Lungs

Thoracic Surgery | Education

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Education

The section of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Calgary has grown to consist of five teaching faculty members, located at the Foothills Medical Centre. The section provides Southern Alberta with specialized care for diseases of the lung, esophagus, trachea, and mediastinum. Although the section's primary aim is the delivery of top-quality care to its patients, there has been considerable growth in surgical education, research, and leadership on a local and national scale.


Undergraduate Medical Education

Dr. Janet Edwards is the Undergraduate Medical Education lead for the section of thoracic surgery.  In this role, she sits on the Surgery Undergraduate Education Committee.


Postgraduate Medical Education

Thoracic Surgery Residency Program

The University of Calgary is one of eight centers in Canada that provides a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons accredited residency program for thoracic surgery. The goal of the program is to educate future leaders in thoracic surgery by providing a high-volume, high-quality, contemporary learning environment in and out of the operating room. Residents enjoy undivided access to the breadth of educational activities as our program deliberately takes only one resident every two years. The strengths of our program are the dedicated faculty and excellent high-volume clinical exposure. The entire section's activities revolve around the resident educational schedule.

The program is two years in length and typically follows the completion of a residency in general surgery or cardiac surgery. During the two-year program, residents will spend at least 18 months of their time on the thoracic surgery service, with additional time spent on their mandatory cardiac surgery rotation and flexible elective time. The residents may tailor their elective experiences to their own needs and interests.

Every second year a resident will be accepted into the program (the program does not participate in the CaRMS matching process). We encourage applicants to apply to the program 18 months before their anticipated start date. All applications should be forwarded to our Program Administrator and should include the following:

  • Current CV
  • Three reference letters
  • Personal statement

We will begin accepting applications for the next residency on November 1, 2022, and the application deadline is December 30, 2022. Interviews will take place in Calgary (in person) or virtually in late February, and the residency begins on July 1, 2024. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Residency Program Director
Dr. Sean McFadden
Foothills Medical Centre

Program Administrator
Ashley Ulmer
Foothills Medical Centre
Email:  Ashley.Ulmer@ahs.ca