Introduction
The McGill Family Medicine – Emergency Medicine program will be starting its 33nd year as of July 2018. It continues to flourish as one of Canada’s largest CFPC-EM program with 10 residents taken annually.
During 1985-86 several members of the Department of Family Medicine of McGill University met and discussed the need to form a third year program in Family Medicine - Emergency Medicine at McGill. At the time, there were several such programs across Canada with limited positions. Dr. Judith Levitan, then the Director of Family Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, coordinated the submission to the College to initiate the third year program. Dr. Levitan and Dr. Victor Einagel were the driving force that enabled the development of the program. Dr. Levitan became the first Program Director and Dr. Einagel was the first Academic Coordinator. Dr. Einagel also assisted in the cooperation and collaboration with the FRCP Emergency Medicine Specialty Program. Dr. Brian Connolly, Dr. Marc Afilalo, and Dr. Peter Duffy completed the committee in 1986 and were instrumental in its development. Dr. Unger had been the Program Director from 1995 until January 2007 and had been instrumental in maintaining the premiere status of the program and in creating the largest Family Medicine Emergency Medicine program in Canada.
By the end of the 2016-2017 academic year, two hundred and sixty residents from all four Quebec medical schools as well as from across Canada will have completed the third year program in Family Medicine-Emergency Medicine at McGill. Several of the graduates have continued in an academic stream and are teaching students and residents, while others are practicing in rural and community hospitals combining Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine practice. Many of our graduates are presently involved in the administration of the Emergency Departments where they are presently working.
Our residents have gone on to become leaders in the hospitals, communities and Emergency Departments they have joined.
We invite you to visit the Emergency Medicine website for more information.
Specific Objectives
The McGill University C.F.P.C.(EM) Program is trains family physicians to take on a leadership role in rural, community or urban hospital Emergency Departments, and to be future teachers of Family Medicine residents in university affiliated hospitals. This concurs with the official goals of the College of Family Physicians of Canada in Emergency Medicine which are found in the Program Manual.
Program Description
Curriculum
| Core Rotations | Periods |
| Family Medicine Clinics | Optional |
| Adult Community Emergency Medicine St. Mary’s Hospital |
2 |
| Adult Teritiary Emergency Medicine Jewish General Hospital |
1 |
| Pediatric Emergency Medicine Montreal Children’s Hospital (MUHC) |
2 |
| Adult Community Intensive Care Medicine St. Mary’s Hospital |
1 |
| Adult Tertiary Intensive Care Medicine SMBD - Jewish General Hospital RVH (MUHC) MGH (MUHC) |
1 |
| Emergency Medicine & Trauma Montreal General Hospital (MUHC) |
1 |
| Toxicology Selective Toxicology / ED (MUHC) |
1 |
| Administration Rotation SMBD - Jewish General Hospital / St. Mary’s Hospital / MUHC |
1 |
| MSK and Emergency Medicine Lakeshore Hospital |
0.5 |
| Anaesthesia SMBD - St. Mary's Hospital |
0.5 |
| Point of Care Ultrasound & Emergency Medicine Jewish General Hospital |
1 |
| Elective: Must be approved by the program director |
1 |
Rotations
- Emergency Medicine at St. Mary's Hospital: Adult Community Hospital - Emergency Department
- S.M.B.D. - Jewish General Hospital: Adult Tertiary Care Emergency Rotation Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Adult Community Hospital – ICU St. Mary’s Hospital
- Adult Intensive Care Unit Rotation (Tertiary care setting) SMBD -Jewish General Hospital Montreal General Hospital Royal Victoria Hospital
- Emergency Trauma Rotation Montreal General Hospital
- Emergency Clinical Toxicology Rotation Royal Victoria Hospital Emergency Department
- Administrative Rotation
- Musculoskeletal (MSK)
- Anaesthesia Jewish General Hospital/St. Mary’s Hospital
- Elective Rotation
Oral, Written and Interactive Sessions
Oral, written and interactive sessions are held on a monthly basis and are a compulsory part of the curriculum. The purpose of these sessions are three-fold:
- to require the resident to review and study a large body of information in a systematic manner.
- to help prepare the resident for the oral part of his/her certification exam.
- to monitor the residents progress during the year.
These sessions take place on Wednesday mornings, corresponding to weeks 2 & 3 of the period. They generally run from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm.
These sessions are a compulsory part of the curriculum. In order to ensure and monitor your progress through the year, you will be evaluated during these sessions, both on your performance during the oral and written as well as your participation and preparedness during the interactive sessions. There will be introductory sessions in the month of July that will review the basics of how to do an oral exam.
The textbook that serves as the basis for these sessions is the American College of Emergency Medicine Study Guide (Tintinalli) though other sources are also suggested ( e.g. - ACLS / ATLS texts, Rosen, etc. ).
These sessions alternate between the hospital centers of the C.F.P.C.(EM) Program - S.M.B.D. Jewish General Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, the McGill University Health Center.
