Day in the Life

ACES

Acute Care Emergency Surgery (ACES) is a unique rotation only at the university hospital. All the emergency general surgery and trauma patients get admitted to this service, so it can be a very busy rotation! It is a service patterned after others like in across Canada. We have dedicated OR time during the day so any case that is booked overnight but is not an emergency will get done during this time. A typical day consists of attending handover at 6 am to hear about all the new consults and issues from the on call team over night. After that, we round on our 20-40 patients (It varies throughout the year). At 730 am it is time for the OR. We have a variety of cases each day from appendixes, gall bladders and bowel obstructions to emergency laparotomies. The schedule is flexible to accommodate the unpredictability. In between cases we round on the consult list of hospital inpatients who have general surgery issues. There is also a great hospitalist who helps manage the demanding ward during the day. This rotation is great for junior residents because you get exposure to a wide array of patients and pathologies, lots of interesting OR cases, and graded responsibility. This service is one of the main reasons I love the program here.

Courtney, Graduate

RAH – MIS/Bariatrics

The MIS/Bariatric rotation at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is considered one of the best surgical rotations during residency in Edmonton. During my four months on this service, I had the opportunity to perform a variety of minimally invasive procedures including foregut, hernia, colorectal and bariatrics. It is busy service with ample opportunity to develop operative skills and clinical judgement. The surgical preceptors provide a great learning environment and are committed to developing residents into independent surgeons. It is an excellent rotation and we as residents are fortunate to have this opportunity in residency!

Richdeep, Graduate