McMaster University

Program Highlights

Type of curriculum: Block + integration  (half days back to primary family clinic when off-service)

PGY1: 4 blocks of FM, 2 blocks of care of the hospitalized adult, 2 blocks

of EM, 2 blocks of women's health and OB, 2 blocks of peds, 1 block of

FM/academic programming,

PGY2: 4 blocks of FM, 2 blocks of rural FM, 2 blocks of core

medicine/surgery, 1 block of Care of the Elderly, 3 blocks of electives, 1

block of FM/academic programming

Unique features:

• McMaster's most rural program

• Rural Emergency Medicine 

  • Louise Marshall Hospital consists of a small ER and 15 inpatient beds. 

  • Rural ER is integrated into local physicians’ family practice lives and allows advanced use of clinical skills, increased volume of procedures for learners including intubation, point of care ultrasound, and chest tubes

• Satellite oncology care for Grand River

  • Four Mount Forest family physicians obtained advanced training to provide subspecialized oncology care to this rural community with collaboration and support available through the tertiary care centre providing this care. 

• Exposure to Visiting specialties

  • Visiting specialties include general surgery, obstetrics & gynecology, ENT, urology, and gastroenterology. With Fergus and Guelph being a short drive away, additional medical resources and support for patients are also available if needed, but without consistently being “in-house” we have the opportunity to collaborate with specialists without handing off care for specialized acute medical issues 

Scholarly activities:

All residents gain core competencies in research via the InQuiry Curriculum

Additional research opportunities beyond the core curriculum

PGY3 enhanced skills opportunities in research and scholarship 

Course funding:

Salary and benefits determined by PARO - 4 weeks of paid vacation, 17-35 of pregnancy/parental leave top-up, dental/extended health coverage

Community Highlights

Recreation:

Cycling, parks and trails along the Saugeen River, birding, annual

Fireworks Festival.

Cultural notes:

Large Mennonite population, strong sense of community with thriving

downtown, farmers’ markets.

Cost of living:

Average cost of 1-bedroom apartment between $1300 - $1600

Resident Testimonial

"I have a bit of a unique relationship to my program, in that I grew up in the community, and my immediate family all live locally. Because of this connection, I knew at the beginning of med school that I wanted to match here. While this definitely changed my approach

to CaRMS and the match process, there are still so many great things about this program and community that I hope will appeal to prospective residents from all schools and communities!

On a broad level, being at McMaster for my family medicine training has been a largely positive experience. One of my favourite aspects of the program is the unique approach to psych learning/training. Rather than a formal psychiatry rotation, we have a longitudinal Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences (MHBS) curriculum which exposes us to psychiatric topics which are particularly relevant to family medicine practice. It also creates space and

opportunity for development of leadership skills through presentations on various psych topics. We do MHBS in a small-group setting, so it is also an excellent way to foster relationships with your co-residents. Another benefit of the McMaster rural family medicine program is that, nearly all time, we have direct one-to-one access to our preceptors, meaning that we have ample opportunity to ask questions and build professional relationships with staff.

Regarding my program site specifically, in my opinion, one of the very best things about training in Mount Forest is the breadth of scope of practice you are exposed to as a resident. Spending only two years as a resident prior to independent practice definitely feels fast, but training in an environment with diverse practice components (clinic, emerg, in-patient, LTC, oncology, surgical assist, and more) fosters confidence in your skills and knowledge

in a challenging yet supportive environment. Mount Forest also offers exposure to unique patient populations including the Mennonite community.

One of the biggest challenges for me so far has been the need to travel about 6-7 months per year for non-family medicine rotations. Fortunately, though, there is some funding available to help with the cost of commuting and/or accommodations as needed.

Overall, I have very positive experiences of my school and program. As the smallest/most rural McMaster family medicine site, Mount Forest provides exceptional opportunities to encounter some of the most unique and diverse patient presentations, ranging across all medical disciplines, and teaches you to manage them with relatively few resources. Every day I spend in Mount Forest, I feel like I am doing real rural family medicine, which is incredibly

rewarding and exactly what I hoped to get out of the program.”

