Medical Genetics

We accept medical students at the clerkship level enrolled in a Canadian medical school. The elective experience is as detailed above under U of C clerkship electives.

Duration: 2(minimum) to 4 weeks

Capacity: 1 to 2 trainees at one time

How to arrange:

Please do not contact individual faculty to arrange visiting electives.

Students must first contact the University of Calgary Visiting Elective office.  It is the student’s responsibility to fulfill all requirements as set out by the University of Calgary.

Student must then contact the Medical Genetics and Genomics program administrator with name, medical school, requested dates, and current year of training, and year of training at time of elective and copy the email to the program director.

For a Metabolics elective, please contact the Metabolics Education Coordinator.

Please Note:

• Electives MUST be applied for no later than 10 weeks prior to the start date and no earlier than 7 months (30 weeks) for any specific elective. 
• All required documents must be submitted by the clerk at the time of application for elective via the portal. Thus please download and complete the University of Calgary Immunization form prior to applying for electives in Calgary.
• Students are NOT permitted to contact preceptors/departments/placement contacts without prior approval from the Visiting Elective Coordinator. 
• All communication must be via email, any phone calls inquiries will be redirected to email.
• Any requests for cancellation of an elective must be made prior to the EIGHT (8) week cancellation deadline. Cancellation requests MUST be submitted via the AFMC Student Portal; students MUST provide a detailed rationale for the request for the cancellation at that time. 
• We request that electives are cancelled as early as possible to allow the departments enough time to fill cancelled spots with students who may be on their waiting lists. As per the National Electives Policy, if a student cancels an elective less than eight weeks prior to the start date, the home school will be notified in writing. Cancelling an elective at this point is deemed unprofessional. 

You can reach the Visiting Electives Program Coordinator via email at visiting@ucalgary.ca. Failure to follow any posted policies can be considered as a professionalism issue.

We will consider international medical students. The University of Calgary only accepts students from Canadian & LCME accredited medical schools. Students from all other universities are NOT eligible for electives in Calgary. The only pathway for accredited medical training in Alberta are through the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine or University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry programs.  If you are not eligible you may still find an opportunity for a hands-off shadowing/observership experience with Alberta Health Services.

Job Shadowing is subject to the requirements of the Alberta Health Services' Job Shadowing Policy.

The elective experience is as detailed above under University of Calgary Clerkship Electives.

Duration: 2(minimum) to 4 weeks

Capacity: 1 to 2 trainees at one time

This residency program is for 5 years.

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

Program Outline

The first two years of the program involve training in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Obstetric/Maternal Fetal Medicine, and crisis counseling. The third year is focused on Clinical Metabolics and laboratory experience with rotations in Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, and Biochemical Genetics.  Clinical genetics exposure also starts in the third year with outreach clinics (Red Deer) and resident clinics. 

The core Clinical Genetics training during the fourth and fifth years of training is largely based at the Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH), with consultation services also provided to the four other acute care sites in Calgary. Adult and pediatric in-patients and out-patients with a wide rang of conditions are seen, including malformation syndromes and inherited metabolic disorders. The Hereditary Cancer Program provides counselling and testing for adults with personal and/or family histories of cancer. Other specialty clinics include Neurogenetics, Connective Tissue Disorders, Cardiovascular Genetics, and Ophthalmic Genetics. In addition, the Prenatal Genetics Clinic is nearby and closely affiliated with the Maternal Fetal Medicine service. Senior residents also attend outreach clinics in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

PGY-1
General and subspecialty Pediatrics rotations.

PGY-2
General and subspecialty Internal Medicine, crisis counseling and Maternal Fetal Medicine rotations.

PGY-3
Cytogenetics, Biochemical Genetics, Molecular Genetics, Clinical Metabolics, and Clinical Genetics.

PGY-4
Clinical Genetics.

PGY-5
Clinical Genetics, research and/or electives.