Can I contact a resident in the program to ask some questions?

Yes, please email our chief residents – Anthony Ojukwu (anthony.ojukwu@usask.ca) or Brendan Lim (kiy403@mail.usask.ca) Joel Peltonen (jdp112@mail.usask.ca) — if you have any questions.

Which city will I be based out of? Saskatoon or Regina?

For 2025, there will be one position in each site (Regina and Saskatoon). All residents spend time in both cities, with funding support available for travel and accommodations in the opposite site to your geographic base.

Will I be a CBD resident?

All residents since July 2020 are in the CBD stream with a curriculum designed to follow the Royal College guidelines.

What’s different or new about your program?

We have made several changes in the last couple of years including bi-weekly optional EMG rounds, a patient safety and quality improvement course integrated into our academic teaching curriculum, and 5 sessions of applied ultrasound and anatomy focused on a specific body region.

We have a research associate who is responsible for overseeing the research curriculum. We have 10-12 critical appraisal sessions per year, 4 journal surveillance sessions, a patient safety and quality improvement curriculum, an annual PM&R research half day including resident research award, and quarterly Quality Improvement (formerly Morbidity and Mortality) rounds. All residents are required to complete a scholarly project during their training with the support of the research associate, faculty members, and/or research scientists.

University of Saskatchewan - Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation - Saskatoon

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University of Saskatchewan – Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation – Saskatoon

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Aerial of Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon Health Region.

Contact

Dr. Shane Wunder, Dr. Brendan Kushneriuk (Program Co-Directors)

Program Director

Chastin Miller

Program Administrator

Application Details

Canadian Medical Graduates

Events Calendar

Upcoming Events

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Upcoming Events From

University of Saskatchewan

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Program Highlights

The University of Saskatchewan Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation is a provincial program that provides a unique and flexible opportunity to take advantage of the best training opportunities across two main campuses, located in the cities of Saskatoon and Regina, as well as opportunities to experience one or more of the regional centres throughout the province. We currently have residents in various stages of training who have their primary base in either Regina or Saskatoon. For 2025, we will have one position based primarily at each of the two training sites of Saskatoon and Regina. Residents training at both sites will still be expected to complete part of their training at the other campus to take advantage of the strengths at both locations and the diversity of faculty and patients across our province.

We have integrated support for research with access to research scientists in both cities. We have strong working relationships with neurosciences, rheumatology and orthopedics. Both centres have established services in the core rehabilitation areas of stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury and amputation medicine.

General Information

Our two tertiary rehabilitation centres in Saskatoon and Regina serve a provincial population of over 1.2 million. Our program is distributed between both cities, which offers the best of flexibility, personalized attention, and practical experience. There is excellent support from the College of Medicine to support this distributed model. We have a strong focus on neurological and musculoskeletal anatomy reinforced by five half days per year in the College of Medicine anatomy lab guided by an anatomist and physiatrist. This is followed by hands-on ultrasound teaching and practice evaluating the anatomy reviewed in the lab. We are continuing to build our expertise for integrating ultrasound into spasticity management and musculoskeletal procedures. We also have optional EMG teaching rounds in addition to our regular academic teaching program.

At the Regina campus, the program is primarily based out of Wascana Rehabilitation Centre, a stand-alone rehabilitation facility which has all core rehabilitation services at one site including inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services, electrodiagnostics, prosthetics and orthotics, specialized seating, and services for pediatric rehabilitation. The campus in Saskatoon is based out of Saskatoon City Hospital, where there are inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services. There is also the opportunity to work with off-site pediatric subspecialists as well as teams managing cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other neuromuscular diseases in addition to orthotics and prosthetics. As there is currently no subspecialized pediatric physiatrist in Saskatchewan, we have an affiliation agreement in place with the University of Calgary where we require and support one block of pediatric rehabilitation.  There are also five community physiatrists in Saskatoon who see a mix of musculoskeletal and electrodiagnostic medicine.

Salary Information

Post graduate salaries and benefits differ by province and are determined by two things: your training year, and the province you work in. See below the salaries and benefits for University of Saskatchewan - Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation - Saskatoon.

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.

Saskatoon

Saskatoon is a city straddling the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan, Canada. North along the riverside Meewasin Trail is Wanuskewin Heritage Park, with exhibitions exploring indigenous culture. On the trail’s southern stretch, native wildlife inhabit the prairie grasslands of Beaver Creek Conservation Area. East of the river, the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo has manicured gardens and a children’s zoo.

Resident Experience

Stephen Patrick

PGY-4

One of the things that comes to mind is our anatomy and ultrasound sessions. These days are a great opportunity to review in-depth anatomy and develop technical ultrasound skills that can easily be carried over into practice. I also find our weekly EMG rounds are another great aspect of the program. We have dedicated staff who have put lots of effort into making these rounds both fun and highly educational.

