Program Overview
Plastic Surgery
Below, please find the program at a glance for our 5 year accredited program in Plastic Surgeryat the University of Alberta. The yearly rotation schedule is composed of 13 blocks, one block = 4 weeks.
PGY-1 Year:
The Surgical Foundations year consists of the following rotations:
6 blocks of Plastic Surgery
1 block of Emergency Medicine
2 blocks of General Surgery
1 block of Pediatric General Surgery
1 block of Internal Medicine
1 block of Orthopedic Surgery
4 Weeks vacation
PGY-2 Year:
6 blocks Plastic Surgery
2 blocks of Intensive Care Unit
1 block Otolaryngology
1 block or Orthopedic Surgery
1 block Dermatology
1 block of Selective
PGY-3 & 4 Year:
Residents will gain exposure to the following areas:
Burn Unit
Pediatric Plastic Surgery
Breast Reconstruction
General Plastic Surgery
Craniofacial
Hand & Wrist
Microsurgery
Cosmetic
PGY-5 Year:
The fifth year of Plastic Surgery is considered the Lead Resident year and is a crucial step in transforming the resident into a competent staff physician ready to qualify for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada exams in Plastic Surgery. The Lead Resident will have rotations at both the Royal Alexandra Hospital as well as the University of Alberta Hospital. They are not preceptor based but rather run a service at one of the two respective hospital sites. They are given increasing amounts of responsibility both with clinical management of patients, teaching and administration of resident staff.
On call responsibilities are on a “second on-call” basis. The last three months of the PGY-5 year are designated as a period to gain exposure to Cosmetic Surgery at the privately owned Plastic and Cosmetic Laser Surgical Centre, as well as at the hospital and as a period of study for the Royal College exams that occur at the end of this block of time.
Other Academic Activities
Our academic curriculum also includes our Friday morning sessions which is a collaboration of residents and staff throughout the academic year. We also have weekly seminars in various related topics as well as monthly journal clubs and grand rounds.
Research
Research has become a major focus at the University of Alberta. Every second year we now accept a resident into the program who will take part in the Clinical Investigator Program, with the aim of obtaining a Masters degree. For the remainder of the residents there will also be a much higher emphasis put on the research output. To help the residents, teaching staff have become much more involved to foster this very crucial skill in the resident’s career. The resident in Plastic Surgery at the University of Alberta will be expected to present a poster or oral presentation at three meetings during their tenure as a resident, not including the Department of Surgery Research Day at the University of Alberta. Additionally, all residents will be responsible for the submission of one paper to a Journal throughout the course of their residency.
