Pediatric Urology Fellowship

• Applicants should obtain medical licensure or postgraduate registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (depending on funding source).
• You should have completed the LMCC (parts 1 and 2) unless they have external funding. Registration with the Post-graduate Medical Education (PGME) office at the University of Alberta.
• The applicant should have a valid work permit if not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident with a membership with the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) as a clinical fellow.
• All applicants must send a cover letter, current CV, and three reference letters supporting their candidacy.

This is a one-year clinical fellowship focusing on pediatric urology. The Stollery Children’s hospital has a catchment area of over 2 million people, and services Northern Alberta, Northern British Columbia, Eastern Saskatchewan, and Northern Canada. This is a robust clinical fellowship with dedicated time and the expectation of clinical research with the opportunity for basic science research participation.

Our general urology clinics see the entire spectra of pediatric urology, and also includes a nurse practitioner who has a dedicated voiding dysfunction clinic, a biofeedback program, and video-urodynamics. Our multidisciplinary clinics include: a prenatal clinic, Spina Bifida clinic, and a Urology-Nephrology clinic. Our rounds include: DSD rounds, Combined Nephrology-Urology rounds, and general urology rounds.

Our operating rooms are modern and spacious, with built-in monitors for excellent laparoscopic and endoscopic capabilities. We treat the spectrum of urologic disorders with an emphasis on complex reconstruction including neurogenic bowel and bladder, DSD, CAH, cloacal anomalies and exstrophy / epispadias.

The Stollery Children’s Hospital is a world class facility, housed within the Walter Mackenzie Center. Our Cardiac program brings in the most complex patients from all across Western Canada.

Timetable:

There are two staff surgeons, and the fellow alternates with the resident to an assigned staff per week.

Academic Rounds and Activities

Dr.’s Kiddoo and Metcalfe often have regular weekly rounds with the residents to review contemporary topics. We would expect the Fellow to participate in these and all pertinent academic opportunities within the divisions of Urology and Pediatric Surgery.

• Combined Urology – Nephrology Rounds (monthly)
• Urology Journal Club – Discussion of 3-4 articles from Urology literature. Although a minority of articles will be focused on pediatric urology, the critical appraisal skills will be appreciated
• Urology grand rounds (weekly)
• Pediatric Surgery grand rounds (monthly)
• Department of Surgery Grand Rounds (monthly)
• Department of Pediatrics Grand Round (weekly – when pertinent)
• Urology Resident Research Day (annual)
• Prairie Urological Association Annual Meeting (annual – pending active research)
• Canadian Urological Association Annual Meeting (annual – pending active research)
  
  

There are two staff surgeons, and the fellow alternates with the resident to an assigned staff per week.

Dr. Peter Metcalfe (Fellowship Program Director)

Dr. Darcie Kiddoo
Urology Residency Program
Pediatric Urology Nurse Practitioner

Pediatric Urology is a fundamental subspecialty in the Stollery Children’s Hospital. While existing as a service under the jurisdiction of the Division of Pediatric Surgery and closely tied to the Department of Pediatrics, its educational, training and academic mission is primarily guided by the Division of Urology. All of the surgical care and most clinical care occurs at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, but pediatric clinics also occur at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital. There is also an opportunity to participate in Adult transitional Urologic Care through the University of Alberta Hospital and the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Urology Center.

The Stollery Children's Hospital, located within the University of Alberta Hospital, is home to a mosaic of highly skilled child health professionals from many countries around the world. They have made this "hospital within a hospital" into a well-recognized centre for complex and specialized services. We care for children from Northern Alberta, including Edmonton and the metropolitan area, as well as parts of Saskatchewan, Northern British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut. For Pediatric Urology the population served is in excess of two million Canadians.

A broad range of surgical expertise is inherent to our program.

A number of Multidisciplinary collaborations and Clinics exist:

1. Spina Bifida clinics
   Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital with team member from Neurosurgery, Rehabilitation Medicine, Physiotherapy, psychology, and social work. Pediatric clinics occur twice per month, and adult and adolescent clinics once per month.
2. Voiding dysfunction clinic and Biofeedback
   These occur multiple time per week, and involve a nurse practitioner and a dedicated clinic nurse
3. Urology and Nephrology Clinics
   These occur monthly and involve a team meeting with all nephrologist, urologists, and nursing and a ½-1 day clinic monthly.

