Medical Training at the “Boundaries of the World”

16 Cutting edge, 17 Voyages of (cultural) 20 Philanthropists bet without the cutting discovery on the Faculty of Medicine UBC MEDICINE VOL 9 | NO 1 SPRING 2013 THE MAGAZINE OF THE UBC FACULTY OF MEDICINE THE RESIDENCY ROTATION ON HAIDA GWAII: MEDICAL TRAINING AT THE “BOUNDARIES OF THE WORLD” MORE ON MEDICAL RESIDENTS 04 Expanded opportunities for international medical graduates 07 A residency program gets physical 10 The double life of a pediatrics resident 04 21 07 FACULTY OF MEDICINE 09 UBC MEDICINE VOL. 9 | NO. 1 SPRING 2013 A publication of the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine, providing news and information for and about MESSAGE FROM THE VICE PROVOST HEALTH AND DEAN 03 faculty members, students, staff, alumni and friends. FOCUS ON: RESIDENTS Letters and suggestions are B.C. expands opportunities for international medical graduates 04 welcome. Contact Brian Kladko at [email protected] Basic training: A residency program gets physical 07 Send address corrections to The double life of pediatrics resident Kristopher Kang 08 [email protected] Editor/Writer Resident researchers 09 Brian Kladko Learning medicine at the boundaries of the world 12 Contributing writers Brian Lin Investigations & breakthroughs 14 Anne McCulloch Daniel Presnell Cutting edge, without the cutting 16 Design Voyages of discovery, close to home 17 Signals Design Group Inc. www.signals.ca Enhancing excellence: New arrivals to the Faculty of Medicine 18 Online at http://med.ubc.ca/news/ Philanthropists bet on the Faculty of Medicine for live-saving solutions 20 ubc-medicine-magazine Olympic ambitions – both athletic and medical 21 Self-health: Sun Life supports online risk assessment tool 21 Making a mark: Achievements & awards 22 One B.C. leader pays tribute to another 24 A family focus on an obscure disorder 24 A new technology to explore the lower intestine 24 MEDICAL ALUMNI NEWS 25 DEAN’S GREETING UBC MEDICINE 3 MESSAGE FROM THE VICE PROVOST HEALTH AND DEAN When my grandfather graduated from medical school in Dublin Notwithstanding the many changes over the last century, three in the 1920’s, his subsequent residency was on the high seas: principles remain pre-eminent in residency training. One is the he served as a ship’s doctor with the Cunard Line. Very little notion that caring for a patient is a privilege, and that we should emphasis was put on education — this had been completed, be aware of our responsibility to earn the trust of those for whom and he was thrown into the new role as healer without anyone to we provide care. Another constant is the importance of role mentor or supervise him. models — there is simply no substitute for emulating the care of When my father and father-in-law graduated from medical school our most experienced, exemplary colleagues in the profession. The some three decades later, the concept of medical residency third principle is the primacy of evidence — learning how to fi nd it, had evolved — somewhat. The apprenticeship model gave knowing what level of scientifi c rigor is needed in a given situation, way to a more balanced mix of apprenticeship, education and and becoming adept in applying it judiciously. independent practice, unfolding over a period of fi ve to seven Much has changed in residency, yet those basic principles remain years characterized by long hours, limited pay and sometimes the same. It is a crucial, formative period in a physician’s career, but great responsibility. one that doesn’t get proper recognition, owing to its transitional By the time I entered post-graduate training, in the 1970’s, it had identity. In this issue, UBC Medicine tries to compensate for that, evolved even further from an apprenticeship, as education and by highlighting how big a role residency programs now play in our training became a more formal part of the program, with defi ned activities, the challenges of being a resident or providing training learning objectives. Nonetheless, it still involved “one-in-two call” for them, and the contributions that residents make to the Faculty and 12- to 16-hour days in the hospital. of Medicine and to the populations we serve. Today, thankfully, residency has mostly forsaken the “breaking Please let me know what you think of our effort, or if you have in” approach of my grandfather’s era. Governed by the Royal other stories to share. This certainly isn’t meant as the fi nal word College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of on post-graduate training, but simply as an opening to further Family Practice of Canada, residencies are rigorous educational discussion — a discussion that could guide residency’s continuing programs based upon principles of patient safety, pedagogy and evolution from the days of “sink or swim.” evidence-based care. Patient safety requires