View over Camrose of trails and a bridge

Camrose Family Medicine Residency

Welcome to the Family Medicine Residency Program - Camrose at the University of Alberta.

Contact Us

Dr. Amber Jorgensen
Site Co-Director

Dr. Jeff Bennett
Site Co-Director

Katrina Stuckey
Site Administrator
kstuckey@ualberta.ca

 

amber site co-director

Site Co-Director

Dr. Amber Jorgensen

jeff bennett co-director

Site Co-Director 

Dr. Jeff Bennett

OUR PROGRAM

Camrose is the most recent addition to the rural family medicine residency sites within the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta. Integrating ideal aspects of the pre-existing rural programs to ensure residents are trained to practice full-scope rural family medicine, the Camrose stream focuses on creating site-based longitudinal learning opportunities and fostering relationships with preceptors and patients to produce confident residents ready to jump into practice.

Home to the University of Alberta Augustana campus, Camrose is a vibrant and growing community of approximately 20, 000 people located under an hour southeast of Edmonton.  With over 20 clinic-based family physicians based out of two family medicine clinics, residents spend ample time with preceptors to experience various practice styles, panel compositions, and special interests. There are many options for rural family medicine rotations, which are generally in medium-sized rural communities with busy emergency rooms and active surgical and obstetrical programs. Camrose’s St. Mary’s Hospital has a broad complement of specialists providing care to the surrounding populace of neighbouring communities, totalling around 150,000 people. It is a regional stroke center with a special care unit and skilled hospitalist team.

 

Program Highlights

Camrose offers site-based, longitudinal experiences with patients and preceptors encompassing the broad scope of family medicine. Live and learn minutes from your home site rotations while maximizing your learning with a combination of block and integrated-style scheduling that allows you to consolidate and implement your learning into practice.

Integrate and become part of the community—experience the diversity and gratification of rural medicine. Learn how to manage life as a practicing physician by balancing the needs of your patients, yourself, and your community. 

Only 2 learners per year means more 1-on-1 opportunities and closer relationships with staff and patients. Stay connected to fellow U of A residents with regular in-person workshops, academic days, and training opportunities. Other learners who are regularly present in the community provide camaraderie and opportunities to teach.

Resource-rich rural experience not far from the city: receive rural experience in a site with family doctors who practice to full scope with the support of multiple specialists.

Learn under experienced and progressive preceptors who are excited to teach. Although the Camrose residency program is new as a CaRMS match, it gradually became an integrated stream as part of the Red Deer program for 5 years.

Camrose is a safe, charming, and desirable community to live in! Enjoy walking, running, hiking, cross-country skiing, and mountain biking on the amazing trail system in the Stony Creek Valley, experience the vibrant arts scene, eat at plenty of incredible restaurants, or play shinny hockey at lunch any weekday from September to June.

 

Residency at a Glance

Amber instructs residents
Integrated & Longitudinal Learning

The two year program is divided into four Family Medicine Plus Blocks:

  • FM+Mental Health/Chronic Pain/Psychiatry
  • FM+Women's Health/Pediatrics
  • FM+Geriatrics/Palliative Care/Internal Medicine
  • FM+ER/Radiology

Throughout the 2 years, residents participate in the following longitudinal experiences:

  • Family medicine clinic
  • OB call
  • ER shifts
  • Hospitalist weeks
  • Four 2-week blocks of surgery/gynecology/anesthesia time with a focus on general surgery/plastics/gynecology clinic, minor procedures, and consults. You can intubate your patient then scrub in for surgery!
  • Weekly family medicine learner-led clinic half days with multi-level learners offer the opportunity to focus on teaching and practice management within a clinical setting
Block Rotations

During the Family Medicine Plus blocks, residents spend time away from Camrose to complete a number of rotations:

  • 4 weeks Peds ER (Edmonton)
  • 4 weeks Orthopedics/MSK (Red Deer)
  • 2 weeks ICU/CCU (Red Deer)
  • 3 weeks addictions (Red Deer)
  • 8 weeks rural family medicine
  • 10 weeks electives (flexibility in location and timing)
Academics

In addition to exceptional clinical learning opportunities, residents participate in a variety of academic activities:

  • Week-long retreat with all U of A Rural Family Medicine residents
  • Academic Days with Red Deer residents
  • Weekly hospitalist bedside teaching rounds
  • Weekly lunch and learn teaching rounds with family doctors and specialists
  • Workshops/courses: Evidence Based Medicine, Behavioural Medicine, CASTED, CPoCUS IP Certification, critical care simulations, ALARM, ATLS, NRP, PALS

 

TEACHING HOSPITALS

There are two family medicine clinics with more than 20 clinic-based family doctors practicing in Camrose, each of whom practices outside of the clinic in some way. Clinic physicians are supported by in-clinic panel managers and PCN nurses. Residents experience time with preceptors with various practice styles, panel compositions, and special interests. Some of the special interests/focused practices of our family doctors include chronic pain, palliative care, geriatrics, psychiatry, child and youth mental health, breastfeeding medicine, MAID, and transgender care. Most specialists hold clinics in offices alongside family doctors—just walk down the hall to consult a friendly face. Residents will also spend time in various long-term care/supported living environments as well as the PCN shared care prenatal clinic and geriatric clinic.

St. Mary’s Hospital in Camrose is a 76-bed hospital with >250 deliveries/year, 16, 000 ER visits per year, and a catchment area of approximately 150, 000. It has GP Anesthetists, an ER staffed by family physicians, 3 general surgeons, family medicine hospitalists, internal medicine, OBGYN, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, plastic surgery, psychiatry, and on-site radiology. There is 24hr access to CT scans, weekday access to ultrasound, mobile MRI, interventional radiology, and fluoroscopy. As a regional stroke center, St. Mary's has a special care unit and a skilled hospitalist team granting them the ability to care for very sick patients on site.

Broaden your family medicine experience by spending 8 weeks in one of the other rural Alberta sites. You can choose from a handful of sites under 45 minutes away or explore other sites as far away as Whitehorse.

This site regularly hosts longitudinal integrated third year medical students and other residents and medical students in the community, providing ample opportunity for both collegiality and teaching.

Camrose is a charming community nestled in Central Eastern Alberta not too far from Edmonton, but far enough away that it has nearly every comfort self-sustained. Exemplifying do-it-yourself rural spirit within a supportive community network, Camrose is a perfect place to experience the beauty of rural living, gain a multitude of skills, and complete your residency.