Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Program Description

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is a 5 year residency program at the University of Alberta. The program offers rotations in all subspecialty areas of rehabilitation, including pediatric rehabilitation. In addition to the required rotations, the program offers a wide range of elective experiences. 

The first year of the program provides a strong clinical basis for rehabilitation with 2 blocks of PM&R, 3 blocks of internal medicine (clinical teaching units), 2 blocks of surgery (neurosurgery and plastic surgery), and 5 blocks on various other rotations including cardiac care unit, pediatrics, psychiatry, emergency medicine and geriatrics. 

There are 2 blocks of training in rheumatology, neurology and orthopedic surgery which usually occur in the second year of residency.

The core Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation rotations are three to six blocks in duration and include: amputation rehabilitation, brain injury rehabilitation, musculoskeletal rehabilitation (including pain medicine), neuromuscular diseases/EMG, pediatric rehabilitation, spinal cord medicine and stroke rehabilitation.

There is ample elective time during the transitino to practice stages to pursue clinical interests and career options.

Competence By Design (CBD) was implemented for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in July of 2020.   CBD will be competence and time based and include the following phases of training: transition to discipline, foundations of discipline, core of discipline and transition to practice.

For more information:

• Example of rotations over the 5 year program

• More details on Competence by Design

• More details on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs)

• Competency by Design curriculum map

• Competence by Design Resources and Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs)

Research

The division has a very strong research interest in research and it is a required component of the program. Each resident will complete at least one research project under the direction of the research coordinator. Research is performed both longitudinally and in blocks as there are three blocks of protected time available to perform research. Academic Physiatry Staff with a primary interest in research are available to mentor residents. Residents are expected to present their research at a provincial or national conference and most submit their manuscript for publication. Several residents in the program have won research awards and essay contests at national conferences such as the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Annual Meeting. There is a close affiliation between the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Neuroscience Research Group at the University of Alberta.

Academic Activities

All residents attend weekly academic half day sessions. These sessions are resident driven, as the residents have elected to be responsible for managing the academic half day schedule with input from staff.  In addition to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation topics, academic half day also includes topics on anatomy, basic science, clinical skills, ethics, indigenous health, practice management, research and other CanMEDS related topics. Over the course of residency, residents will have several opportunities to refine their presentation skills by presenting at academic half day and other rounds.  

Formal teaching seminars on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation topics occurs throughout core rehabilitation rotations and is preceptor based. At the end of core rotations, the resident will complete an end of rotation examination to test their medical knowledge related to the rotation.

Practice written and applied exams, in accordance with the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada fellowship exam format, are held twice a year. One of these examinations is a joint written exam/OSCE with the University of Calgary and University of Saskatchewan.

Training Sites

The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency training program is based at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital site within Alberta Health Services.  The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is the largest free-standing rehabilitation facility in Canada with 104 adult rehabilitation beds, 104 geriatric beds, and 18 pediatric rehabilitation beds of which 10 are inpatient and 8 day patient rehabilitation. The hospital serves the tertiary rehabilitation inpatient and outpatient needs of the northern half of Alberta and British Columbia as well as the Northwest Territories. An electromyography laboratory and urodynamic suite are located on site.

There are several community clinics within and around Edmonton that provide clinical experiences for the residents in musculoskeletal rehabilitation, neuromuscular disease/EMG, and interventional procedures.  

There are over 40 practicing physiatrists actively involved with residency training and 15 residents enrolled in the training program at this time. The education to work ratio has been very much in favour of the residents. 

Off-service rotations are undertaken at other teaching hospitals including the University of Alberta Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Misericordia Hospital, and Grey Nuns Hospital within the Edmonton zone.

Below is a video demonstrating the innovative spaces and technologies we have at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital that aid in providing excellent patient care

Check out videos highlighting our 3 major outpatient sites