limited work hours. Work-life balance is now an acceptable principle to consider in the design of residency programs. Protocols of care are founded Gavin C.E. Stuart, MD, FRCSC on clear evidence. Vice Provost Health, UBC Dean, Faculty of Medicine FOCUS ON: RESIDENTS DIFFERENT JOURNEYS, SAME DESTINATION: UBC MEDICINE 5 L – R: Kirti Aneja, Suzanne Walter. PHOTO CREDIT: MARTIN DEE B.C. EXPANDS OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES As a practicing anesthesiologist in northern India, Kirti Aneja Dr. Aneja had completed three years of residency training in India. thought she had it all. Not only was she fulfi lling her childhood But here in Canada, she had to start over. While preparing for ambition of becoming a doctor, but she was happily married exams and looking after her young son, Dr. Aneja worked in to her medical school sweetheart and was expecting their Walmart to make ends meet. fi rst-born son. “I’m a fi ghter,” she says. “We came here for a better life for our But she and her husband then made a bold decision: They left family and our son, and I don’t give up easily.” their beloved homeland to pursue a better life for their children, Dr. Aneja passed all of her exams and the clinical assessment in and for a chance to use their medical skills in an entirely new two-and-a-half years. She began her residency in the southern setting — Canada. Fraser Health region, including Langley Memorial Hospital and Dr. Aneja is an international medical graduate (IMG), one of a Surrey Memorial Hospital, in July 2012. group of permanent residents or Canadian citizens who were “I was determined to practise medicine in Canada, but it was trained outside of North America and are now seeking to defi nitely challenging,” says Dr. Aneja, whose husband is still practise medicine in Canada. in the process of qualifying for residency training. To ensure a high level of care in communities around the Another international medical graduate, Suzanne Walter, province, the process of integrating skilled and passionate took a very different route to her medical residency. medical graduates from overseas is rigorous. Raised in North Vancouver, she earned a BSc from UBC in 2000. While the U.S. and Canada share similar curricula and While traveling in Europe, she decided to become a doctor, and accreditation standards for medical students, systems vary enrolled in the University of Freiburg medical school, in Germany. widely around the world. Many do not, for example, demand the After earning her M.D. there, she returned to Vancouver in 2008. same level of training in a clinical setting that is required by It took her another two-and-a-half-years to complete the Canadian medical education. required exams and assessments before beginning residency So all medical graduates trained outside of North America must training in 2010. complete a series of exams run by the Medical Council of Canada. “In retrospect, I might have been a little naïve about what it Then, to enhance their likelihood of success when applying for would take to come back to practise in B.C.,” says Dr. Walter, a residency position, UBC offers a clinical assessment program, who admitted that at times she felt deserving of special in which applicants work alongside experienced physicians in consideration as a natural Canadian. hospitals for two months. “But the longer I was in the program, the more I realized that Those accepted into a residency position then spend another two all the IMGs are Canadians – some have been here as long as to seven years in training, depending on their specialization, before 10 years and separated from their partners or children,” she says. they can qualify for a license to practice. “Many of the IMGs I know aren’t here for their own careers – they Two of the main training sites for international medical graduates: Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, and Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. PHOTO CREDIT (ROYAL COLUMBIAN HOSPITAL): JERALD WALLISER Continued from p5 had a good life in their home countries as doctors. They were well- “But the dividends are enormous. B.C. is able to harness the respected and made good money. They’re here because they want skills and commitment of ambitious, capable physicians, many a better life for their children, and as a new mother myself, I get it.” of whom are eager to practise in places where physicians are in The shared ambitions of Dr. Aneja and Dr. Walter have dovetailed short supply.” with the province’s need for physicians — particularly family That reciprocal relationship includes a “return-of-service,” physicians, pediatricians, psychiatrists and internists in in which the newly-licensed physicians are assigned to practise mid-sized urban centres and rural and remote communities. in an underserved community for two years.

Load more