—Dr. Amanda Hincks, R1 (2021)

1. On average, how much travel is required in this stream? (i.e. are you based on one community, or do you travel based on rotations, teaching, etc.)

I do my family medicine blocks as well as the holiday block in my community (roughly 5 months per year). My other rotations as well as weekly teaching sessions are done outside of Mount Forest. Most of my off-service rotations, as well as the teaching days, are in communities which are close enough that I can commute and do not need accommodations (although accommodations are available if you wish).

2. What is the breadth/scope of family medicine in this program? Does your program's teaching

emphasize particular rural skills (e.g. obstetrics, emergency medicine, mental health, etc.)?

Throughout my experiences as a clerk and resident, Mount Forest has provided the broadest scope of family medicine skills of anywhere I have worked. Clinic, obstetric, emergency, oncology, and inpatient services are all provided locally by the group of family docs. There is also a general surgeon, OB/GYN, and urologist who have surgical days in the Mount Forest hospital, with anaesthesia provided by a family doc from a nearby community. Mount Forest is an excellent place for truly full-scope rural family medicine because we are far

enough from large centers to take on responsibility for our patients in a variety of care settings, but close enough to feel supported and to access resources in a timely manner.

3. What do you do for fun in your community?

Although Mount Forest is a small community, there are still lots of things to do in town for leisure! There are a number of beautiful trails nearby which are great for walking/running. We also have a local Junior C hockey team whose games often draw a large crowd (not during COVID, of course). There is also a well-established curling league in town who love to have new members join. We've got local spas/salons and clothing stores. There are a number of great, locally-owned restaurants which are great as well. We may not have all the

amenities of an urban center, but Mount Forest is within easy driving distance (about 1 hour) to just about anything else you may want outside of town.

4. Do you have the option to travel for electives? If yes, where have you gone? Can you provide some examples?

I haven't had an elective block yet, but there is definitely an option to travel for electives. There is also an opportunity for McMaster family medicine residents (in all programs) to travel remotely for their mandatory 2-block rural rotation (ie- Northern Ontario) and a small number of residents do their 2 blocks in Inuvik.

5. What is the scope of practice of other specialties or rotations in this program? Do these specialties have their own residents or only family residents that rotate through?

Generally, I don't encounter other residents in my rotations. There are some family medicine residents from urban sites who come to Mount Forest for their 2-block rural rotation, but typically they are here when I am away on another rotation.

6. Can you briefly describe what the research portion of your program entails?

All family medicine residents at McMaster are required to do a quality improvement project, which does/can involve some sort of research. However, I would say that McMaster is typically pretty good about accommodating resident requests, so if research is something that interests you, it is likely that you will be able to fit this into your residency experience.

7. Are there opportunities for extra training? (i.e. SIM, conferences, etc.)

Our McMaster rural program is excellent at providing opportunities to expand skill sets. We have multiple fantastic SIM learning days per year in Collingwood (our academic hub); there are frequent opportunities to complete training in ACLS, PALS, NRP, etc; and I often receive emails inviting residents to conferences (covering all kinds of topics). There is funding available for these conferences through the program as well.

8. What makes this program unique? What drew you to it?

I believe that the breadth of the scope of practice in Mount Forest truly sets the program apart. As the smallest/most rural McMaster family medicine site, we encounter some of the most unique and diverse patient presentations, ranging across all medical disciplines, and are required to manage them with relatively few resources. This is definitely challenging at times, but training in this setting fosters confidence in your knowledge and skills, encourages you to incorporate creativity into your patient care plans, and inspires

clinical courage.

9. Is there anything you would change about this program?

I think in all family medicine programs, we wish we had more time (2 years flies by!). I personally would be happy to have a bit more elective time to explore a few areas of interest (we currently have 3 blocks which equates to 12 weeks of electives total, which all take place in second year), but working on a tight timeline of 2 years to complete all program requirements may challenge this.

—Dr. Amanda Hincks, R1 (2021)