— Dr. Michèle Farrugia, Director, Residency Program
Learning Environment
We continue to work on improving the learning environment. During November and December, Drs. Michele Farrugia and Janet Bodley attended departmental staff meetings at each of the hospital sites across the city. Hopefully all faculty are now aware of the issues of concern to residents and have begun to think about how to improve the learning environment for our learners.
We continue to work towards meeting the requirements of the accreditation process with respect to the learning environment, with a report due to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) later this year. A first draft of the report will be submitted to PGME’s Internal Review Committee this month.
Collaboration with NOSM
A new and exciting initiative for our program is a collaboration with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). For the first time, we are offering two PGY1-Entry positions for a joint residency program. Residents accepted through this Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) stream will spend half of their training with us and the other half at NOSM, largely in Thunder Bay. Once fully qualified, we are hopeful these two residents will return to the North to serve rural and remote communities, fulfilling a tremendous need. We are also hopeful that there will be increased awareness and uptake of clinical learning opportunities for our Toronto residents in Thunder Bay, including those addressing Indigenous health.
Faculty members at NOSM are excited about this program. Dr. Frank Potestio spearheaded this effort over the few years. Many Department members will remember Dr. Naana Jumah from her days as a resident in Toronto. Drs. Amber Dudar and Brienne Bodkin will work together as Residency Program Directors at NOSM.
