Faculty Regulations
Residents must adhere to the general university regulations but are also governed by the agreement between the Employer and the Professional Association of Residents in the Maritime Provinces (PARI-MP). This agreement sets out the employment conditions as well as appropriate grievance procedures for issues covered under the contract. All new trainees must complete a Resident Information Profile and have a signed Contract in order to be admitted to the Faculty of Medicine as a resident. The postgraduate medical trainee's signature on the Contract indicates agreement "to adhere to all Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine and Hospital regulations." Returning trainees annually must complete and sign a Resident Information Renewal.
- Postgraduate medical trainees are subject to the rules and regulations of the hospital department to which they are assigned concerning hours of duty, holidays, etc.
- Any violation of such regulations will be dealt with as if a University regulation were violated.
- Patient care responsibilities override University and statutory holidays.
- All University regulations respecting fees apply to the Faculty of Medicine.
- Registration and payment of fees must be completed to the satisfaction of the Postgraduate Medical Education Office before any postgraduate medical trainee may begin clinical training.
- All trainees will be issued a student ID number and must complete registration with the University.
- New trainees must show evidence that they are paid up members of CMPA, have a current educational licence in Nova Scotia and/or Prince Edward Island and/or New Brunswick, as appropriate, provide proof of ACLS training, and provide proof of immunization
- Proof of immunization must be written documentation obtained from a physician and/or public health facility and must include the date of immunization and/or confirmation of immunity for tetanus, diphtheria, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox and hepatitis B. (See the Faculty Policy on Immunization)
- Immunization against influenza is recommended.
- Skin testing to establish tuberculin status is also required.
- It is mandatory that all PGY1s complete an ACLS course prior to commencement of training.
- Those residents without ACLS will be reported to their Program Director and will require a waiver from their Program in order to commence their residency training.
Residency training is preceded by a Postgraduate Orientation Day. Clinical training starts at 9:00am on July 1st. Having accepted appointment, postgraduate medical trainees are expected to report for duty on the starting date and to serve for the full training year, unless they are incapacitated by illness, or unless they give four weeks’ notice for reasons acceptable to the Director of Training.
Status of Residents
Residents are medical doctors involved in a university-operated educational program, based in various modes of health-care delivery which, following satisfactory completion of certification exams and other requirements of the specialty, will enable them to qualify for specialist status. Therefore, residents are full-time university students and at the same time provide medical service in hospitals for remuneration and benefits, and these roles are inseparable.
In the pyramid of medical students and residents, higher level students teach those below. This is an excellent way to learn and is encouraged. Any formal teaching commitments above this will be negotiated with the Department Head and Program Director concerned. The ultimate responsibility for patient care lies with the appointed attending staff physician and not with the resident.
Residents are expected to provide clinical service, appropriate to their level of training, to patients admitted to teaching units. Residents have a duty to provide care in emergency situations to other patients in hospitals where they are training. Further coverage of these other patients is by mutual agreement between the resident and the attending staff physician concerned, and requires the attending staff physician to provide the same academic responsibilities and supervision as he/she does on teaching units. Where the trainee is not provided with adequate supervision and/or responsibility for patient care by the attending staff physician, the patient cannot be regarded as a teaching patient.
Faculty of Medicine policy requires that duty periods be regulated to provide both adequate patient care and essential patient exposure, while allowing sufficient time for rest as well as specific and general medical reading and other academic activities. As physicians, along with other health professionals, your principal focus is the patient. Patients come from a wide range of cultures, diverse economic and educational backgrounds, as well as extremes in age groups. In addition, they and their families come to us often under a great deal of stress and with significant vulnerability. It is befitting to present ourselves as professionals who are sensitive and responsive to our patient's expectations regarding appropriate identification, apparel, and demeanor while on active duty.
The University claims sole right in, and responsibility for, the selection of residents for the Dalhousie Integrated Training Programs. Residents are subject to the regulations of the hospital in which they train and this applies as well to resignation, suspension, termination and dismissal procedures. The University has the right to suspend or dismiss a resident whose academic performance does not meet accepted standards. See Assessment of Training and Promotion Regulations.