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Geriatric Medicine Residency Program

The Geriatric Medicine Residency Program at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University is designed to help the trainee develop exemplary professional attitudes and behaviour toward elderly patients, their families and caregivers, and other members of the health care team. The trainee will develop the knowledge base, clinical and consulting skills, research and administrative experience necessary to practise as a specialist in Geriatric Medicine in either a community or academic setting. This will be accomplished by role modelling and incorporating the CanMEDs key competencies: Medical Expert, Communicator, Collaborator, Manager, Health Advocate, Scholar and Professional throughout the curriculum.

Year I

The purpose of year 1 is to gain and enhance the skills necessary to perform comprehensive geriatric assessments in a variety of clinical settings. There is also the opportunity to gain and enhance professional skills by working with a variety of teams. As Medical Expert, the resident is exposed early to the 5 M’s of Geriatric Medicine (Mind, Mobility, Multi-complexity, Medications, and Matters Most) throughout the academic curriculum.  Geriatric Psychiatry knowledge and skills are emphasized early in the training program to allow for increased confidence in assessing and managing the considerable overlap of Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Psychiatry issues seen in the complex older adult.  During the Administrative Rotation a number of the CanMed roles are taught through a realistic administrative learning project.

Year II

The purpose of year 2 is to move gradually from learner to consultant with responsibility in clinical, education and administration domains.

 The rationale for having the core hospital placements in second year is to gain the skills and confidence necessary to become an excellent attending physician within the in-patient setting while still receiving the support, mentoring, and clinical expertise of a Geriatrician. The 2 two-week blocks of ACE and Consultation-Liaison Service junior attending are set up to simulate the schedule of an attending Geriatrician.  There is flexibility to complete 2 weeks of ACE junior attending requirement in Year I.

Elective blocks are available to enhance particular areas of expertise or interest.

Research is encouraged and supported.  The timing of this is flexible depending on the resident's existing expertise and involvement. This will be reviewed at the beginning of the residency and is negotiable in the approval of the residency committee.  Residents will be provided with research mentorship by Dr. Jaspreet Bhangu.

 The Western University Department of Medicine has a robust Quality Improvement Program through the Centre for Quality, Innovation and Safety (CQUINS).  This includes the ‘Bootcamp in Sustainable Quality (BISQ)’ program, a structured, facilitated Quality Improvement Training course for PGY4 residents to learn the fundamentals of QI and undertake a small QI project.  All PGY4 residents have the option to undertake this course to complete a scholarly project.  Should a resident choose to do this, protected time will be allocated to attend course session and mentorship sessions.

 Residents can choose to undertake either a research project, a quality improvement project, or both, bearing in mind the time commitment each project will require.

The Western Geriatric Medicine Residency Program allows a generous amount of time for elective rotations during the second year of residency.  This allows residents to tailor their learning needs to their future career goals.  You will meet with the Program Director to assist you in planning your second year. Electives outside of the Western University will be considered if all of the criteria from our “Electives Away” policy are met.  For further information, please refer to the complete policy located in the manual appendices.  If more than 3 away electives are requested, this need approval from the Program Director and the Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education as per PGME policy.