FAQs

What are you looking for specifically in an impressive candidate?

Our program is seeking collegial applicants with clearly demonstrated strong interpersonal and team skills.  We are looking for enthusiastic, well rounded applicants who have had a variety of experiences not only in medicine but in the arts, team sports, and community service.

We want leaders and applicants with a true passion for Medicine as evidenced by an eclectic mix of electives which may include Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anesthesia, Rural Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine and/or its subspecialties, etc.

How  is your residency program organized - see THE PROGRAM tab?

• Balance of General Internal Medicine rotations with ample early subspecialty exposure.

• In addition to the first 3 years, we support a PGY4 year within the Core Internal Medicine residency program.

• For PGY4s wishing to complete a sub-specialty residency program,  we offer all subspecialty  programs except for Palliative Care and Allergy & Immunology.   Further fellowship training after fifth year is also available depending on your area of interest – examples: Pulmonary Transplant fellowships, Interventional Cardiology, research, etc.

• Our focus is on providing a wide range of experiences for residents to prepare them for their future careers, whatever their path may be.

What is your residency program's orientation and focus?

• We encourage and support scholarly work for those who wish to pursue it, while providing ample opportunity for rural community-based training.  Residents have also had the opportunity to participate in international health experiences.

• We provide strong in-patient training in acute care medicine and many sub-specialties so that graduates are comfortable with critically ill patients.

• We provide ambulatory care experiences in all three years of training so residents are prepared to provide care for patients in all care settings and can make an informed decision on their future career.

What is the availability of experiences in sub-specialty areas during training?

• Excellent sub-specialty training with great teaching.

• All sub-specialties are available at the U of A, with the exception of Clinical Pharmacology and Adult Genetics.

How satisfied are residents in the program?

• Residents are very happy with the program at U of A.  Morale is high as our Program Director, Admin Team and Chief Residents actively support the residents and continually respond to resident feedback.  It is a program with a solid foundation, yet always seeking to make positive changes.

Are there sufficient elective opportunities during  training to explore your special interests?

• Yes, residents get 2 months of elective time in 2nd year and 1 month in third year which can be used for almost any rotation, including travel to other Canadian provinces or overseas locations, as well as several months of selective time which can be used in any of the Internal Medicine sub-specialties.

What  is the on-call schedule during each of the residency years?

• Because of our Night Float and Night Pool system, 1 in 4 in house call (or less) is limited to Junior Medicine rotations, cardiology and critical care.  Most other subspecialty rotations will have you complete 2-3 in-house weekend calls and a few late stays per rotation (hematology, GI, nephrology, respirology), or home call (ID, rheumatology, etc).

• Night Pool: A 2-week weekday team overnight rotation which provides coverage for our core subspecialty services (hematology, GI, nephrology, respirology); PGY1-3s participate.

• Night Float: A 2 week weekday overnight rotation which provides senior Medicine coverage; late PGY2/PGY3s participate.

What distinguishes the University of Alberta from other programs?

• Very well structured with adequate supervision in the early years and graded responsibility in the more senior years.

• Exceptional program director - willing to make changes and a true resident advocate.

• Excellent teaching with morning and noon sessions and a well-structured academic half-day (with lunch provided!), with protected time for academic sessions.

• Ample opportunity for rural selectives and electives and international electives.

• Night Pool/Night Float system to reduce overnight call burden for residents.

• Clinical teachers are beyond comparison!

• Ample research opportunities and support for residents interested in research.

• Exposure to transplant medicine; and a large catchment area makes for interesting and rare cases.

• Full accreditation with NO WEAKNESSES cited on our 2017 Royal College review.  Next Royal College Review not until 2025.

How competitive is it to get in?

• In 2024, we accepted 28 Canadian PGY-1 residents, 3 Gulf State residents and 6 international medical graduates from Alberta (AIMG).

• We receive 300+ applications  on average each year. 

Is there an active and/or required research program in your residency program?

• Some form of scholarly activity is strongly encouraged, but the form this takes is very flexible (e.g. clinical or lab based research, quality improvement, medical education, ethics).  A one-month research selective is also encouraged, and more time may be granted if it is applied for, and approved by the research committee.  Elective time may also be used for research.

What role does research play in an internal medicine career?

• Research can play a large role - (as much as 90% of your time), or a very minimal role, but internists must have a reasonable understanding of how to interpret the literature in order to keep up to date with their future practices.