Postgraduate Medical Education

Dean: Brian Postl

Associate Dean(s): Associate Dean (Postgraduate Medical Education): Cliff Yaffe

Campus Address/General Office: 260 Brodie Centre, 260-727 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg MB R3E 3P5

Telephone: (204) 789 3290

Fax: (204) 789 3929

Email Address:  PGME@med.umanitoba.ca

Website:  http://umanitoba.ca/medicine

Program Manager, Postgraduate Medical Education: Geeta Raichura

(Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) is not an undergraduate program) 

Postgraduate medical education (PGME) at the University of Manitoba is comprised of a variety of training programs. Programs are usually organized to be in one of three categories:

• Programs accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).
• Programs accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).
• Other training and fellowship programs approved by the Faculty of Medicine.

Programs in the first two categories are most likely to be recognized towards obtaining a license to practice medicine. The RCPSC and CFPC provide accreditation for the training program content and evaluative processes. After the successful completion of their training, candidates are eligible to challenge the appropriate national specialty exams for their particular programs. The complete listing of these programs follows in this section under the heading Description of Programs. The specific and detailed national requirements for individual programs may be obtained from the Postgraduate Medical Education Office.

The University of Manitoba is accredited every six years by the RCPSC and the CFPC to administer the training programs, and supports all training programs in a variety of ways.

Several hospitals and healthcare facilities in Winnipeg and rural areas outside of Winnipeg are used as training sites. The main teaching sites include: Health Sciences Centre, St. Boniface General Hospital, Seven Oaks General Hospital,Misericordia Health Centre, Dauphin General Hospital, and Brandon General Hospital.

General Regulations

Once accepted into a training program the student (now usually referred to as a “resident”) must pay a registration fee to the University of Manitoba. Each resident must register every subsequent year of his or her training program in person at the PGME office.

The resident must also register with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba so that his or her name is entered onto the Clinical Assistant Register Part 1.

The resident must obtain malpractice insurance, usually from the Canadian Medical Protective Association or its equivalent.

Residents enrolled in postgraduate residency programs are expected to conform to such new requirements as may be adopted from year to year.

Residents must apply directly to either the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons or the College of Family Physicians of Canada for evaluation of training and for permission to sit the college examinations. Being a resident in a program does not automatically enrol the resident for such examination or certification.

Eligibility

Graduates of Canadian medical schools are eligible for consideration of PGME training, and are required to challenge the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination, Part I prior to commencing their residencies.

Generally, Canadian citizens or landed immigrants are eligible for provincial funding for residency training under the contract established with the Professional Association of Residents and Interns of Manitoba (PARIM).

International medical graduates (IMGs) are eligible to apply for admission after they have challenged the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination. IMGs must be Canadian or permanent residents to be eligible to apply for postgraduate medical training. IMGs may apply for possible residency positions through the CaRMS match (see below).

Visa-trainees represent a special training category for entrance to postgraduate medical training. The visa-trainee applicant must pass the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination and be sponsored by an agency which has entered into a contract with the University of Manitoba for such training.

All residents must receive remuneration from an institution recognized by the Government of Manitoba while registered in a training program in PGME.

Criteria for Selection

Selection for admission to the various training programs will be made primarily on the basis of scholastic, personal and professional attributes as determined by academic records, personal interviews, letters of reference and in-training evaluation reports. The selection process is determined by each particular training program through a set selection process. Admission to the postgraduate training year one (PGY1) for most programs is conducted through the CaRMS PGY1 match outlined below.

University Registration

All postgraduate trainees and fellows (not registered with the Faculty of Graduate Studies for M.Sc. or Ph.D. degrees) must be registered as postgraduate trainees in the Faculty of Medicine. The normal registration period is June 15 to July 1 each year, and is done by the Faculty PGME Office.

Program Administration

The departments which provide PGME training programs in the Faculty of Medicine are: Anesthesia, Community Health Sciences, Family Medicine, Biochemistry and Human Genetics, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Medical Microbiology, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Otolaryngology, Pathology, Pediatrics and Child Health, Psychiatry, Radiology and Surgery. Some departments offer more than one program, and may also offer training in sub-specialty areas.

Each program has a Program Director and a Resident Program Committee to administer the training program. There are also program coordinators at each training site. The Program Director of each program reports both to the Department Head and the Associate Dean of PGME.

Beyond the program level, administrative matters pertaining to postgraduate residency training programs are the responsibility of the Associate Dean for PGME and the Faculty PGME Executive Committee and its subcommittees. These committees are responsible for reviewing programs, allocation of residency positions, hearing resident appeals, and other duties as outlined in the terms of reference for each committee. The committees make recommendations to both the Dean of the faculty and the Faculty Executive Committee.

