Division of General Internal Medicine

Department of Medicine

Curriculum

Two separate streams

We have a residency stream based in Halifax and a stream based in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

  • The Halifax stream is a more “traditional” academic teaching site experience.
  • Residents matched in the Yarmouth stream spend the first 6 blocks of training and the last 7 blocks of training in Yarmouth. The middle 13 blocks are in Halifax. The Yarmouth stream provides excellent preparation for those residents who wish to practice GIM in a community setting. Accommodations while in Yarmouth are reimbursed.

Flexible and comprehensive programming

General Internal Medicine (GIM) is a Competence by Design (CBD) program. Training experiences for each stage of training include:

Halifax Program

Transition to Discipline (TTD):

  • 1 block: Community GIM, GIM Junior Attending (MTU, MTU-ED, GIM Consults)*, or GIM clinics

Foundations of Discipline (FOD):

  • 2 blocks: Community GIM, GIM Junior Attending*, or GIM clinics (excluding the rotation completed in TTD)
  • 3 blocks: ICU, cardiology rotation, or selectives

Core of Discipline (COD):

  • Cardiac diagnostic testing
  • Cardiology rotation (CCU, IMCU, consults [inpatient or ED], clinic, pacemaker clinic, or heart failure service)
  • Community GIM
  • GIM Junior Attending*
  • Obstetrical medicine and GIM clinics (8 weeks total)
  • ICU
  • Neurology rotation
  • Up to 11 blocks of electives (total number depends on progress in the program)

Transition to Practice (TTP):

  • GIM Junior Attending*

The GIM Junior Attending rotation is an 8 week rotation where the resident will rotate between the various inpatient services attended by GIM faculty. Scholarly activity time can also be built in during this learning experience.

A bi-weekly longitudinal clinic will occur while the resident is in our training program.

Yarmouth Program

Transition to Discipline (TTD):

  • GIM Junior Attending (Yarmouth)

Foundations of Discipline (FOD):

  • GIM Junior Attending (Yarmouth)

Core of Discipline (COD):

  • While in Halifax:
    • Cardiology rotation (CCU, IMCU, consults [inpatient or ED], clinic, pacemaker clinic, heart failure service)
    • GIM Junior Attending (MTU, MTU-ED, GIM Consults) in Halifax (8 weeks)
    • Obstetrical medicine and GIM clinics (8 weeks)
    • ICU
    • Neurology rotation
    • Up to 7 blocks of electives (total number depends on progress in the program)
  • While in Yarmouth:
    • GIM Junior Attending
    • Up to 3 blocks of electives (total number depends on progress in the program)

Transition to Practice (TTP):

  • GIM Junior Attending

A weekly longitudinal clinic will occur while in Yarmouth. A bi-weekly longitudinal clinic will occur during the time in Halifax.

Educational Opportunities

The academic half day is composed of dedicated teaching to obstetrical medicine, perioperative medicine, core topics in GIM, and topics based on input from the resident body. There are monthly POCUS teaching sessions, and simulation sessions occur 2-3 times per year. Division journal clubs occur regularly throughout the year in a social atmosphere. GIM residents will take part in Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) rounds to stimulate reflection on patient care and identify areas for quality improvement. Department of Medicine Grand Rounds occur weekly. Dalhousie University provides a series of presentations and online modules on the intrinsic CanMEDS roles, as well as a yearly practice management workshop.

GIM residents will receive feedback on teaching and will lead teaching sessions on perioperative and obstetrical medicine for the learners rotating through the GIM consult and GIM clinic rotations. Trainees will present once a year on a topic of their choosing for GIM division rounds.

Training sites

Most resident training takes place at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, which comprises several sites within walking distance of each other. The general internal medicine consultation service also sees patients at the nearby IWK Health Centre, a pediatric and obstetric care hospital that serves patients from around the Maritimes. There are distributed teaching sites throughout Nova Scotia and New Brunswick where residents can elect to rotate through for a community experience.

Yarmouth Regional Hospital provides care to 58,000 people in Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby Counties. It has an active GIM service providing emergency department and inpatient consultation, critical care, in-centre hemodialysis, GI endoscopy, bronchoscopy, cardiology non-invasive diagnostics, and pacemaker services.