Geriatric Medicine at the University of Alberta

Program Highlights

Geriatric Medicine is a branch of medicine which is concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and social aspects of illness in older adults.

The Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Alberta is very collegial and focuses on providing excellent academic, clinical, and educational opportunities.

Our program is structured, designed and dedicated to help you become the best geriatrician possible through:

• Dedicated program leadership—The program director (PD) has protected time and is well supported by administrative staff. The PD, program leadership, and rotation supervisors are approachable and resident-oriented.

• Strong relationships between residents and staff—Due to the small program size, residents quickly develop close collegial relationships with staff. We are a small but dedicated program that is invested in training.

• Program Design—The program is designed with clear objectives for each year.  Graduated responsibility occurs near the end of the PGY4 year.  The curriculum has been mapped in detail to Royal College objectives, but we are well adapted for resident input to our formal academic training.

• Unique Opportunities—Training in Canada's only medical Continence Clinic (others are run by gynecology or urology.)

• Unique Expertise—Our division has a Certified functional and nutritional medicine practitioner on staff.

• Effective Resident Assessment Program—Formal Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) assessments occur daily with timely, useful and personalized feedback.  ITERs and STACERs, as well as Multi-Source Feedback, are also important evaluation elements, along with six-month evaluations.

• Formal Academic Training—Formal academic sessions start immediately with a Boot Camp geared towards the Geriatric Giants, moving into weekly sessions that include guest speakers, faculty speakers, journal clubs, senior core, and JAPES sessions.  Resident wellness events, dedicated study time and the opportunity to practice clinical skills are also part of our Academic Half Day.  A review of the material covered occurs approximately once per block.