Une initiative de
Dr. Christina Liak
Directeur(trice) du programme
Hayley Stitt
Above all, our Program provides a high-quality and flexible educational experience that fully and successfully prepares our trainees for a career in either academic or community respirology.
By virtue of a highly flexible Core of Discipline Phase that is tailored to the needs of the individual trainee, trainees are able to choose from a variety of elective/selective experiences that serve to achieve individual career goals. Our faculty are dedicated to ensuring that our trainees are exposed to all aspects of general and subspecialty respirology. Subspecialty experience, supervised by experts in the field, is gained from regular attendance at clinics in cystic fibrosis, COPD, ILD, TB, pleural space management, sleep, asthma, pulmonary rehabilitation, lung diagnostic program, pulmonary hypertension, lung cancer, tuberculosis, and cough. Queen’s Respiratory Medicine Program has a rich exposure to pulmonary procedures with an EBUS program, pleural space clinic with indwelling pleural catheter management, and an active inpatient service that routinely manages complex pleural spaces and infections. Our program has two ultrasounds for procedural activities. The center has state-of-the-art simulation facilities with a bronchoscopy simulator.
Trainees interested in academia have opportunities to take part in research projects in collaboration with our faculty, many of whom are internationally renown. Trainees are supported to attend scientific meetings and symposia to present original research. On an individual basis, residents wishing to pursue concurrent part-time master’s programs of study relevant to the field of Respiratory Medicine, Medical Administration, or Medical Education will be considered.
Queen’s University, located on the shores of Lake Ontario in picturesque Kingston, Ontario, is one of Canada’s leading academic institutions. As a city, Kingston offers larger-city amenities with a smaller-city feel. In addition to world-class water sports, Kingston and the surrounding area allows easy access to camping, biking and nature trails. Located in the heart of the Thousand Islands, Kingston is also within easy driving distance to the major urban centres of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Syracuse.
This residency program is for 2 years.
Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.
Throughout the training program, our trainees receive longitudinal experiences in bronchoscopy and other thoracic procedures such as tube thoracostomy. The program maintains an urgent referral clinic/fellow’s clinic that sees the majority of the urgent referrals for the Division and provides a venue for Fellows to follow these patients longitudinally. This clinic is supervised at arm’s length by faculty, provides graded responsibility, and allows the development of the managerial skills required for transition into clinical practice. PFT interpretation also occurs on a recurring fashion throughout training.
The formal academic program consists of a weekly academic half day that covers all aspects of core respirology. In addition, there are weekly Grand Rounds (attended by all members of the Division of Respirology), weekly tumour board, monthly Journal Clubs, and biweekly ILD Rounds (held in conjunction with Respirology, Radiology, Pathology, and Thoracic Surgery). There are routine teaching sessions dedicated to radiology, lead by our Chest Radiologist that coincides with academic half day, as well as a dedicated block of radiology. Principles in pulmonary physiology are taught using a core group of lectures offered at the beginning of each academic year, with concepts further reinforced and applied to the clinical setting during academic half days.
Trainees with an interest in medical education will have the opportunity to contribute to a variety of teaching formats provided to students in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. Formal or virtual instruction, modules, mentorship and in-person programs occurring in Kingston and regionally are accessible through the University. To review these programs and opportunities, please refer to their website -https://healthsci.queensu.ca/opdes/faculty-development
The first year of training is designed to provide a broad exposure to general respirology, through both inpatient and ambulatory patient encounters. Depending on career path, 1-2 months of ICU and an elective month round out the first year. The PGY 4 trainees are responsible for interpreting PFTs throughout the year, and are assigned to at least one half-day of bronchoscopies per week. Procedural training, including the use of ultrasound-guided thoracentesis and tube thoracostomy, is provided throughout the year.
The second year of training builds on the foundations of general respirology that were developed in the first year. In the second year, trainees receive more focused exposure to subspecialty respirology by taking part in weekly subspecialty clinics. Additional rotations in chest radiology, lung cancer, thoracic surgery, and lung transplantation are also included, as is a block spent as a senior resident in the Intensive Care Unit. A minimum of 2 blocks will be spent in sleep medicine. Skills in bronchoscopy are further developed with the use of more advanced techniques such as transbronchial fine-needle aspiration and EBUS. Our ILD program has a cryobiopsy probe that residents may see employed. Final year trainees also spend a block as Junior Attending Staff on the busy inpatient respiratory consultation service, which allows further refinement of consultancy skills. During this year, the Core of Discipline trainees are responsible for the interpretation of all cardiopulmonary exercise tests and spend time in the PFT lab to learn aspects of quality control and assurance related to pulmonary function testing. Up to 5 elective/selective blocks are available during the PGY 5 year, allowing the trainee the flexibility to pursue a career path that is tailored to individual career goals.
For trainees who have completed the core training program, and contingent on the receipt of ongoing funding, we are able to offer ongoing Fellowship opportunities in Research, ILD, and Sleep Medicine. Additional experiences may be organized on an individual basis. Please note that the Royal College of Canada no longer allows for concurrent training in Respirology and Critical Care Medicine; thus, ongoing training in Critical Care requires a separate application to the Critical Care Medicine Program at Queen’s University.
