Clinical Fellowships
Clinical fellowships are post-residency educational experiences designed to meet specialized needs in clinical care, research or other areas of training. A fellow is a postgraduate medical trainee undertaking post-certification educational training outside the specialty or subspecialty training requirements of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). Fellows differ from residents with respect to the goals of their training. They may provide clinical services, direct patient care and function at a more senior level consistent with their higher level of training. They may also provide teaching to residents and students, as well as assist with faculty research. Please note that a fellowship cannot be credited toward national certification requirements.
Applications must be submitted directly through the NOSM University Postgraduate Medical Education Office via email to fellowships@nosm.ca. All applications will be shared with the Fellowship Director. Please be sure to review all application and eligibility requirements as outlined in each program’s application package. Applications must be submitted as one combined PDF file, complete with all required documents in order to be considered (with the exception of letters of reference, which must be submitted directly by referees).
Please note that NOSM University will only accept and review applications for fellowships listed below
Current fellowship opportunities:
1-Year Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery Fellowship
NOSM University is accepting applications for a newly developing clinical fellowship hosted by the Urology Department of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC).
Canadian citizen fellowship applicants: Applications are currently being accepted with an open time-frame and are eligible to be processed pending funding confirmation and Fellowship Director review and offer.
Visa-sponsored fellowship applicants: Applications are being accepted as expressions of interest only at this time. An agreement with a sponsoring country/agency must be in place before offers can be issued and we will actively work towards establishing such agreements should they be possible.
Program Overview
A one-year postgraduate fellowship program providing specialized training in minimally invasive urologic surgery. Eligible applicants must have completed a urology residency. The program offers hands-on clinical experience with advanced endoscopic surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia (Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate, Thulium Fiber Laser Enucleation of the Prostate, GreenLight and Holmium Xpeeda Laser Vaporization of the Prostate, and Rezūm Water Vapor Therapy) and stone disease (Standard and Mini-Percutaneous Renal Access, Ureteroscopy).
This program integrates clinical and research work in stone disease and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). It also includes education on the work-up and medical management of BPH and stone disease. Our research program strongly encourages innovative questions and ideas.
During a typical week of the fellowship year, the fellow will spend:
- One day in the outpatient clinic
- Three days in the operating room
- One day reserved for research
Each Urology fellow attends both Canadian Urological Association and American Urological Association annual meetings. He/she is expected to submit abstracts, make presentations and subsequently publish his/her research projects. There is an expectation to produce 2 clinical manuscripts during the fellowship year.
In addition, the fellow will be expected to attend and participate in our active Patient Rounds and Genito-Urinary Multidisciplinary Rounds. The fellow is also expected to participate in teaching medical students.
The fellowship program is typically 12 consecutive months with the option of two start dates:
- January 1st to December 31st
- July 1st to June 30th
The fellowship may be extended for up to one additional year at the discretion of the division, department, and institutions.
The Urology fellow takes call for one week of each month. In-house call is not required.
| Procedures | Volume |
| Holmium Laser (HoLEP) and Thulium Fiber Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (ThuFLEP) | 60 Cases |
| Minimally invasive treatment of the prostate (GreenLight PVP, Holmium Xpeeda Vaporization, Rezūm Water Vapor Therapy) | 40 Cases |
| Percutaneous Renal Procedures (Standard and Mini-PCNL) | 50 Cases |
| Ureteroscopy | 150 Cases |
Please direct any questions pertaining to this fellowship to the attention of the Program Director, Dr. Walid Shabana.
Contact Information:
Dr. Walid Shabana, MD, MSc, FRCSC
Email: wshabana@nosm.ca
1-Year Acute and Chronic Pain Fellowship
TBRHSC is a busy tertiary-care Level 1 trauma centre with all major surgical specialties with the exception of high-risk pediatric surgery, cardiac surgery, complex hepatobiliary surgery, and transplant recipient surgery. The hospital carries out approximately 10,280 surgical procedures per year and provides obstetrical services for over 1,400 deliveries per year.
