Programs

Active Programs (with one or more Residents) have access to $2,500 from PGME and Inactive Programs (with no Residents) have access to $1,250 from PGME:

• These funds are provided at the beginning of the academic year and must be used on activities that benefit ALL residents within the program. There is no carryover of funds into the next academic year. All program support funds must be approved by the Education Lead at pedsed@ualberta.ca.

These funds are eligible for the following expenses:

• Local educational retreats (See PGME guidelines).

• Guest speakers.

• Standardized patients.

• Research day expenses (e.g. resident awards).

• Resident room items (furniture, computers, monitors, printers, toners, paper).

• Expenses related to CaRMS.

These funds are ineligible for the following expenses:

• Consumables for the resident room (e.g. beverages and snacks).

• Gift cards.

• Catering expenses may be eligible, but are highly regulated. Each function/event/meeting needs to be looked at independently by the department. Please refer to the University of Alberta's Hospitality, Working Sessions/Committee Meetings and University Employee Functions Procedure document for more details.

• All catering must abide by University policies and stay within the department allowance limit of $20 per person. A gratuity rate of 18% is adopted by the University in all cases where the individual is making the decision.

• Catering payments can be processed using a Corporate Purchasing Card (PCard). All invoices must include the following:

• Catering contract/original invoice.

• List of attendees.

• Appropriate SpeedCode and account.

• PGME received 31 applications from residency program directors for funding for the first six months of this academic year. Funds have been allocated and will be transferred to the Department’s speed code within the next few weeks. A new Google request form will be sent out in October to PDs and PAs for January to July expense requests. Requests for funding are reviewed by committee on a case-by-case basis and are not guaranteed on a semi-annual basis. 

• Approximately $400,000 is distributed annually and provides support for a broad spectrum of PGME resources, materials, and events that benefit all residents in a program.

• Examples of previously approved items from this fund include:

  • Asset type purchases such as furniture, projectors, computers, and printers (please request only if program support funding is already allocated and used)

  • Costs associated with simulation such as equipment and HSERC rental space

  • Group educational resources such as textbooks, subscriptions, and software

  • Costs associated with workshops and in town retreats such as guest speakers, room rentals, and catering. Please note, retreats outside of a program's local community will no longer be eligible for funding from this grant. For more information on eligible expenses, please review the University of Alberta's PGME Guidelines for Postgraduate Medical Educational Retreats document.

  • Items and workshop expenses to support the successful launch of CBD, eg EPA booklets.

• Requests for additional funding are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and approved semi-annually. Funding is not guaranteed. Requests must include a budget itemizing all costs, outline the benefits to all residents, and be signed by the Program Director.

• Some programs were overspent in year two of the grant in both Learning Tools and RPS. The PGME Office has absorbed these costs for this year however, going forward errors and corrections must be made within the grant year. 

• Starting July 1, 2023, PGME will be transferring approved request amounts directly to each department speed code. Departments are expected to reconcile these accounts on a regular (monthly) basis. Please do not exceed the balance in your account.

• Learning Tools Deadlines are as follows:

  • If Programs apply for, and are approved for Learning Tools funds, it is imperative that these funds be used within the 6-months period for which they are approved. These funds do come with an expiry date, and do not roll over from year-to-year.

• 79 AIMG residents are registered with PGME this academic year. Funds ($19,000 per resident) will be transferred to department speed codes once we have received word of successful completion of their externship. The primary purpose of these funds is to offset the additional costs of training residents from the AIMG program. Examples of these costs include: 

  • Remediation.

  • Testing for learner difficulties.

  • One-on-one mentoring.

  • Additional courses.

  • Assessments.

• If the primary use of these funds has been satisfied, the funding may be used for other program and department priorities, knowing that strong programs for all learners means strong programs for AIMG learners as well. These other areas of funding include:

• Program Administrator.

• AIMG Coordinator.

• Assistant Program Director stipend.

• Any of the previously approved items listed above in Learning Tools and Resources.

• Spreadsheets containing budgets for each program can be found at the Pediatrics Finance Budgets Google Drive folder. These budgets are comment-only by default. We ask that you contact us at pedsfin@ualberta.ca if any changes/updates need to be made to a budget, or alternatively, leave a comment on the budget describing the changes that need to be made.