An initiative of
Dr. Quinten Paterson
Program Director
Leah Chomyshen
In 2023, we overhauled our academic curriculum with the goal being to utilize more active learning techniques, remove redundancies within the curriculum, and delve more into the depts, not just the breadths, of emergency medicine. This curriculum is now in its second year of implementation and has received promising initial feedback from residents. One thing the residents rave about is the group-learning component of half-day, where they discuss interesting cases and complex topics in a casual, interesting, and often gamified self-directed setting.
Each resident is assigned an EM Faculty Academic Advisor (AA) and a Longitudinal Mentor. When on EM rotations, residents work at least a couple of shifts with each of these physicians who are able to provide insightful feedback on their progress through repeated longitudinal exposure. Residents will collect EPA (Entrustable Professional Activity) assessments during their rotations. Each quarter, residents will review all their assessment data (EPAs, exam scores, other assessment data) fill out a self-assessment form on their progress, and have a meeting with their AA to review their progress. AAs have been trained in a local coaching model based on self-regulated learning theory to help residents set goals for the next quarter. The resident and AA submit a report to the Competence Committee (CC). One CC member completes a primary review of the resident’s assessment data, as well as the self-assessment and AA report. They present their findings to the CC members for discussion and recommendations for progress decision. Targeted learning goals are summarized. The Program Directors meet with each resident shortly after the CC meeting to share their progress decision and learning plan. The summary of their progress and learning plan are sent to the AA and Longitudinal Supervisor/Mentor for focused coaching on shift.
Training in Saskatchewan means you benefit from the acuity and resources of a large centre while enjoying the personal connections and perks of a small centre – right in the sweet spot! Being a small to medium-sized program, residents are exposed to high acuity patients in the ED and on off-service rotations, yet rarely have to “compete” with other learners for clinical care or procedural involvement. Working in an environment where you know your colleagues and they know you leads comradery and community that is hard to match elsewhere.
Saskatchewan’s Royal College Emergency Medicine training program is run through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and has its main training site in Saskatoon and its distributed site in Regina. Founded in July 2011, we currently have 17 residents across all years of training and have graduated 24 specialists from the program, with 18 of those 21 graduates having stayed to work in Saskatchewan.
In 2023 we expanded to include Regina as a distributed training site and currently have 3 residents based at this site, and 14 residents based in Saskatoon. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a growing program. The small size also provides opportunities for more longitudinal one on one mentorship and more procedural opportunities.
Goals of the University of Saskatchewan Royal College Emergency Medicine Residency Program:
The University of Saskatchewan Royal College Emergency Medicine Residency Training Program aims to train Emergency Medicine Specialists who:
The College of Medicine, while physically located in Saskatoon, is a provincial resource in attitude and in practice. Postgraduate medical education at the University of Saskatchewan takes seriously its role in supporting quality health care to all people of the province. This means training physicians to meet the needs of, not only urban populations, but also those of rural and remote populations. In so doing, the College of Medicine has developed, and continues to develop, rotations in Regina and other communities. These rotations are designed to provide educational experiences to enhance the resident’s knowledge and skills and take maximum advantage of unique educational opportunities in a diversity of communities. All postgraduate programs are expected to develop and incorporate into their curriculum, rotations in communities other than Saskatoon. The way each program does this is not strictly prescribed by the College of Medicine – but is determined by the Residency Program Committee, taking into consideration the needs of their residents, and the excellent opportunities available in other locations. These rotations continue to evolve as we seek to build stronger and better programs.
Extensive support is available for out of town rotations. The exact nature of this support varies with location and program. The communities involved, individual programs, the College of Medicine, and the Ministry of Health work collaboratively to ensure residents are not financially disadvantaged by the need to relocate.
For residents assigned to short term rotations away from their home base, fully furnished private apartments are provided (laundry facilities, wi-fi, cable TV) and are located in close proximity to their distributed workplace. Family-friendly and pet-friendly housing is available.
