A series of seminars are held on Wednesday afternoons. Residents in the program are excused from clinical duties: AHD is protected teaching time mandated by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Attendance is mandatory. The academic activities include lectures, journal clubs, and innovative and interactive adult teaching techniques. Senior residents are given oral examinations in preparation for the Royal College Certification Exam.

If you are unable to attend AHD, you must notify the program office.

Acceptable reasons to miss AHD: night shift, approved leave (vacation, study, personal, or conference with proof of registration), exam, illness (notify the program office immediately), maternity/paternity leave, patient acuity (notify us immediately and copy the staff surgeon or CTU Director).

Unacceptable reasons to miss AHD: OR, routine work or clinical duties, personal activities (including dentist, doctor, etc), research schedules interfere with teaching (interviews, meetings, etc). The call schedule at each site has the person identified to take call during AHD (attending, fellow or off-service resident), as residents are protected from clinical work during AHD.

Please sign in to the General Surgery MyCourses space for assigned readings for each session and to access lecture slides from previous talks.

THE BLOCKS Year 1 & 2

1. Breast - 6 weeks

2. UGI/Bariatrics/Thoracics - 8 weeks

3. Surgical Oncology (melanoma, sarcoma, HIPEC, small bowel) and Endocrine - 8 weeks

4. HPB, transplant, vascular - 8 weeks

5. Abdominal wall, benign small bowel/appendix and spleen - 6 weeks

6. Trauma and Critical Care - 8 weeks

7. Colorectal - 8 weeks

AHD - January/February 2026 Calendar