Rural - Fergus

The program emphasizes the scope of rural family practice in Southern Ontario and the lifestyle of the practitioner. There are core rotations in the major disciplines of Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine and Geriatrics, chosen for their appropriateness to rural Family Medicine. Several of these rotations are offered in rural communities or regional centers. Additional flexibility is provided by elective and selective opportunities in the second year and horizontal elective time during Family Medicine experiences. Throughout the program all residents return to the closest Behavioural Science group for one half-day each week for a Behavioural Science tutorial. Hamilton, Collingwood and Kitchener-Waterloo currently hold weekly Behavioural Science tutorials.  Fergus residents will have their Behavioural Science in Kitchener-Waterloo.  Residents in the Rural Stream are encouraged to live in the community in which they have matched.  Since this is not always possible, it is a requirement to live in your community for At LEAST the four months of family medicine in each of the PGY1 and PGY2 years.  This provides the resident with education and lifestyle opportunities uniquely important to rural medicine.

All residents must complete a Quality Assurance project, primarily chart audit, as a program requirement, during their family medicine rotation. Faculty will support and facilitate residents in the completion of these projects. There is a strong emphasis on evidence-based medicine and the development of critical appraisal skills and all residents will participate in Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) tutorials as part of their Academic Half Day program during the family medicine block. These endeavours provide residents with skills and knowledge for lifelong learning to be effective and efficient physicians and to ensure they are effective consumers of medical research and able to apply research to their clinical activities.