For me, one of the best aspects of the program is the people who make up our staff and resident groups. Everyone is friendly and easy to get along with. I find staff routinely go the extra mile to provide teaching sessions, and resources, and create unique learning opportunities for residents. Co-residents are quick to help with any learning points that come up, and we all enjoy spending time together outside of work as well.

Personally, I feel as though life is great outside of being a resident. Our program promotes a positive work-life balance allowing residents to enjoy life outside of medicine. As a province, Saskatchewan has many great activities to offer, and hidden gems to discover both in the summer and the winter months. I enjoy outdoor activities and find plenty of time for extracurriculars throughout the year. Some highlights from my past year include kiteboarding, kayaking, camping, ice-fishing, wake-surfing, and spending time at the lake.

Our program emphasizes wellness in a general sense through its structured support for residents in areas that may have classically caused residents to stress. These supports include dedicated time for scholarly activity and studying, flexibility with call and vacation scheduling, dedicated research blocks, as well as a research coordinator, to support resident research projects. From a more detailed perspective, the program provides regular check-ins with a faculty wellness coordinator, this provides an opportunity for residents to discuss any wellness-related concerns or ask questions related to daily life. Our resident wellness representative promotes many different recreational activities, including sporting events, such as slow-pitch tournaments or golf, to escape rooms, dinners, or game nights. Finally, I feel our resident group does an excellent job of supporting each other from year to year. It is amazing how much I have learned from residents in years above me, and I have always felt encouraged to ask any questions or ask for support if needed.

This year has been very exciting so far, we’ve just had our annual retreat which was hosted at Christopher Lake this year. It was a fun way to kick off the year and get to know the incoming residents. I am also excited about my upcoming blocks including a neuromuscular, MSK, and pediatrics block. Personally, I enjoy teaching and have recently taken on a few different teaching roles through the College of Medicine.

Joel Peltonen

PGY-4

One of the highlights of our program is our ultrasound training. Ultrasound is increasingly being integrated into physiatry practice and is an important skill to learn during residency. Many of the physiatrists in Saskatchewan use ultrasound in their daily practice. As residents, we have the opportunity to train under these physiatrists to learn the fundamentals of ultrasound-guided spasticity and musculoskeletal management. There are plenty of opportunities for residents to use ultrasound in clinics and on the ward. Additionally, our program has dedicated anatomy and ultrasound sessions that provide residents with excellent hands-on ultrasound training. These sessions occur 5 times every year.

My favorite aspect of being a resident in Saskatchewan is the collegiality between staff and residents. The staff in our program treat the residents as future colleagues and are very open to discussions around career planning and mentorship. We have the opportunity for formal mentorship from staff physiatrist but also receive mentorship in more casual settings, as well. I have had plenty of great conversations, concerning my future practice, while going out for dinner, rock climbing and playing pickleball with staff.

The community within our program is made up of the residents, staff and their respective families. Getting to know each resident and their families has been a huge source of joy for me personally. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time getting to know all of the members of the USask Physiatry community. One memorable event was our recent resident retreat at Christopher Lake, where we spent time boating, playing beach volleyball and getting to know each other on a personal level.

The work-life balance in our program is fantastic. I personally spend a lot of my spare time being physically active. I enjoy spending time in the gym and on the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu mats. These have both been great outlets during busy rotations. Despite the workload of residency, I have been able to compete in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions on a regular basis. I have also enjoyed playing golf with several of my co-residents.

Wellness is a big part of our culture. We are very well supported by our program director and dedicated wellness representatives. We have many formalized wellness events throughout the year which include our resident retreat, wheelchair sports and dedicated wellness lectures on topics of our choosing. There are also limitless opportunities for informal wellness activities which include resident board game nights, resident socials and dinners after our academic half days.

As someone who is interested in musculoskeletal interventions, I am looking forward to some of my upcoming blocks. I have two blocks that will be divided between physiatry musculoskeletal clinics and anesthesia pain clinics. These blocks will provide a lot of hands-on procedure time under ultrasound and fluoroscopic guidance. The Regina Chronic Pain Clinic has several fellowship-trained interventionalists that provide a wealth of knowledge to interested residents.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have a research associate who is responsible for overseeing the research curriculum.
We have 10-12 critical appraisal sessions per year, 4 journal surveillance sessions, a patient safety and quality improvement curriculum, an annual PM&R research half day including resident research award, and quarterly Quality Improvement (formerly Morbidity and Mortality) rounds.
All residents are required to complete a scholarly project during their training with the support of the research associate, faculty members, and/or research scientists.

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University of Saskatchewan – Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation – Saskatoon

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

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