Postgraduate Report
Happy New Year. I hope that each of you had a wonderful break over the holiday season and an opportunity for some much-deserved R&R. This is my first newsletter as the Postgraduate Director and I’m excited to be here. I look forward to working with each of you and for the opportunity to refine and make Western’s Family Medicine Residency Program even better.
I would like to introduce Dr. Christina Cookson who is the new Associate Postgraduate Director. Dr. Cookson has been in the role of Assessment Director for the department since 2016 and is the Chair of the Competency Committee. She is also the program coordinator for the PGY3 enhanced skills program in Academic Family Medicine. Dr. Cookson has a particular interest in medical education research and is currently pursuing research in competency-based medical education in postgraduate family medicine training.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Cookson to her new role.
Postgraduate Finance and Evaluation Program Coordinator
We are pleased to announce that Kayla Walter-Connoy joined the PG Team as the Finance and Evaluation Program Coordinator on January 8, 2024.
In her role, Kayla will handle the academic half days, evaluation, finance, awards and graduation celebration aspects of the Postgraduate Program and can be reached at the fmpgc@schulich.uwo.ca email address.
We are excited to have Kayla join us in Postgrad and extend a warm welcome to her.
2024 Recruitment Update
Recruitment happened a bit earlier this year. CaRMS released applicant files to the program on December 2nd and we have completed our file review.
CaRMS interviews were hosted in a virtual format in 2024 as in previous years and were a great success. This is always an exciting time of the year where we have an opportunity to show our enthusiasm and showcase our residency training program. As a department, we interviewed at total of 508 (CMG/USMG/IMG) applicants – many excellent candidates. The postgraduate team would like to extend a sincere thank you to all staff, faculty, and residents who participated in the process. Your participation is essential to the recruitment process and we could not do it without you.
Match Day: March 19, 2024 - We look forward to a successful match.
Enhanced Skills Program Match 2024/25
Category 1:
Emergency Medicine – 10 (included 1 ROS)
Palliative Care – 2
Sports and Exercise Medicine –4
Category 2:
Obstetrics & Women's Health – 2
Windsor Hospitalist – 3
Reminder for FM residents/preceptors: Please email us regarding any changes to rotations. If you are on unwell, you are required to report this leave to the FM Office (fmpgc@schulich.uwo.ca). Any questions you may have regarding leaves can be sent to the same email address.
For site directors and/or rotation preceptors/supervisors, please ensure your administrative staff reports any resident leaves or absences to the FM Office (fmpgc@schulich.uwo.ca).
Resident Wellness
The Family Medicine Postgraduate team encourages all to be aware of their role in supporting the health, mental health, and wellbeing of all those who are part of our Family Medicine program, especially given the pandemic and option to participate in additional patient care above and beyond the training program. The Resident Wellness policy lists responsibilities of both Residents and Residency training program members: https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/familymedicine/postgraduate/current_residents/policies/assistance_for_residents_during_residency.html
PGY1 and PGY2 Curriculum Requirements
Residents are reminded to ensure they are working toward meeting the PGY1/2 curriculum requirements (logging field notes, procedures, obs log, academic credits via MyFM, completing rotation evaluations (one45), meeting with their Faculty Advisor, submitting RP proposal) as noted at https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/familymedicine/postgraduate/current_residents/curriculum/index.html.
2024 Resident Awards: If you wish to nominate yourself for any of the awards or to nominate another resident, please visit the website for details on eligibility and nomination requirements. All nomination letters and forms (where necessary) must be received by 4:00 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Indigenous Family Medicine Resident Scholarship: A self-application process by residents directly to the CFPC/FAFM. Nominations must reach the CFPC National Office by 4:00 p.m. (ET) on June 14, 2024. Please visit their website for more information.
Resident Graduation: Will be held this year on Friday, June 21st at The Great Hall. Stay tuned for further detailed information coming your way regarding your RSVP in the next few months.
Completions: For residents completing the program in June 2024, keep in mind the requirements for completion of residency. To ensure there are no delays in receiving your family medicine certificate or CPSO license, please keep your one45 assessments, academic credits, field notes, and procedures up to date.
Dr. Daniel Grushka
Postgraduate Program Director
