How demanding is FP Residency?

[lucy98]

How demanding is Residency for Family Medicine? I was reading the thread below on residency and sleep and I was wondering if that's also the case for FP Residents. I mean, isn't a good portion of your residency spent working in family practices, thus mostly daytime hours?

 

Lucy

[Kirsteen]

How demanding is Residency for Family Medicine? I was reading the thread below on residency and sleep and I was wondering if that's also the case for FP Residents. I mean, isn't a good portion of your residency spent working in family practices, thus mostly daytime hours?

 

Lucy

Hi there,

 

Family Medicine residencies are generally composed of a variety of rotations through branches of Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Family Medicine. The curriculum make-up will differ slightly between schools, but certain rotations must be completed in order to satisfy the Canadian Family Physicians licensing requirements. As an example, here is the current Family Medicine curriculum at Calgary:

 

The first year curriculum is comprised of:

* Family Medicine - 16 weeks

* Medicine - 8 weeks

* Pediatrics - 8 weeks

* Obstetrics & Gynecology - 8 weeks

* Psychiatry - 4 weeks

* Palliative Care - 4 weeks

* Elective - 4 weeks

 

The second year curriculum is comprised of:

* Family Medicine - 16 weeks (8 weeks at a designated rural site)

* ICU/CCU - 8 weeks

* Elective - 12 weeks

* Emergency - 4 weeks

* Surgery - General - 4 weeks

* Musculoskeletal Medicine - 4 weeks

* Geriatrics - 4 weeks

 

I've been on service with Family Med residents during my Interal Med, ObsGyn and Surgery rotations. During those rotations, Family Med residents take call at a frequency that is equal to any other resident on service. So the Internal Med call was roughly 1 in 4 and both, Family Med and Internal Med residents' call schedules were 1 in 4. There is no call relief for "off service" residents, i.e., residents who are on the Internal Med service but who are residents within another residency program, e.g., Family Med, etc.

 

During the Family Medicine rotation, call is also possible and it will depend on the site where you're working. In my Family Med rotation the Family Med resident and I had no call, but others at other sites did take call.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[lucy98]

Wow! Thank you, Kirsteen, for the detailed response.

 

Much appreciated.

 

Lucy