Curriculum & Academics
Curriculum
The Palliative Care Program is a 12-month program and follows a competency-based curriculum, integrating priority topics, core professional activities, and CanMEDS-FM roles. The core competencies will be taught through a combination of clinical encounters, didactic lecture series, attendance at Canadian Society of Palliative Medicine’s National Academic Half-days, and participation in journal clubs/grand rounds and self-directed learning.
The year will culminate in the resident preparing a presentation to the pan-northern Ontario palliative care group, delivered either in person or hybrid format. The presentation will demonstrate the residents’ learning through the year and be a platform to display their competency. I can be a topic determined by the resident and supported by one or more of the clinical educators. It can be a case report, literature review, morbidity rounds or other.
Overview of Clinical Rotations during the 12 month program
|
Clinical Rotation |
Number of Weeks |
Sites Available |
Other Notes |
| Junior Palliative Medicine Consultation | 8 | Thunder Bay Palliative Care Associates at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre | Core rotation |
| Hospice/Palliative Care Unit | 4 | Thunder Bay Palliative Care Associates at St Joseph’s Hospital; Thunder Bay | Core rotation |
| Rural Community Palliative Care | 4 | Mindemoya, Marathon, Huntsville, North Bay | Resident choice |
| Tertiary Palliative Care Unit | 4 | Core rotation | |
| Palliative Medicine Consultation | 4 | Specialized Palliative Care Team at Health Sciences North in Sudbury | Core rotation |
| Medical Oncology | 2 | Thunder Bay Palliative Care Associates at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre | Core rotation |
| Radiation Oncology | 2 | Thunder Bay Palliative Care Associates at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre | Core rotation |
| Electives | 12 | Resident choice | Resident responsibility to coordinate |
| Senior Palliative Medicine Consultation | 8 | Thunder Bay Palliative Care Associates at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre | Core rotation |
| Vacation | 4 |
Academic Programming
During core rotations (with the exception of the block at the Tertiary Palliative Care unit; see table above) residents will be given a (0.5 – 1.0 day/week) of dedicated academic time where they will attend scheduled seminars, participate in self-study, or work on their year-end scholarly project and presentation.
During core rotations (with the exception of the block at the Tertiary Palliative Care unit; see table above), efforts will be made to maintain family medicine specific skills by providing learners with an opportunity to join a family medicine outpatient clinic. During rural palliative care blocks residents will see the integrated nature of rural palliative care, which is one of the unique features of our program.
Research Project
Residents will complete a scholarly project during the year. This can be a complex case presentation, a thorough literature review, a part of another research project, or another scholarly endeavor. Residents will present their work in a year end Grand Rounds presentation (1 hr) which will be delivered virtually across Northern Ontario. If residents have completed a research project, they will have the opportunity to be supported in the submission of an abstract to the Canadian Society of Palliative Medicine’s annual Resident Research Award.
