Enhanced Skills Program: Palliative Care 6-Month Program

Funding Ministry of Health

Those who are currently enrolled as a PGY2 in a Canadian Family Medicine Residency Program and Enhanced Skills Re-Entry applicants are eligible to apply for Clinical Palliative Care Program.  

N.B.: Those enrolled in a PGY3 Enhanced Skills Program at the time of application are NOT eligible to apply to another PGY3 Enhanced Skills position.

The Palliative Care Enhanced Skills 6 Month Program adheres to the CanMEDS-FM goals and objectives to achieve the following competencies:

• Medical Expert
• Communicator
• Collaborator
• Leader
• Scholar
• Health Advocate
• Professional

For complete details, please view the general goals and objectives of the program.

Mandatory Content of Training:

• Palliative Care: 24 weeks
  • This rotation will form the bulk of the training and will involve the following:
    • Palliative care inpatient
    • Inpatient consultation
    • Outpatient Clinic
    • Home visits
• Medical Oncology: Longitudinal (one half-day per week)
  • The trainee will participate in outpatient clinics under the supervision of a medical oncologist.
• Radiation Oncology: 2 weeks
  • The trainee will participate in outpatient clinics under the supervision of radiation oncologists.
• Family Medicine: Longitudinal (one half-day per week)
  • The trainee will participate in a Family Medicine Clinic under the supervision of a family doctor. The Trainee can request a particular family physician as a supervisor or the program can assign one. 

There is some flexibility during the palliative care rotation to accommodate special interests. Rotations can be arranged at other palliative care sites within the city upon request depending on availability.

Trainees will, as their protected academic half-day, participate in seminars on Thursday mornings along with the trainees from the Palliative Care Enhanced Skills 12 Month Program.  They will also, near the end of their training, be expected to present, to an audience of palliative care providers, on any subject of interest and relevance. Trainees may also be asked to participate in educational opportunities such as pain management seminars or end-of-life care seminars as either learners or teachers.

During training, trainees will be expected to provide on-call services for the inpatient palliative care/consultation service for one week per month. This includes rounding on the weekend/holiday days and “home call.” Details of the on-call schedule will be worked out with preceptors at the site of training at the start of the program.