At the beginning of the academic year, the residents are given a schedule of the topics for these sessions, the topics deriving from the chapters of Tintinalli1 and other texts. Prior to each session, it is the responsibility of each resident to review that topic, often using the above text as the main reference, with other references being used on an as needed basis.
Orals
The morning of these sessions are organized in the following way: the residents are divided into two to three groups, each assigned to one or two or three staff physicians (the physician often being chosen based on their particular interests and areas of expertise). The staff physician will have prepared several cases to use and will subsequently test each resident in a format similar to the actual exams.
Following the actual exam, critique and evaluation will take place by both the staff physician as well as the other residents in the group with a few minutes of discussion revolving around each case. Each resident will in turn be the candidate. These sessions have been found to be quite valuable in preparing the residents for the exams both with respect to the format and approach as well as allowing them the opportunity to review major bodies of information. Furthermore, the learning process is enhanced by not only being subjected to being the candidate, but also by being an observer with the ability to critique following a fellow resident's oral. Following the oral sessions (approximate time allotted - 1,5 to 2 hours) both the staff physicians and residents will convene together for a 1,5 to 2 hour interactive session in which the staff will act as moderators while reviewing the topics for that session in a quiz-answer format. This allows the staff to do some teaching on the finer points of a particular topic. Questions asked by the staff considered "core material" that are unsuccessfully answered are logged in a book, with the obligation of the residents to review those questions and come back with an answer at the following session.
Written Exams/Interactive Sessions
The sessions help begin with a written exam on the topic, followed by an interactive session on the topic by one or two staff physicians.
The feedback from the residents and staff has generally been quite positive, with continued evaluation of this teaching process ongoing.
Please note that a majority of the orals have to be passed. A failure of 50% or more will be equivalent to a borderline evaluation.
ORALS/WRITTEN/INTERACTIVES 2016-2017 (page 9)
Core Rounds Core Content Teaching Rounds
These are weekly rounds that include new advances in Emergency Medicine, review of controversial Emergency Medicine topics, introduction of new equipment and protocols and review of on-going research in Emergency Medicine. These rounds are held during Wednesday mornings of week one and week four. They are combined rounds of both the Royal College accredited Emergency Medicine Residency Program and the C.F.P.C.(EM) Program. They are held at the Royal Victoria Hospital, and Jewish General Hospital. On the Wednesday mornings of week two and week three of every month the residents will have other activities. Participation and attendance by all the residents is MANDATORY. There will be several of these sessions presented throughout the course of the year by C.F.P.C.(EM) Residents.
The purpose of these are to prepare in-depth reviews of a topic pertaining to Emergency Medicine. These could include a discussion of changing concepts in our understanding of a particular disease process; new or changing concepts of management; discussion of other controversial or non-conventional areas. These are meant to be given at a post-graduate level.
The last Wednesday evening of every PERIOD is reserved for Journal Club. The C.F.P.C.(EM) Residents are responsible for a journal watch component . This is a brief review of a recent relevant article to emergency medicine. Four articles are chosen from the literature printed within the last year. The articles should be distributed at least two weeks in advance to all participants.
The emphasis of the discussion is on the following:
- how to critically evaluate a scientific paper
- to gain an appreciation for good methodology in clinical research
- to upgrade clinical skills and methods of practice in accordance with results of credible research.
Review articles should not be presented.
These sessions will take place at the Thompson House at McGill University
Participation is MANDATORY.
Interesting Case Rounds St. Mary's Hospital
These rounds are organized by the Residents and Attending Emergency Physicians of St. Mary's Hospital. The diagnosis and management are the major exercises of the rounds. These rounds are held at 7h30 on Tuesdays.
Morbidity and Mortality Rounds Jewish General Hospital
These rounds are organized by the Attending Emergency Physicians of the Jewish General. The diagnosis and management are the major exercises of the Morbidity and Mortality rounds. These rounds will be held on the same Wednesday as the Core Rounds.
Morbidity and Mortality Rounds St. Mary's Hospital
These rounds are organized by the Residents and Attending Emergency Physicians of St. Mary's Hospital. The diagnosis and management are the major exercises of the Morbidity and Mortality Rounds. These Rounds are held at 7h30 on the fourth Tuesday of the rotation.
Integrated Core Rounds St. Mary’s Hospital
These rounds, held every day at noon by the staff at St. Mary’s, include didactic lectures on a variety of subjects. These rounds are given in part by the Emergency Department and include the participation of the third year residents.
Emergency Resident Rounds St. Mary’s Hospital
Sessions on Emergency Department management and administration for the Resident are given during the rotation at St. Mary's Hospital.
Evaluations of Trainees, Rotations and Staff
Resident evaluations occur via aone45 computerized system. For the ER based rotations, it is the responsibility of the resident to “push” to each staff the daily forms which are then compiled by the head evaluator.
Residents will be unable to view rotation evaluations until they have completed their anonymous evaluation of the rotation and their staff.
Apply/Contact Us
For information regarding the program and application process, contact anna.depalma [at] muhc.mcgill.ca (Ms. Anna De Palma )
Program Coordinator
Applicants can apply via CaRMS.
Please refer to the CaRMS website for details pertaining to the application period.