General Internal Medicine
Welcome to the General Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of Alberta.
ACADEMIC HALF DAY
Two-year academic half day curriculum with presentations from many subspecialties, with regular feedback obtained from current residents for presentation requests
Flexibility
Significant elective time (12 blocks) is offered allowing opportunities for residents to round out their training, or pursue a focused area of interest/area of community need
WELLNESS
Resident wellness and work-life balance is a priority for the general internal medicine residency program
Interview/CaRMS Specific Information
The GIM match at the University of Alberta is processed through CaRMS. Please see the CaRMS website at http://www.carms.ca for detailed program information, and a description of the requirements for applying to our residency program.
GIM CaRMs candidates will be scheduled for three 20 minute interviews with General Internal Medicine faculty and/or residents. Candidates will also meet with the GIM Program Director for a brief interview and have dedicated time to ask questions to current GIM residents in the ‘virtual waiting room’ while waiting for their interviews.
The ranking meeting may be attended by an equity, diversity and inclusivity coach to acknowledge and minimize bias in the process.
Contact Us
General Internal Medicine Residency Program
Department of Medicine, University of Alberta
13-109 Clinical Sciences Building
11350-83 Avenue
Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2G3
780.492.6280
Program Director
ljb3@ualberta.ca
780.492.6280
Medical Education Program Coordinator
carrie.hlady@ualberta.ca
780-492-6280
DR. LINDSAY BRIDGLAND
Program Director
MS. CARRIE HLADY
Medical Education Program Coordinator
Welcome to Our Program
The General Internal Medicine Subspecialty program offers a supportive and collegial training environment. We are fortunate to have strong clinicians working on the front line who are also great mentors in supporting career interests in scholarship, teaching and administration. Our strengths include a flexible program structure (12 months of elective time) to pursue training in specific areas of interest whilst ensuring adequate acquisition of GIM skills, graded responsibility balanced with autonomy, and a division that strongly values the contributions of our residents- not only as trainees- but as colleagues.
We have the privilege of working with many different subspecialties and provide the opportunity for residents to pursue electives in a variety of disciplines in order to round out their skills/knowledge in preparation for working in their chosen career environment. The General Internal Medicine R4/R5 clinic is designed to facilitate transition to independent practice and to ensure adequate outpatient training. Our program focuses on ensuring the necessary training experiences are available to meet future practice goals.
We are delighted by the opportunity to meet you!
Dr. Lindsay Bridgland
Program Director
Our Program
We are a fully accredited program that follows the guidelines set out by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Program Highlights
Dedicated Faculty members focused on POCUS with dedicated POCUS rotation available to GIM residents as an elective.
Dedicated Program Director, Associate Program Director and Medical Education Program Coordinator who have experience, organization and collegiality.
Residency at a Glance
| Description | Duration | Sites in which this training may be taken |
|
Ambulatory Care
|
2 blocks (8 weeks) | Any of the local sites or private offices as approved by the Program Director. |
|
Critical Care (CCU or ICU)
|
1 block (4 weeks) |
CCU: University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) or Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) ICU: Grey Nuns Hospital (GNH) |
|
EKG.EST Rotation
|
1 block (4 weeks) | Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) |
| Elective(s) | 12 blocks (48 weeks) | Areas to round out their training or pursue a focused area of interest/area of community need. Three months maximum in one area. |
| GIM Junior Attending - Clinical Teaching Unit (CTU) | 2 blocks (8 weeks) | University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) |
| GIM Junior Attending - Alberta Community GIM Inpatients | 2 blocks (8 weeks) | Grey Nuns Hospital (GNH), Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH), Sturgeon Hospital (SCH), Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Lethbridge or as approved by the Program Director |
| GIM Junior Attending - ED Consultation Service | 1 block (4 weeks) | Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) or University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) |
| GIM Junior Attending - Ward Consultation Service | 2 blocks (8 weeks) | Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) or University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) |
| Obstetric Medicine | 1 block (4 weeks) | Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) |
| R4/R5 Longitudinal Resident Clinic | 2 blocks (8 weeks) | R4 Resident Clinic (UAH) and R5 Resident Clinic (variable). Minimum 20 clinics per year. |
| Vacation | 2 blocks (8 weeks) | N/A |
Teaching Hospitals
We are a fully accredited program that follows the guidelines set out by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
The primary training site is the University of Alberta Hospital, however other sites that are commonly scheduled are Royal Alexandra Hospital, Grey Nuns Community Hospital and Sturgeon Hospital (SCH). Any other sites must be approved by the Program Director.
The Division of General Internal Medicine in Edmonton has a strong presence both at the two large tertiary referral centres, University of Alberta hospital (UAH) and the Royal Alexandra hospital (RAH), and the community centre of the Grey Nuns hospital (GNH). As well, there are numerous opportunities to complete GIM rotations at smaller community hospitals with general internists in Red Deer, Lethbridge and Grande Prairie (12 months of training available in Grande Prairie for those interested after discussion with Dr. Bridgland). In addition to these in-patient sites of training, there are numerous GIM ambulatory experiences available including preoperative, urgent access, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis, thrombosis, and obstetric medicine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Elective time in one area will be limited to six months unless there are exceptional circumstances discussed with the Program Director.
GIM has dedicated time for Academic Half Day every Friday afternoon from 1300-1600.
