Nephrology

Nephrology

The University of Calgary Pediatric Nephrology training program is a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited subspecialty training program.

University of Calgary Pediatric Residents:

  1. Resident Program

    University of Calgary pediatric residents participate in one core block of Pediatric Nephrology, most commonly during the PGY2 year of training. The rotation is split between outpatient clinics and inpatient service. Residents will have opportunities to consult, admit, and manage ward patients, perform detailed ambulatory clinic assessments on new patients specifically scheduled for the learner, and participate in multidisciplinary rounds and presentations. 

    The program administrator will email the Pediatric Nephrology Rotation Handout prior to the start of the rotation. This document contains information about the rotation goals and objectives, weekly schedule and resident expectations. This document is also available on One45.

  2. Resident Teaching Rounds

    Residents will be scheduled for Teaching Rounds on the third or fourth Tuesday of the block. The resident is expected to present a case, give a basic overview of the presenting complaint, and research a clinical question associated with the presenting complaint. The program administrator will email the Nephrology Resident Presentation Guideline Letter prior to the start of the rotation. This document is also available on One45.

  3. Call

    Pediatric Nephrology is a home call service. Pediatric residents on the nephrology rotation will be scheduled for home call on a one-in-three (1:3) basis, including one weekend. As per the PARA agreement, the scheduled number of on-call shifts will reflect the total number of days on service. The resident must contact the Program Administrator, Jolene Haddad, to arrange call shifts prior to the start of the rotation (Jolene.haddad@ahs.ca).

  4. Non U of C Pediatric Resident Electives

    The section of Pediatric Nephrology accepts pediatric residents for electives. Residents are accepted on a first-come, first serve basis.

    • Please review all of the criteria and guidelines for the University of Calgary described in the following link: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/pgme/applicants/visiting-electives
    • If you meet the criteria, you may then contact Jolene Haddad at jolene.haddad@ahs.ca to determine if there is sufficient space to accommodate an additional learner. Once accepted you will need to proceed with the paperwork as described on the website listed above.
    • Canadian Elective requests must be made 4-6 months prior to the start date to ensure all paperwork can be completed on time.
    • International Elective requests must be made 8-10 months prior to the start date to ensure all paperwork, including a work visa, can be completed on time. 

Visit Undergraduate Medical Education (UME)

Shadowing opportunities for junior medical students

Please contact the physician directly through Alberta Health Services email.

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 weeks. Therefore, a 440 elective may not be feasible if the desired dates and time do not coincide with that clinician’s clinics.
  • Contact the Program Education Administrator with confirmation of preceptor agreement as soon as possible. The Education Administrator will assist the student in fulfilling any hospital-based requirements prior to the elective. See Resources for Education Contacts

Clinical Clerks

University of Calgary Clerkship Electives

The section of Pediatric Nephrology accepts medical students for electives on a first-come, first serve basis. Electives in Pediatric Nephrology will consist of the following elements.

  1. Inpatient Wards:
    • As a clinical clerk, you will be expected to perform initial consults and follow up on patients under our care. The most senior trainee on the ward rotation (fellow or resident) is in charge of managing the Nephrology team, delegating consults, and ensuring all patients have been adequately followed up.
    • With the assistance of the house staff, you will be expected to write consult or admission notes containing pertinent history, physical examination, differential diagnosis, and treatment plan for assigned new patients. On the patients whom you are following, you will need to assess progress and write notes on their charts on a daily basis.
  2. Outpatient Nephrology Clinic:
    • During your rotation, we will aim to have you attend outpatient Nephrology clinics for half of your rotation.  Clinics may include general nephrology, chronic kidney disease, transplantation, rheumatology, myelomeningocele and urology/nephrology joint clinics and occur on all 5 days of the week. 
    • We encourage you to review patient charts in advance and take a detailed history, perform a physical exam, and develop an impression, differential diagnosis and treatment plan. Once the case is reviewed with the attending physician, you will also be responsible for completing the clinic letter.
  3. Teaching:
    • There are multiple sessions and rounds that are held during the week that include teaching. Our education administrator, Jolene Haddad, will alert you to this schedule.
  4. Call:
    • As a clinical clerk, you are not required to be on call, however if this interests you, please discuss it with the physician on call.
  5. Objectives and Goals:
    • Over the course of your rotation, the Nephrology Section will familiarize you with common and some uncommon kidney diseases that occur in the pediatric patient.  It is recommended that you meet with your preceptor at the start of the rotation to discuss your objectives for the rotation.
    • Suggested references for reading around your patients include:
      • Chapters on kidney disease in standard pediatric textbooks
      • General Pediatric Nephrology texts for more in depth reading.
      • Pediatric nephrology article list provided by education administrator
  6. Research:
    • Clerks wishing to perform small clinical projects or prepare a case report for publication can discuss potential opportunities with members of the Section of Pediatric Nephrology. Such projects could be performed throughout the year and need not be limited to the period of the rotation.
  7. Evaluation:
    • Our division is committed to providing you a timely evaluation. Two to three days before your last day of the rotation, please ask your preceptor if you can establish a time to review your evaluation. It is critical that you:  1) notify the physician that you are ending the rotation and set an appointment to discuss your evaluation 2) provide your preceptor with an evaluation (or on-line/One45) form. The preceptor should also provide you with interim feedback. If s/he does not discuss a mid-way assessment, please ask for feedback.

