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The Office of Surgical Research provides members of the Department of Surgery with resources and supports to enhance research initiatives within the department. They offer various operational and salary support grants such as the Calgary Surgical Research Development Fund (CSRDF) as well as the Surgeon Scientist Program (SSP). They can assist with grant writing, ethics submissions, navigating policies, creating research goals, networking within the institution and statistical support. More information can be found at: ucalgary.ca/osr.
The Clinical Investigator Program is a two-year accredited research program through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. The program gives residents and fellows the opportunity to pursue a MSc, PhD or Postdoctoral training as part of their training. In addition to salary support, the program offers weekly seminars and an annual research day as well as many added benefits such as software licenses, networking opportunities, peer review and so on. More information can be found at: cumming.ucalgary.ca/cip.
Many residents have completed a Master’s degree or PhD during General Surgery Training. If you have current and specific questions regarding research support and planning please feel free to reach out to our assistant program director, Dr. Nathan Zondervan- njzonder@ucalgary.ca, a graduate of this program, or to Dr. Mary Hou – mary.hou@ucalgary.ca, currently a PGY2 completing a master’s degree focusing on the clinical application of artificial intelligence.
Our Research Committee is made up of five General Surgery faculty members representing a wide range of subspecialties. The committee is dedicated to supporting residents in achieving their clinical research goals and fostering their academic growth. We actively seek to secure additional funding opportunities for residents interested in pursuing advanced degrees at external institutions. Through a comprehensive educational leave policy, residents remain fully connected to our program during their research training and receive strong support to smoothly reintegrate into surgical practice upon their return.
Every year the program hosts a “wellness weekend” usually held in Banff, Alberta. The residents meet and engage in a series of sessions on topics of residents’ choice (i.e. family life, leadership, finances as a surgeon, mindfulness, sleep) as well as take part in lots of fun activities such as skiing, skating, and the hotel hot tub!
Calgary is the home of the Calgary Stampede, as well as the Calgary Flames and Stampeders. Downtown is full of restaurants and entertainment for those that want to stay in the city on weekends, and the mountains with all their wonders are a short drive away.
General Surgery training program has a long history of close collegial relationships among residents and faculty. Within the Canadian General Surgery landscape, we are a “medium-sized” program uniquely positioned to combine the benefits of both a large and small sized General Surgery residency program. Our residents develop early and close relationships with faculty, which facilitates early operative experience and clinical decision making. This sets up our residents well to move through graduated responsibility and develop independence. Graduates of our program are equally able to move onto clinical sub-specialty / academic training or directly enter general surgery practice. Our residents are a close knit “family’ with many lifelong friendships forged along the way!
The majority of our core general surgery rotations occur between two main sites:
Foothills Medical Centre
Peter Lougheed Centre
This promotes close relationships with the staff and fellow residents, helping to facilitate mentorship opportunities and support networks. More targeted rotations may occur at the other hospitals in Calgary (Rockyview General Hospital, South Health Campus & Alberta Children’s Hospital). Calgary is a major academic center, with exposure to all general surgery subspecialties with the exception of liver transplant. In addition, the Calgary program offers residents opportunities to do community General Surgery rotations within Calgary and peripheral sites such as Lethbridge (Chinook Regional Hospital) and Red Deer (Red Deer Regional Hospital).
Rotation scheduling is led by the Assistant Program Director and strives to provide training within the core disciplines of general surgery as outlined by the Royal College while maximizing flexibility (through elective and selective experiences) in order to tailor the program to the career aspirations & goals of each resident.
The program has a research committee comprised of four faculty surgeons with diverse academic backgrounds and interests. The research committee members meet with the residents twice a year to discuss scholarly pursuits. The committee helps to match residents with faculty scholarship mentors to carry out projects in the resident’s area(s) of interest. In addition, the committee provides guidance and connection to resources around research including ethics templates, funding sources, and statistical support. Some resources available within the program / department include:
Office of Surgical Research (OSR) – this office of the Department of Surgery has internal grant funding and provides resources around research proposals, ethics and statistics. The office also runs the annual Department of Surgery research day (“Surgeons Day”) in which faculty and selected residents will present their projects.
Clinical Investigator Program (CIP) – This is a Royal College Accredited program that supports residents and/or fellows to pursue an advanced degree (M.Sc, Ph.D) or post-doctoral training. The program offers PGY appropriate salary support as well as weekly seminars, an annual research day and access to resources such as software licenses, networking etc.
Graduates of the Calgary program have been successful in obtaining community General Surgery positions directly after residency, as well as in obtaining highly competitive fellowships both within Canada and internationally.
Resident wellness is a priority. Happy and healthy residents are the cornerstone of a successful residency program. The Calgary General Surgery residency training program is a “family” that will support you in becoming a competent and confident General Surgeon!