Program Overview
This fellowship program would include a comprehensive year including exposure to technical procedures such as regional anesthesia peripheral nerve blocks/ catheters, neuraxial procedures, postoperative pain management on the surgical floors, as well as outpatient chronic pain management, optimizing medical management and interventional pain procedures involving both ultrasound and fluoroscopy.
Clinical Curriculum
Regional Anesthesia:
Regional anesthesia at TBRHSC is provided through a block room model under the supervision of experienced regional anesthesiologists. Fellows will be able to master basic single-injection and continuous peripheral nerve block techniques for anesthesia and analgesia of the upper and lower limbs as well as the trunk. At our centre we perform over 1200 regional nerve block procedure including single injection nerve blocks and continuous nerve block catheters. Fellows will be trained in use of ultrasound-guidance and electrical stimulation, as well as advanced ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia and central neuraxial procedures for postoperative and obstetric pain management. Fellows will gain experience in managing continuous perineural infusions for inpatients and outpatients, as well gain a deep understanding of adjunct analgesic medications, learn to apply regional anesthesia techniques in a variety of surgical settings including trauma, elective outpatient and more invasive orthopedics, abdominal and pelvic procedures
Acute Pain Service (APS):
Fellows will join the acute pain service (APS) a week at a time, longitudinally throughout their fellowship year. The number of APS weeks required varies according to the needs and past experience of each individual fellow, but all fellows are required to complete at least 2 to 4 weeks of APS. And also, during block room rotation fellows get to round the inpatient surgical patients for postoperative pain management and labour epidural analgesia patients.
Chronic Pain:
The Chronic Pain Clinic operates within the hospital premises. Chronic Pain Team involves two pain physicians and nurse practitioner. An emphasis is placed on teaching interventional pain medicine in an evidence-based manner. Candidates will get the opportunity to learn various procedures like ultrasound guided nerve blocks and joint injections, Botox injections for migraines, multimodal care models, fluoroscopy guided procedures, intravenous lidocaine and ketamine infusions, platelet rich plasma injections, radiofrequency ablation and interventional cancer pain management. We have total of 1800 various pain procedures performed last year which includes 600 ultrasound-guided procedure and 800 fluoroscopy-guided procedures annually. Fellows also learn about psychology, pharmacology, and physical therapy in pain management while working as part of a multidisciplinary team that includes healthcare professionals from these specialties.
Research:
Fellows are expected to actively participate in academic, research, and educational activities related to area of subspecialty training. Fellows can involve in the design of new research projects, the conduct of ongoing clinical research, data analysis, and the writing of scientific paper. Fellows will spend one academic day per week for these purposes. Fellows participating in research are expected to present at a national/ international level conference, and produce at least one peer-reviewed publication.
Education:
Fellows are expected to present at departmental rounds and lead a regional anesthesia focused journal club discussion during their fellowship. There are expected to attend educational rounds from University of Toronto Anesthesia Fellowship Program, Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute (TAPMI), and the University of Toronto Centre for Study of Pain (UTCSP) to gain experience in presentation and teaching. There are various educational programs, including the weekly rounds for the Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine residents. Fellows are also expected to take an active role in resident education in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. Funding to attend a major regional anesthesia and pain medicine meeting will be provided only if they are presenting work from TBRHSC.
During a typical week of the fellowship year, the fellow will spend:
- One day in the anesthesia block room
- Two days performing Anesthesia independently in the operating room
- One day with the Acute Pain Service
- One day participating in Research
The fellowship program is typically 12 consecutive months with a start date of July 1st
Please direct any questions pertaining to this fellowship to the attention of the Program Director, Dr. Todd McDonald.
Contact Information:
Dr. Todd McDonald, MD, FRCPC
Email: Todd.McDonald@tbh.net