Allied Services:

• Adult Urology: The Fellow will be encouraged to participate in all manner of Transitional Care clinical entities. This may include stone surgery in a congenitally challenged patient, penile or urethral surgery in an adult with hypospadias, or continued long-term management of Spina Bifida and other neuropathic bladders.
• Spina Bifida Clinics: This is a 2-4x / month multidisciplinary clinic at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital with a focus on the complex needs of patients with Spina Bifida and other spinal dysraphisms.
• Nephrology: We have monthly combined clinics where we see the most complex of our patients with anatomic urologic abnormalities and renal dysfunction.
• Biofeedback: We have 2-3 nurses in our Pediatric Surgery Clinic who perform biofeedback training to our most complex dysfunctional voiders. This clinic is scheduled 1-2 days per week and is an excellent opportunity to learn about advanced treatment of complex voiding dysfunction
• Urodynamics: Our clinic also houses our Urodynamics laboratory, which is run by our Nurse Practitioner. This allows the Fellow easy access to learn about the nuances of performing and interpreting this exam.

General Duties and Responsibilities of Fellows:

This is a one-year in duration and is primarily clinical in nature. Specific clinical responsibilities for the fellow are as follows:

• Help maintain the consultative service for Urology
• Attend surgical cases in Pediatric Urology (1-2 days per week)
• The fellow will attend all major cases
• The Fellow will be allowed discretion in attending minor cases. But will be encouraged to do so to maximize their operative experience
• Attend 1-2 days of Pediatric Urology Clinics per week, including at least one multi-disciplinary clinic / month
• Attend daily ward rounds and mange inpatient care
• Maintain a collegial and collaborative working relationship with the nurses, residens, faculty and all allied staff.
• Provide on call cover, under supervision of staff pediatric Urologists. The fellow takes part in a 1:4 on-call roster; this is complimented by the rotating Urology resident and the pool of Urology residents attached to the adult service. The fellow does not cover the adult on call.

Objectives and Expectations of Fellows:

The aim is to train a professional, clinically and academically competent candidate

• Compliance with the structure of the program, leadership of the director, the Urology Fellowships Committee, under the umbrella of the division of Urology.
• Respectful interaction with peers, other specialists & allied health workers
• Compliance with the prescribed study (2 weeks), statutory leave, and holidays (4 weeks) and disclosure of any reason that may hinder meeting these obligations.
• Reporting feedback appropriately through the mid-term and final evaluation processes, and provision of a final report on activity and experience at the end of training.

Clinical:

• Diligent attention to clinical responsibilities
• Documenting prospectively an operative log book
  • To be evaluated by Fellowship Training Committee at all meetings
• Timely and appropriate response to feedback on clinical performance and academic progress
• Sharing an equitable on call and daily clinical roster with the residents and reporting to the Fellowship director on proposed arrangement or changes prior to implementation
• Responsible use of allocated clinical resources (equipment, computers, instruments, records,etc.)

Academic:

• Working on under guidance of the program director to enhance research methodology skills, practice of critical appraisal, and allocation of appropriate research projects
• Presentation at local, national or international venues as committed and agreed upon with the primary investigators and the fellowship director
• Working towards a manuscript publication

The fellowship position requires the applicant to have completed residency training in Urology and to have successfully passed licensing examinations in their country of origin. The fellowship is open to Canadian, as well as non-Canadian trained Urologists. Foreign medical graduates must be able to obtain a training Visa for Canada and an educational license for Alberta. It is important to note that as per The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta, unless exempt, candidates are required to have completed the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) academic version within 24 months, as noted on their website (link above).

The completed application should be emailed to Peter Metcalfe at pmetcalf@ualberta.ca and include:

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
2. Three letters of reference with contact information for each
3. A personal covering letter outlining the interest in the fellowship, as well as future career plans upon completion of the fellowship
4. A copy of any recent and relevant publications
5. If English is not their primary language, they will require evidence of English proficiency