New Brunswick based Dalhousie Internal Medicine Residency Training Program

Department of Medicine

Special attributes of the Saint John location have established the site as an ideal location to develop new clinicians. In brief, it is a perfect fit between too big and too small. Learners will see the common and the rare. They will evaluate undifferentiated problems as the first specialty contact; initiate an investigation and management plan and do this working securely, one to one, with mentors who are keenly observing and facilitating their competency development.

The Saint John resident training site is one of long tradition and recent innovation. The tradition of partnership with Dalhousie University Post Graduate training started in this department more that 40 years ago and has an uninterrupted record of providing training rotations in 11 subspecialties and in the specialty of General Internal Medicine. Residents of the Family Medicine and Internal Medicine have been the principal benefactors of the Saint John program.

In 2007 the Saint John campus established a site based component to the Dalhousie Internal Medicine training program. The basis of this initiative was to take advantage of our strengths in the essentials of core training. This includes unlimited opportunities to have primary responsibility for the care of patients, to observe and practice all the requisite procedures, to work with, learn from and learn to lead interdisciplinary teams, to guide junior learners and essentially to have the best opportunity to become a competent internist.

Saint John based training is modeled, like its Halifax partner, to prepare residents for any training direction through the PGY-4 CaRMS match. Those who choose the specialty of General Internal Medicine will find the ideal resources at this site.

Our Patient Care

  • Our inpatient clinical activities are centered around the MTU which is staffed over 40% of the time by 2 general Internists while our subspecialty staff provide the remaining coverage. Virtually all medical problems excepting CCU admissions are managed on the MTU with specialty consultation as required. Two 12 bed teams manage patients who are triaged for problems best suited for internist care.
  • The CCU provides province wide tertiary care in a 12 bed unit. Eleven cardiologists provide a complete range of diagnostic, interventional and treatment services
  • All specialties including General Internal Medicine provide ambulatory clinics within the Saint John regional Hospital training facility. There are more than 40 teaching faculty engaged in the training program.

Our Teaching

  • Because almost all clinical activity occurs within one facility, the program is particularly well suited to offering training experience in longitudinal care. Residents on any rotation can easily attend a half day clinic to follow selected patients until Generalist care is no longer indicated. Subspecialties send referrals to this clinic to assure a wide breadth of experience within the generalist training framework.
  • Residents receive 3 hours weekly of distributed education from the Halifax site as well as 3 hours of noon seminar, weekly Grand Rounds from both sites and selected specialty rounds.
  • The department works as a teaching team so that problems or instructional opportunities are shared across specialties through formal or informal consultation. This allows the learner to participate to the extent that his training portfolio requires.