Description of Programs

Postgraduate medical education will generally follow one of two pathways leading to licensure eligibility as described below.

College of Family Physicians of Canada Accredited Programs

The training program for family physicians offers a two-year basic program in outpatient, in-hospital and community settings. This program is composed of several streams (urban, rural, aboriginal, bilingual and DND) and the program leads to eligibility for certification with the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

A small number of positions are also available from time to time for enhanced training within the Family Medicine Training Program for a third year of training in Emergency Medicine, Anesthesia and Palliative Care. Some of these enhanced positions may be associated with a return of service requirement. A six month training program in the Care of the Elderly is also available from time to time.

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Accredited Programs

The Faculty of Medicine offers a wide range of specialty and sub-specialty programs leading to eligibility for certification with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Programs vary in length from 2-7 years of medical training.

Primary Specialties:
Anatomical Pathology	Anesthesia
Cardiac Surgery	Community Medicine
Diagnostic Radiology	Emergency Medicine
Internal Medicine	General Surgery
Neurology (Adult)	Medical Genetics
Nuclear Medicine	Neurosurgery
Ophthalmology
Orthopedic Surgery	Obstetrics and Gynecology
Pediatrics	Otolaryngology
Plastic Surgery	Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Radiation Oncology	Psychiatry
Medical Microbiology	Urology
Subspecialty Programs* (available only with completion in a primary specialty):
Cardiology (Adult)	Clinical Immunology and Allergy (Child & Adult)
Critical Care Medicine	Endocrinology and Metabolism (Adult)
Gastroenterology	Geriatric Medicine
Gynecologic Oncology	Hematology (Child & Adult)
Infectious Diseases (Child & Adult)	Maternal and Fetal Medicine
Medical Oncology	Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Nephrology (Child & Adult)	Respiratory Medicine (Child & Adult)
Rheumatology (Adult)	Thoracic Surgery
Vascular Surgery	Emergency Medicine (Child)
Palliative Medicine	Developmental Pediatrics

 

NOTE: These programs require different primary specialty credits, and may not be offered every year at the University of Manitoba.

Application Procedures:

All applicants for the PGY1 year of programs accredited by the RCPSC and CFPC must apply through the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS). All graduates of Canadian medical schools and international medical schools who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and who have had no prior postgraduate medical training in Canada or the United States are eligible for the CaRMS match.

Applications for positions beyond the entry PGY1 year should be made at the PGME Office, 260 Brodie Centre or to Program Director for the specific program. Availability of positions will vary from year to year and are not guaranteed for any program. No resident can be accepted unless a funded position is available.

The Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)

This matching service is an autonomous, national organization of the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges. It provides an orderly method for students to select where to pursue postgraduate medical education and for program directors to rank the applicants they wish to enroll. A second matching process (the second iteration) by CaRMS is subsequently available (after the 1st CaRMS match) to medical students not matched in the first iteration, and other medical graduates who have already received some prior postgraduate training. All information about registration and matching processes is available on the CaRMS website: www.CaRMS.ca. There are listings of all programs on their website.

Evaluation of Residents in Postgraduate Medical Education Programs

Evaluation at all levels is based primarily on clinical performance in the patient care setting. The Program Director and the Resident Program Committee in each program are responsible for the implementation of the evaluation process in their own program. At the end of each clinical rotation or at other appropriate stages of the program, each trainee is evaluated by an in-training evaluation report appropriate to that program and training level. The evaluator(s) discusses the evaluation with the trainee and the report is forwarded to the program director. The written evaluation report should be signed by the resident to indicate that he or she has seen the report. This ongoing evaluation process may be supplemented by written examinations, oral examinations, supervised history and physical examination and by direct observation of clinical and technical skills.

When a resident receives an unsatisfactory evaluation or examination result, the program director will review the evaluation with the resident. Unsatisfactory evaluations will also be discussed in a confidential manner at the Resident Program Committee meeting. The committee will make recommendations regarding remedial training. If a subsequent remedial period is also evaluated as being unsatisfactory, the program director will contact the Associate Dean for Postgraduate Medical Education and the Probation Protocol and Procedure will be instituted. A failed probation period may result in a resident being discharged from his or her training program.

The Faculty Executive Council reserves the right to require any student to withdraw from the program of enrolment when it believes the student to be unsuited, on general considerations of scholarship, professional fitness or professional conduct for post-graduate medical education. However, the Faculty of Medicine does not have a professional unsuitability by-law. The right to require a student to withdraw on the basis of professional unsuitability may arise through the professional unsuitability by-law of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. This right prevails notwithstanding any other provision in the faculty regulations.

Appeals

A postgraduate trainee who wishes to appeal the results of any aspect of the evaluation procedure must follow the written guidelines established by the PGME Committee and the Faculty of Medicine. These guidelines may be obtained from the PGME Office.