Contact

  • Contact Jolene Haddad at jolene.haddad@ahs.ca to determine if there is sufficient space to accommodate an additional learner.
  • Once the elective is confirmed with the administrator, you will need to contact the UME (Undergraduate Medical Education) office at the University of Calgary to obtain the necessary paperwork. E-mail: electives@ucalgary.ca

Non University of Calgary Canadian Clerkship Electives

  • Please review all of the criteria and guidelines for the University of Calgary described in the following link: https://afmcstudentportal.ca/university-of-calgary/
  • If you meet the criteria, you may then submit an elective request through the AFMC portal.

Subspecialty Training in Pediatric Nephrology

Please visit the CaRMS website for more information: https://www.carms.ca/

Program Description

The University of Calgary Pediatric Nephrology training program is a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited subspecialty training program. The program has followed the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Competence by Design (CBD) model for medical education since 2018. The program is divided into 4 stages of training (Transition to Discipline, Foundations of Discipline, Core of Discipline and Transition to Practice) with progress to the next stage based on achieving competence in the current phase. The curriculum includes 26 blocks of 4-week rotations over two years with the goal of preparing trainees for a successful career in pediatric nephrology. Throughout their training, residents will manage their Resident Continuity Clinics, perform on-call duties and attend education sessions (as outlined in Educational Seminars and Rounds).

Resident Continuity Clinic

In Foundations phase, residents will begin their half-day Resident Continuity Clinics. These longitudinal semi-weekly clinics are supervised by the attending pediatric nephrologist and provide residents with the opportunity to follow and manage their own patients throughout the duration of the training program.

Vacation

Residents are entitled to 20 days of paid vacation time per appointment year which must be scheduled 8 weeks in advance.

Call

Pediatric Nephrology is a home call service. Residents will be scheduled for home call on a one-in-three basis, including one weekend. As per the PARA agreement, the scheduled number of on-call shifts will reflect the total number of days on service.

Residents will have graded call responsibility. Junior pediatric nephrology residents or pediatric residents will take first call. Senior pediatric nephrology residents will take first call or second call as the on-call schedule permits. Staff will take second call or third call as the on-call schedule permits. Pediatric nephrology residents will progress to a “senior” designation after successful completion of Transition to Discipline and the following Foundations rotations: Inpatient Service Foundations, Outpatient Service Foundations, and Chronic Kidney Disease Service Foundations.

Clinical Service Highlights

The University of Calgary Pediatric Nephrology Training Program offers broad exposure to renal disorders through a variety of clinical experiences. The program is primarily located at the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH), a 141 bed tertiary pediatric centre that provides comprehensive care to children in Southern Alberta, Southeastern British Columbia and Southwestern Saskatchewan. Outpatient pediatric nephrology clinics include General Nephrology, Chronic Kidney Disease/Dialysis/Transplantation, Joint Rheumatology/Nephrology, Myelomeningocele and Joint Urology/Nephrology clinics. In addition, the pediatric nephrology service provides primary and consultative inpatient care, kidney transplantation and dialysis (hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and CRRT) service for this catchment area of over 2.5 million people. The ACH Pediatric Nephrology team is a large multi-disciplinary group of professionals including a social worker, dietician, pharmacist, and psychologist alongside transplant, dialysis and urology nurse specialists.

The ACH also boasts Canada’s newest and largest onsite Pediatric Patient Simulation Lab allowing for exceptional scenario-based pediatric nephrology education opportunities.

The University of Calgary Pediatric Nephrology Training Program furthers the training experience through adult nephrology clinical rotations on the busy dialysis, kidney transplantation, histopathology and tissue typing services offered at the nearby Foothills Medical Centre and Sheldon M Chumir Health Centre.

Faculty and Staff

The University of Calgary Pediatric Nephrology faculty are an enthusiastic and approachable group of physicians who strive to provide high quality teaching and patient care.  They have won numerous undergraduate and post-graduate medical education awards and truly enjoy the opportunity to educate, guide and mentor pediatric nephrology trainees.

