MCQ exam is completed during the rotation. Numerous reading articles will complement the developmental pediatric experience. 
  • Additional electives are organized jointly by the General Pediatric Post Graduate Program and the person in charge of their Developmental Rotation.
  • We try our best to accept residents from other centres and programs. However, this is sometimes difficult to accommodate all demands. Each submission will be accepted based on opportunity to offer an acceptable and useful 4-week rotation. Yearly, we can accommodate 3-4 at the most. Contact Dr. Scott McLeod at Scott.Mcleod2@ahs.ca and/or Amber Sando (Amber.Sando@ahs.ca) Program Administrator, Interim PA Kathleen Smith (kathleen.smith2@ahs.ca) with your request and provide the following:
    • Name
    • year of training,
    • location of your current pediatric postgraduate program dates (and alternates)
    • reason for requesting to do electives at our centre

The Section of Developmental Pediatrics offers a number of educational opportunities for medical students including:

  • Shadowing opportunities for junior medical students
  • Med 440 electives
  • Clerkship electives

Details regarding each of these educational experiences are outlined below. Please contact physicians directly through Alberta Health Services email to make an enquiry, and cc: Amber Sando (Amber.Sando@ahs.ca) Program Administrator, Interim PA Kathleen Smith (kathleen.smith2@ahs.ca).

  1. Med 440 Electives

    • Please contact physicians directly to arrange details of a potential elective.
    • Email should include the following:
      • Dates and times in which you are interested.
      • Note that many doctors only have clinics on certain half-days of the week. Therefore, a 440 elective may not be feasible if the desired dates and time do not coincide with that clinician’s clinics.
    • Contact Education Administrator with confirmation of preceptor agreement as soon as possible.  Education Administrator will assist student in fulfilling any hospital- based requirements prior to elective. See Resources for Education Contacts.

  2. U of C Clerkship Electives

    • Please go on to OSLER and locate the elective catalogue for a description of the program and Instructions on how to proceed. Please contact elective@ucalgary.ca with any other questions you may have.
    • You may then contact the appropriate Education Contact (see Resources).

  3. Non U of C Clerkship Electives

    Please review all of the criteria and guidelines for the University of Calgary described on the following link: http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/

    If you meet the criteria, you may then contact the appropriate Education Contact (see Resources)

    Once accepted you will need to proceed with the paperwork as described on the website listed above.

  4. Research Opportunities

    • Many of us have research experience and mentorship skills for research projects.
    • If interested: Include your CV, areas of research interest (if any) and any research experience that you have had in an email request to Dr. MacLellan or make an appointment through her administrative assistant Barbara Willett at barbara.willett@albertahealthservices.ca or (403) 955-7515.
  • The Subspecialty Resident Program in Developmental Pediatrics is fully accredited with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. It is a two-year post-graduate program located primarily at the Child Development Centre, which is across the street from the Alberta Children’s Hospital and University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine. Neuromotor Clinics are located within Clinical Neurosciences at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Other specialized clinical experience also occur at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, ambulatory child mental health settings, and outreach clinics to both urban school programs and formalized rural outreach clinics. We are presently accepting one resident into the program per year. For more information, please visit the CARMS website www.carms.ca for full description and relevant deadlines 
  • International Applicants for Subspecialty Training: Please contact the PGME office for further information required to apply to Developmental Pediatrics. https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/pgme/future-trainees 
  • Observership for international applicants is offered to help determine whether our program is suited to your educational needs. For further information regarding an observership please contact the PGME office. https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/pgme/future-trainees
  • Residents currently enrolled in Canadian training programs for Developmental Pediatrics are welcome to apply for clinical or research electives with our division.

Canadian Pediatric Society

Dr. Scott McLeod
Program Director
 

Amber Sando
Program Administrator