Pediatrics
Med I
Pediatric cases are integrated throughout the curriculum in all units.
Med II
Again, pediatric cases are integrated throughout the curriculum. There is also a multi-session pediatric clinical skills course, which includes small group sessions focusing on pediatric history taking, physical exam skills, and case write-ups with some larger group demonstrations. Students have the opportunity to practice skills on age groups ranging from infancy to adolescence.
Med III
Medical students rotate through pediatrics in six week blocks in Halifax, Truro, Kentville, Antigonish, Sydney, Saint John, Summerside and Charlottetown. Some students are in the Longitudinal Integrated Curriculum (LIC) program and spend their entire clerkship at one site, in Fredericton, Moncton, Miramichi or Upper River Valley, NB. These LIC students complete the entire clerkship curriculum in an integrated manner rather than in separate specialty focused-blocks and have the same learning objectives, clinical encounter logs, and exams as other students. During the pediatric rotation students have a series of seminars which includes all sites joining by videoconference. All students are expected to interview and write up an adolescent patient contact. Students must also complete a set of specific pediatric clinical encounters on the electronic log on One45. Evaluation is through mid and end unit ITERs (which are based on CanMEDS), a multiple choice exam and OSCE. The latter is integrated with other units.
Med IV
The Med IV year is composed of electives, two PIER blocks (designed to prepare students for Medical Council exams, CaRMS and entry into postgrad training); plus a block for CaRMS interviews and vacation. Many students opt for elective rotations in Pediatrics.
Electives
The Department of Pediatrics offers elective programs for interested students in all four years. Arrangements for these electives may be made through the Department early in each academic year. Inquiries regarding elective programs at other medical schools or from students at other schools should be directed to the Undergraduate Medical Education Office at Dalhousie Email: electives@dal.ca
Residency Training
The Department of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University offers a four-year postgraduate training program in pediatrics. Successful completion of the residency renders the trainee eligible for the specialty examinations in Paediatrics offered by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and by the American Board of Pediatrics. The IWK Health Centre is both a teaching hospital and research centre. It is the tertiary care Pediatric referral centre for Canada’s three Maritime provinces - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. This hospital serves as the community Pediatric hospital for the Halifax Regional Municipality (population base approximately 400,000). It is the only hospital in the metropolitan area that admits children, so it provides primary, secondary and tertiary care and thus provides trainees the opportunity to see, in both ambulatory and inpatient environments, patients with problems in the primary, secondary and tertiary care areas.
This institution is also the maternity site for all normal and high-risk deliveries within the metropolitan area and serves as the referral site for all high-risk deliveries for the provinces of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. There are approximately 5,000 obstetrical deliveries per year. There is an extremely busy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to provide a broad range of neonatal exposures for residents.
The Saint John Regional Hospital is a facility which has a pediatric unit affiliated with Dalhousie University. Residents rotate through general inpatients pediatrics and ambulatory pediatrics at the Saint John Regional which provides secondary and some tertiary care for children from a large area of New Brunswick. Saint John is a city of 130,000. Accommodation is provided for residents who are on rotation in Saint John.
The program in paediatrics is designed to provide a well-rounded experience, covering all “core” areas, but also providing time for specialization in areas of individual interest. The first three years of training cover the core requirements established by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Specific rotations will include the Emergency Department, Ambulatory Clinics, In-patient general Pediatric wards, Newborn Intensive Care Units, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Surgery, Child Psychiatry, Behavioural and Developmental Pediatrics, and many of the Pediatric subspecialty services. In addition to time set aside for research, the fourth year of the program can usually be individually designed to meet the specific training needs and interests of the resident.
There is ample time for electives, which may be spent pursuing a clinical specialty, or engaging in a research project. Many of the faculty members are actively involved in research, and resident participation is mandatory.
The training program provides “graded responsibility” to house staff according to the level of seniority and expertise. House staff will be on call no more than one night in four. Senior trainee do less on call. Each resident is permitted four weeks paid vacation per year, and is funded to attend one educational conference per year.
The Department of Pediatrics is made of an outstanding group of pediatricians, scientists, and staff, all of whom are committed to improving child health through patient care, education, research, and leadership. The Department is comprised of 16 divisions, with two services and in excess of 100 faculty members. Pediatricians throughout the Maritimes are also members of the Department and play important roles in clinical teaching of both medical students and residents. We have an excellent general pediatric residency program and eight accredited subspecialty residency programs. Further information about our divisions, research programs and education programs can be found on other pages of the website pediatrics.medicine.dal.ca.
Resident Evaluation
All pediatric postgraduate trainees must take the annual in-training examination of the American Board of Pediatrics. This examination provides valuable feedback concerning areas of strengths or weaknesses in clinical knowledge. It also helps the Department to assess its own deficiencies or weaknesses. After each clinical rotation, an in-training evaluation report is completed and is reviewed with the trainee. Trainees general progress is reviewed at least every 6 months. The clinical skills of the residents are assessed regularly by means of oral and clinical examinations.
Rounds and Conferences
There is dedicated educational time set aside for pediatric trainees. A weekly schedule of pediatric conferences and teaching sessions also exists at the Saint John Regional Hospital. All residents are subsidized to attend one approved national or international scientific meeting per year. Residents are also encouraged to attend weekly Grand Rounds at the IWK Health Centre. Residents also attend morning teaching rounds (admission rounds, mock codes, etc.).
Continuing Medical Education
Members of the Department of Pediatrics participate in the activities of the Division of Continuing Medical Education, offering annual short courses in selected topics of pediatric interests, preceptorships for periods of two to four weeks, and special training programs tailored to individual needs of physicians interested in their own continuing education. In addition, Departmental teachers attend clinical teaching conferences at various hospitals throughout the Maritime Provinces.
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