General Internal Medicine is a broad-based specialty that focuses on diagnosing undifferentiated medical presentations and managing complex medical patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings. General Internists can work in rural settings, smaller communities or large urban hospitals and are involved in disease prevention, screening and early detection of disease, patient education and follow up. General Internal Medicine subspecialists are specifically trained to treat multiple coexisting medical conditions and will liaise with other subspecialties when needed. GIM subspecialists have the opportunity to mold their career and may elect to seek extra training in desired areas such as infectious diseases, cardiology, respirology etc to meet the needs of the community they intend to serve.
Resident Testimonials
We asked our residents what they like about Edmonton, their highlights of the program, and one piece of advice for applicants about the interview process. Here is what a few of them had to say.
What do you like about Edmonton: The people, the people, the people! Edmonton GIM is an exceptionally supportive program where your individual learning and professional goals take high priority. I also fell in love with the city - it is very vibrant and one that celebrates diversity. It is truly the city of festivals - I remember one weekend hopping between 3 - and enjoying food from 3 different continents in the process. The river valley is unparalleled. During the early days of the pandemic, when the whole world seemed to be in lockdown, I spent many evenings exploring its trails with my husband and friends. Edmonton is close to the mountains - always a welcome respite and opportunity for adventures. And it is the city that has the best boxing studio in the country. As someone who has returned to my hometown of Toronto, I miss all of this and look forward to visiting again!
What are the highlights of the program for you: I LOVED my time during GIM at Edmonton. Highlights included unparalleled mentorship, a standard of excellence in teaching and clinical service, and ample opportunities to serve the community around me. I found a tribe of mentors - who were not only excellent clinically, but leaders who conducted themselves with the highest standards of excellence and integrity. My mentors were deeply invested in my success and growth, both as a physician and as a human. They took time to listen to my ideas, helped me develop a trajectory that made sense, and consistently reminded me of the big picture.
They celebrated my successes and were there to provide guidance or facilitate introductions at moments of growth and uncertainty.
The program also has unique opportunities for growth, such as supervised teaching sessions where you receive feedback from faculty on your teaching. At the time, it may seem daunting, but each of those sessions helped me grow as a clinical educator myself and now that I am an attending physician, I find myself often leaning into those experiences to guide me on the CTU. Other highlights include formal academic half days that are curated around royal college preparation as well as clinical needs and curiosities that arise. We had panel discussions from surgeons, neurologists, internists where we had the opportunity to pick their brain on a myriad of clinical subjects. There were hands-on simulation sessions to help us grow our procedural skills.
What is one piece of advice that you want to share with applicants about the interview process: Be yourself. Lean into the values that are important to you and the projects that spark your passion. There is no cookie cutter or algorithmic recipe for success. The program should fit you and serve you, just as much as you will be an integral part of the program as well.
– Nazia Sharfuddin (2019-2021)
What do you like about Edmonton: Edmonton is awesome for winter sports, outdoor activities in both the summer and the winter, and awesome people.
What are the highlights of the program for you: The flexibility of the program allows you to change your rotations as your wishes and needs change throughout training, and the program (the program director and administrative staff) want to help you succeed in your future career, which is their primary goal.
What is one piece of advice that you want to share with applicants about the interview process: For the interviews, remember to be yourself. You are interviewing the program as much as the program is interviewing you, as everyone's goal is to have the best candidates at the best spots.
– Amanda Brost (2020-2022)
What do you like about Edmonton: I'm a bit biased, but I think it's an amazing city with diverse people, lots to do both indoors & outdoors, and great food & arts scenes. It is a big city, which is great from both a training perspective, and a living perspective. Also quite an affordable place to be.
What are the highlights of the program for you: Besides being a very strong training program with a broad variety of training experiences in both inpatient and outpatient settings, the flexibility of the program in designing your schedule & tailoring your training towards your own unique career goals is one of the major highlights. The broad array of supportive staff with diverse experiences really helps to supplement this, and the program is able to help support almost any training goal residents have in mind. Everyone is also amazingly friendly and supportive, and our administrator, Carrie, is amazing, and really helps make life a lot easier for us.
What advice would you give to applicants about the interview process: Be yourself, and know what you want in your training program. Everyone who interviews for the program is amazing & qualified, and would do wonderful in any program. We want to see if you're a good fit for us, and just as importantly, if we're a good fit for you. Don't be afraid to be honest in both your answers and your questions.
– Kelvin Tran (2020-2022)
What do you like about Edmonton: I was originally from Calgary, went to Edmonton for medical school, then back to Calgary for core IM residency, then missed Edmonton and moved back for GIM - if that speaks to the appeal of the city. I love having the river valley in my backyard - I can go home after a busy day and be surrounded by trees in 5 minutes, it's the perfect escape. Edmonton also has a fantastic culture and feel, with a variety of festivals and events that bring different people together throughout the year.
What are the highlights of the program for you: The University of Alberta GIM Program was an awesome experience that gave me the skills I needed to succeed in Internal Medicine. The highlights of the program are guidance and flexibility - the program director Dr. Ringrose met with us regularly to establish our goals, and connect us with the people that can make them happen. There are a diverse range of electives in the city, in connected sites, and abroad, to meet the needs of the resident. The amazing support staff make this process as flawless as possible. They respond quickly and get the job done. Our program coordinator Carrie saved me more than once with her timely reminders, and her sense of humor made the stressful times easier.
What advice would you give to applicants about the interview process: The best advice I can give to future applicants is be yourself and be honest with your goals - don't focus on what you think the residency program needs, or what will get you a job the fastest - but on what truly makes you passionate about medicine. That way the program can help you achieve it.