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Michael van Manen, Program Director
Welcome to Neonatal-Perinatal Care (NICU)!
Together the University of Alberta Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Care and Alberta Health Services Northern Alberta Neonatal Program offers a two-year subspecialty residency training program in Neonatal-Perinatal Care. The program is fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and is open to trainees from Pediatrics. The program prepares the resident to practice as a consultant neonatologist for infants needing hospital care for issues related to prematurity, congenital anomalies, and transitional problems. The resident gains exposure to specialized surgical and cardiovascular services.
The Northern Alberta Neonatal Program accepts referrals from northern Alberta, northern British Columbia, western Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. There are over 25,000 deliveries per year in this catchment area and 3,000 admissions annually to the program's five clinical sites. Each year more than 500 newborns from outside the region are transferred, by ground or air, by a specialized neonatal transport team. We strive to provide a rich and supportive training environment for academic neonatology with strong programs in resuscitation research, newborn individualized developmental care and assessment (NIDCAP), perinatal ethics, medical education, infant development and follow-up, metasynthesis and evidence-based medicine, targeted neonatal echocardiography, and quality improvement.
Interview Process
Interview Process
Interviews for the University of Alberta Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Program will be conducted virtually this year. Following application package review, select candidates will be invited for a virtual interview over Zoom. Applicants will receive an individualized itinerary for: (1) a panel interview; (2) an one-on-one meeting with the chief neonatal-perinatal medicine trainee; and, (3) an one-on-one meeting with the program director.
The panel interview will be conducted by an interview panel consisting of the program director, a neonatologist, neonatal-perinatal medicine trainee, nurse practitioner, and parent of child who had been cared for in the neonatal intensive care. A standardized set of questions including situational and behavioural questions will be included. The aim of the interview is to assess knowledge, skills, and aptitudes with respect to domains of medical expert, communicator, collaborator, leader, health advocate, scholar, and professional of applicants (see Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Interview Assessment ). The interview panel is anticipated to last approximately 45 minutes.
• Example situational question: Imagine that you are on your morning rounds when a colleague describes a difficult case that you and another trainee worked on earlier in the week and compliments your handling of the difficult situation. In doing so, she gives you sole credit and fails to mention that your colleague played a major role. What would you do?
• Example behavioral question: Please describe a time when you observed a member of the medical team that you were working with behave in a manner that was inconsistent with an established protocol. Explain what the situation was, what actions you took, and the outcome.
The one-on-one meetings will be unstructured in format functioning more as an opportunity for applicants to ask questions about the program. Each of the one-on-one meetings is anticipated to last approximately 30 minutes.
Resident Testimonial
Resident Testimonial
Krystyna Ediger
The Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine program at the University of Alberta provides comprehensive, in-depth and supportive training in Neonatology. Edmonton’s wide catchment area and range of services allows for exposure to a large volume of high-acuity patients, experience with cardiac pathology, and plenty of opportunity for procedural skills. This depth and breadth of clinical exposure is provided by rotations through two separate large Level 3 Units, one a high-risk perinatal centre, and the other a surgical NICU that also serves as the referral cardiac centre for Western Canada. Trainees say that their clinical work here provides the "opportunity to work in large units with high acuity, with a wide variety of pathology ranging from the routine to the rare and wonderful”. Trainees are well supported by the staff on service and on call, and have the opportunity to work with and learn from an excellent multidisciplinary team of neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, dieticians, pharmacists and social workers.
Trainees in Edmonton also have the privilege of learning in a program with an exceptionally supportive Program Director, residency training committee and administration team. Dr. van Manen and his team "always do their best to ensure that we can train effectively while balancing the many demands in our lives.” Other highlights of the program include a weekly full day of protected academic time and a well established mentorship program that provides opportunity to work with neonatologists who have a wide variety of clinical and research interests.
Despite our busy schedule, the trainee group in Edmonton is incredibly close-knit and “the support and friendship we provide each other is crucial during the sometimes stressful times of fellowship.” As a group of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine trainees, we consider ourselves lucky to be training in Edmonton and are “honoured to be part of this program”.
Research and Activities
Research and Activities
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