Educational Seminars and Rounds

The University of Calgary Pediatric Nephrology Training Program aims to develop trainees with outstanding clinical skills in an atmosphere of academic inquiry. Each week, trainees can participate in multiple protected teaching and learning sessions which may include City Wide Nephrology Rounds, Dialysis Review Rounds, Transplantation Rounds, Renal Biopsy Rounds, Pediatric Nephrology Education Rounds, Journal Clubs, Weekly Case Reviews, CanMeds teaching sessions and simulation scenarios.

Each week, trainees receive four hours of protected half-day teaching sessions held in conjunction with the Adult Nephrology Training Program. This two year curriculum includes a wide array of renal physiology and clinical nephrology topics. In addition, trainees receive a monthly pediatric nephrology lecture series that provides structured didactic sessions on common renal problems, principles of end-stage renal disease care, and growth and development in infants and children. Further, the program organizes an annual Pediatric Nephrology Retreat that incorporates both educational seminars as well as team building and career counselling.

The training program encourages and supports resident attendance at national and international nephrology conferences.

Research

The University of Calgary Pediatric Nephrology section members have extensive research interests spanning both basic and clinical science and topics such as renal development, dialysis, chronic kidney disease, renal transplantation and clinical epidemiology.

In their first year, residents will participate in the annual Alberta Children’s Hospital Resident Research Course. This 4 week program provides an excellent foundation for clinical research training and guides residents in developing a project that is either part of an ongoing study or a new, innovative proposal.

Residents interested in pursuing research can apply for funding through the Kidney Foundation of Canada KRESCENT program, Empowering Next Generation Researchers in Peri-Natal and Child Health (ENRICH), Alberta Innovates Health Solutions and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute for Child and Maternal Health.

International Fellows – Arranging a fellowship with us

Useful Resources

PGME - International Medical School Graduates | Cumming School of Medicine | University of Calgary (ucalgary.ca)

  1. Year 1

    During the first year of training, the major emphasis is on developing clinical skill in general pediatric nephrology within the following 3 stages:

    1. Transition to Discipline (generally 1 block) – This stage provides an orientation to pediatric nephrology.
      • Bootcamp orientation sessions (scheduled throughout the first 2 weeks)
      • Inpatient service – 2 weeks
      • Outpatient service – 1 week
      • Chronic kidney disease service – 1 week
    1. Foundations of Discipline (generally 8 blocks) - During this stage, residents will build their foundational pediatric nephrology clinical skills and commence their semi-weekly Resident Continuity Clinics.
      • Inpatient service – 2 blocks
      • Outpatient service – 2 blocks
      • Chronic kidney disease service – 1 block
      • Adult nephrology rotation – 1 block (2 weeks Adult Dialysis, 1 week Tissue Typing, 1 week Adult Transplant)
      • ACH Research Course – 1 block
      • Elective - 1 block
    1. Core of Discipline (generally 4 blocks in year 1) - During this stage, residents will become progressively independent in their clinical activities.
      • Inpatient service - 1 block
      • Outpatient service – 1 block
      • Chronic kidney disease service – 1 block
      • Renal pathology – 1 block

  2. Year 2

    During the second year of training, residents will be supported in progressive clinical independence through more clinical rotations, a block of renal pathology and up to 5 elective rotations within the following 2 stages:

    1. Core of Discipline (generally 12 blocks in year 2) - During this stage, residents become progressively independent in their clinical activities.
      • Inpatient service – 2 blocks
      • Outpatient service – 2 blocks
      • Chronic kidney disease service – 2 blocks
      • Adult nephrology rotation – 1 block (2 weeks Adult Dialysis, 2 weeks Adult Transplant)
      • Electives – 5 blocks
    1. Transition to Practice (generally 1 block) – During this stage, residents will manage the service as junior staff.
      • Inpatient service junior staff – 1 block

  3. Year 3 (optional)

    Trainees may choose to pursue a third year of training in one of several streams. Residents focusing on a clinical pediatric nephrology traineeship will continue their clinical and research experience as described in the first and second year, but at a more advanced level. For those trainees interested in pursuing an academic career, the training program is committed to facilitating and mentoring graduate or post-doctoral fellowship training in basic science, clinical science or medical education. The University of Calgary has a number of outstanding scientists who are willing to supervise and mentor pediatric nephrology trainees at MSc, PhD and post-doctoral fellowship levels.

Dr. Anke Banks
Program Director
anke.banks@ahs.ca

Jolene Haddad
Education Program Coordinator
jolene.haddad@ahs.ca