In June 2011, the Core Internal Medicine Curriculum was reviewed by the University of Saskatchewan’s Internal Medicine Residency Training Program’s Curriculum Committee. 

Core Academic Half-Days (Core AHD) are held on Thursdays between 2:00 and 5:00 PM, and offer dedicated uninterrupted time for learning key topics in Internal Medicine that span the entire CanMEDS spectrum.  A faculty member and a resident from PGY3, PGY2, and PGY1 present content related to a particular topic for each Core AHD. 

Procedural Half-Days in the Clinical Resource Learning Centre occur twice each summer during Core AHD time slots.  Faculty members and PGY3 residents teach medical procedures to junior residents.  Residents are also exposed to simulator training to practice their assessment and management skills in a variety of scenarios.      

Mini Academic Half-Days take place on Tuesdays from noon to 2:00 PM.  They are presented by staff physicians, and feature discrete topics to complement the Core AHDs’ team approach to one larger topic.

An Emergency Lecture Series is held at the beginning of each academic year.  The lectures are targeted at a PGY1 level, and review common emergency situations in terms of diagnosis and management. 

PGY-1

The PGY-1 year focuses on the development of strong clinical examination skills and patient management skills. It also provides for extensive experience in emergency assessment and management of medical problems. Junior residents are responsible for the primary assessment of patients referred to Internal Medicine from the Emergency Department. A typical PGY-1 year is structured as follows:

• 5-7 blocks Clinical Teaching Unit in which the resident works as part of a team comprised of: CTU Chief (faculty member), one senior resident, three to four junior residents, two senior medical students. Each CTU will generally have responsibility for approximately 20-25 patients.
• 1 block Coronary Care Unit
• 1 block Neurology (a second block will follow in your 2nd or 3rd year)
• 2 - 3 block selective (dermatology, endocrinology, respirology, geriatrics or oncology) etc.
• 1 block Emergency Medicine
• 2 weeks office practice (community internist or subspecialty practice)

PGY-2

The second core year is designed to provide a wide range of experience in subspecialty areas of Internal medicine. This includes a mandatory Intensive Care Unit rotation and 7-8 blocks of subspecialty selectives or preceptorships. One block each of Cardiology (ward) and Neurology.

• A mandatory 2 block Intensive Care Unit rotation
• 7-8 blocks of subspecialty selectives or preceptorships.
• One block each of CCU and Neurology.
• 1-2 blocks of General Internal Medicine

PGY-3

During the third core year, residents will have an opportunity to manage the Clinical Teaching Unit at a senior level and gain experience in consultative work both in the Outpatient Department and Emergency. The PGY-3 residents have a close interaction with attending staff, and will be given a large measure of responsibility for supervision of patient care and teaching. Ongoing subspecialty rotations will ensure that a broad range of experience is achieved in Internal Medicine. One month of CCU is mandatory during the PGY3 year.

Electives: Up to two blocks in either the PGY-2 or PGY-3 years may be used for electives. A maximum of 3 blocks (in the 3 core years) may be taken in an approved elective outside of the U of S Internal Medicine Program, i.e. out-of-province.