Saskatchewan | |
|---|---|
Gross annual PGY-1 Salary | $61,635 |
Gross annual PGY-2 Salary | $67,217 |
Gross annual PGY-3 Salary | $72,794* |
Gross annual PGY-4 Salary | $78,348* |
Gross annual PGY-5 Salary | $83,860* |
Gross annual PGY-6 Salary | $89,359* |
Educational Leave | Minimum 7 days with pay, 12 Maximum |
Annual Vacation | 4 weeks |
Meal Allowance | n/a |
Frequency of Calls | 1:4 in-house (if in excess of 1:4 paid $196/period from 1700-0800 weekdays and $249 from 0800-0800 weekends)* 1:3 out-of-house |
Maternity Leave / Paternity | In conformity with Sask. Labour Standards Act – 17 weeks max maternity leave and up to 35 weeks parental leave. 5 paid days paternity (can split the 35 weeks parental leave with mother as desired.) |
Supplemental Maternity Leave Benefits | 15 weeks topped to 90% pay when eligible for Employment Insurance |
Provincial Health Insurance | Yes, if registered with Sask. Health |
Extended Health Insurance | Blue Cross family coverage, if registered with a Provincial Health Plan |
CMPA Dues Paid | 100% |
Dental Plan | 100% |
Statutory and Floating Holidays | 1.5 times pay or 1/2 pay & day off for stats, plus 6 extra paid days off at Christmas |
Long-Term Disability Insurance | Paid premium cost for Disability Insurance |
Life Insurance | Paid premium, >$100,000 coverage |
Sick Leave | 1.25 days per month to maximum 75 days |
Provincial Dues (% of salary) | 1% |
Employee Assistance Program | Two programs available through SMA and University of Saskatchewan |
On-Call Stipends | Home Light: per duty period: $72 weekday; $83 weekend In House: per duty period: $166 weekday; $191 weekend ICU/CCU: per duty period: $166 weekday; $191 weekend |
Updated August 24, 2022
*Effective January 1, 2021
Term of Collective Agreement – visit http://www.residentdoctorssk.ca/contract/current-collective-agreement for contract details.
As noted above, our current strengths include a new academic curriculum, a robust program of assessment, and a personal learning environment. Furthermore, we take pride in having national leaders in medical education, ultrasound, and pre-hospital medicine/emergency medical services. As a small to medium sized program, we also encourage our residents to seek out opportunities for advancement where they are available and provide them with resources to pursue additional training in those areas of interest.
Each resident is assigned an EM Faculty Academic Advisor (AA) and a Longitudinal Supervisor/Mentor. When on EM rotations, residents work at least a couple of shifts with each of these physicians, as well as with one of the PDs or APDs, who can provide insightful feedback on their progress through repeated longitudinal exposure. AAs have been trained in a coaching model to help residents set goals for the next quarter.
The curriculum is viewed as two parallel curricula: clinical curriculum and academic curriculum both contributing to meet all Royal College Accreditation Standards (fully accredited until 2031).
In addition to the clinical blocks outlined above, additional longitudinal rotations include: PGY-1: Toxicology, Family Medicine, Collaborator Shifts PGY-3: Pre-Hospital Medicine/EMS, Junior Education Block PGY-5: Senior Education Block
In PGY-1, residents complete the transition to discipline and foundations of discipline competencies. The resident will spend the majority of the year being exposed to Emergency Medicine in order to develop the framework for acquisition of expertise during off-service rotations.
PGY-2 to PGY-4 consist of the Core of discipline competencies. The majority of off-service rotations occur at this time.
In PGY-5 residents prepare for transition to practice. Residents will be expected to function as a junior Staff in the ED, and will serve as Lead Residents for the program. They will work to develop an Area of Comprehensive Expertise (ACE). This can be in any clinical or academic area that will enhance the practice of Emergency Medicine.
Academic Half Day (AHD) takes place on Wednesday afternoons. It is shared with the CFPC-EM Program, which runs a distributed program in Saskatoon, Regina & Swift Current. AHD is video-conference between all three sites. Academic Full Days (AFD) occur approximately twice per month, often including practice exams and simulation sessions in the morning.
Components of our Academic Curriculum include:
Resident-Led Topic Presentations
Staff-Led Case Presentations
Resident-Led Peds Guidelines Rounds
Staff-Led Adult Guidelines Rounds
Consultant Rounds
Group Learning
Self-Directed Learning
Provi8ncial Grand Rounds
Trauma Gran Rounds
Wellness Rounds
Procedure Rounds
EMS Rounds
Ultrasound Rounds
SuperSIM
Simulation for Assessment
Provincial Journal Club
Textbook Rosen’s Rounds
Canadian In Training Exam (CITE)
Practice Oral Exams
Critical Appraisal Rounds
CanMEDS Rounds
Transition to Practice
Quality Improvement & Patient Safety
CanMEDS Rounds
Research Rounds
Geri-EM Day
Tox Day
The above curriculum may seem like a lot, bit it has been purposely mapped and regularly reviewed to ensure residents are given the best opportunity to be competent Emergency Medicine Specialists! Check out our CaRMS Program Description for a description of each of these academic curricular components.
We are fortunate to work closely with our Indigenous population and have a high volume of Indigenous patients at our training sites. To help our residents become culturally competent providers, our PGY-1s are enrolled in “The Role of Practitioners in Indigenous Wellness” course. This award-winning on-line course runs over a 3-month period during the PGY1 year.
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