PGY 4 YEAR CORE INTERNAL MEDICINE PROGRAM
The UBC Postgraduate Core Internal Medicine Program offers a fourth year of training to all interested
residents who plan to practice as a community General Internist.
You must have successfully completed three years of core Internal Medicine Residency Training.
The intent of this final year of training is to assist trainees in acquiring the skills and competencies to
practice as a general internist in a community setting.
There are 5 rotations mandated by the Royal College and the PGY4 program Director.
There is a significant amount of time for specialized resident-directed training, ideally with the cooperation of their targeted community to build a special skill-set that will help meet their long term
career goals. The majority of the rotations will be done in the community setting.
There will be an academic component to this year, including scholarly sessions (AHD), practical scholarly
sessions and Journal Club. Special focus will be given on helping individuals prepare for their Royal
College Exam. Practical aspects of preparation for practice will also be covered.
ROTATIONS - MANDATORY
1)
Junior Attending assigned to the CTU’s: 2 Blocks
Each resident will be required to do 2 blocks of CTU Jr attending per year. All residents are mandated
to spend 1 x Jr attending block at the Prince George campus. Other sites available are Royal Jubilee in
Victoria, and the Royal Columbian Hospital (or a further block at the PGRH)
Each site differs in the role of the Jr Attending and site specific manuals will be available.
The Jr attending will work closely with the staff physician and will perform all the duties the staff would
do. It will involve call to ER and hospital, supervision of Jr trainees, daily rounding with the teams and
allied health staff, and consults if directed. There will be an educational expectation also, including
rounds presentation and regular participation in the PGY 4 scholarly sessions and journal club.
2)
Mandatory Community GIM Rotations: 2 Blocks
Each resident will be required to do 2 mandatory community based GIM rotations. One will rotation will
take place in Nanaimo, and one in Burnaby at the BGH. The role of the PGY4 in this rotation will be to
participate in all of the daily activities of the general internal medicine specialist, including a regular call
schedule, daily rounds, and afternoon GIM clinics if possible. PGY 4 residents will be encouraged to
participate in educational rounds, and also will be expected to deliver one academic round to the
General Internal Medicine, or family practice group.
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Achieving competency in stress-testing, holter reading and, ecg reading is stressed in these rotations.
Participation in academic half day and journal club will be expected (via videoconferencing if available or
link up via computer).
3)
Cardiology Rotation - 1 Block
Cardiology is a large part of the general internists practice in both the acute and ambulatory setting.
This rotation will focus on refining the knowledge base and skill set needed for general Internists
working in the community.
We have secured space at Mount St. Joseph’s for PGY-4 focused cardiology rotations.
PY4-s will be encouraged to achieve competency in cardiac testing including stress-testing, Mibi testing
and holter reading. Residents will be encouraged to develop a good understanding of the role of more
specialized cardiac testing.
ROTATIONS - ELECTIVE
There are 8 blocks of elective rotations. These elective rotations should be used to learn special
technical skills to meet long-term career needs. If more than 8 blocks are required to achieve a specific
technical skill set, then the program director and resident will tailor the rotations to meet this need.
During this elective time, if there is no specific skill set requested then residents will be encouraged to
participate in rotations (such as Cardiology, ICU, Respirology or endocrinology) to help provide the
training needed to establish practice and feel confident and be competent to practice general internal
medicine.
Please note, the PGY4 program has secured funding for accommodations and transportation for more
rotations this year. Accommodations will be provided for the GIM Nanaimo rotation and you can claim
your travel expenses. Your accommodation at Prince George is also provided, and again you can claim
your travel expenses. If you book CTU Jr. Attending blocks at RJH (or a second block at PG) this will be
covered. There is also coverage for two further “out of town” rotations (e.g. ICU in Nanaimo,
Community in Nelson) and you are covered for $1,300 for accommodation and $500 for transportation
for each of these. Any further out of town electives would be self-funded.
Please note, reading months and ultrasound rotations are not available to PGY-4s.
ACADEMIC PROGRAM
The PGY 4 will be expected to participate in the following:
1)
Scholarly Sessions
The Core PGY-4s and General Internal Medicine PGY-4s share an academic half day, known as Scholarly
Sessions. These take place from September to June yearly , and all residents are required to attend.
There is a scholarly session planning committee that will meet regularly to develop and deliver this
valuable educational product. The focus is on practical information that all general internists need to
know prior to starting practice.
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1)
Scholarly Sessions (continued)
The PGY4 year is a distributed year, and the delivery of the academic half day needs to reflect this.
Different learning tools will be used such as blogs, podcasts and self-study modules to aid in the delivery
of a curriculum to a distributed site.
Residents will be encourage to log their training hours much like a General Internists do in practice for
Continuing Professional Development.
2)
Research –Quality Improvement
Residents will be encouraged to participate in research opportunities with a focus on Quality
Improvement. General Internists are viewed as leaders in their hospital communities and quality
improvement initiatives are a vital part of a General Internist’s career.
Residents will be given an opportunity to present their work at the annual Resident Research Day.
3)
Journal Club
There is a GIM journal club, PGY 4s are encouraged to attend.
4)
Conferences/Courses
Some funding is available for educational courses that will be beneficial to your practice (such as
ACLS/ATLS/Difficult Airway courses), if approved by the Program Director, or can be used for
conference leave. You can also use the funds ($600 per annum) towards the cost of your Royal
College examinations.
The following conferences are recommended;
Rocky Mountain ACP conference
CSIM
ACP Conference
For more information about the PGY4 residency training, please contact;
Dr. Jane McKay
604 806 8950
jmckay@providencehealth.bc.ca
Ms. Andrea Toker
604 682 2344 loc 62657
atoker@providencehealth.bc.ca
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