Toronto East Health Network - Michael Garron Hospital

• Full-service hospital in a friendly, community environment — greater emphasis on resident education as opposed to service
• Comparatively more flexibility in scheduling
• A busy and popular emergency service with over 76,500 annual visits
• Hybrid-style internal medicine rotation with a combination of ward work and sub-specialist training (clinics, ward, procedural skills) with call consisting of ER consults
• Weekly teaching sessions as an integral part of the learning environment —strong, family medicine focused teaching from both family physicians and specialists 
• Hands-on, skills-based teaching, including procedural skills workshops, simulation sessions, and on-site ACLS training
• Annual rural retreat and wellness events
• Over half of our Family Medicine teachers are former MGH Family Medicine Residency Program alumni which offers unique understanding of the resident experience and helps drive our program development

The Hospital and Community

Michael Garron Hospital (formerly the Toronto East General Hospital) is a regional, acute care hospital that provides an extensive range of primary, secondary and tertiary population-based programs and services. It is situated east of downtown Toronto and the catchment area includes 22 distinct neighbourhoods. In recent years, the area has experienced growth in the number of young families which provides active obstetrics and pediatric experiences for learners. Furthermore, the area's large immigrant population brings a culturally rich interaction. At present, MGH serves over half a million people living in one of the most diverse areas in Canada.

At MGH, we believe that one of the main responsibilities of Family Physicians is to know their community, its health problems, and its resources. As a training program, we work with residents to teach them how to learn about a community and its needs.

This year MGH opened its brand-new patient care centre. The building has new learner areas including call rooms, a lounge, classrooms, and a simulation lab

The Program

The Family Medicine Residency Program at Michael Garron Hospital is one of the largest Family Medicine Residency Program sites affiliated with the University of Toronto. To date, our program has trained nearly 400 Family Medicine residents, many of whom have joined us as faculty or remained active members of our MGH-TEHN community.

Our family physician faculty are supportive preceptors who are also active in Family Medicine obstetrics, emergency medicine, palliative care, chronic and rehabilitative medicine, family counselling, research, and community medicine. In total, there are over 40 full and part-time Family Medicine teachers in the MGH division in addition to a full range of ancillary health care staff. 

In addition to Family Medicine block experiences, all of our residents have a weekly Half Day Back, in which they see their own patients at one of three community clinic sites:

• South East Toronto Family Health Team (Coxwell Site) – a Family Medicine Teaching Unit located across from TEHN.
• South East Toronto Family Health Team (Danforth Site) – a Family Medicine teaching unit on Danforth Ave just east of TEHN.
• Flemingdon Community Health Centre – a Community Health Centre located just north of TEHN at Don Mills and Overlea.

Our program is also expanding teaching to Health Access Thorncliffe Park (HATP), an initiative co-led by Flemingdon Community Health Centre and The Neighbourhood Organization to provide comprehensive primary health care services to residents of Thorncliffe Park. These sites serve a large multi-ethnic population including many immigrants and refugees and they have several outreach clinics (teen, elderly, etc.).

All of our teaching sites offer an interdisciplinary approach to primary care medicine and work closely with allied health professionals like psychiatric consultants, nurse practitioners, dieticians, chiropodists, and others to ensure the highest quality of care for patients. As a result, our Family Medicine residents gain a complete perspective of community practice.

MGH is a base site for the DFCM Integrated Communities Stream residents. Residents in the Integrated Communities Stream spend their PGY-1 year at Michael Garron Hospital, followed by a full PGY-2 year at a mid-Ontario community, effectively preparing them for a future in comprehensive Family Medicine.

Top Reasons to join MGH-TEHN according to residents:

• Majority of the rotations have a staff to learner ratio of 1:1, allowing for more hands-on clinical experience and learning
• Since we are the main residents at MGH, there is flexibility in terms of scheduling rotations and vacation
• Extremely responsive, friendly and accommodating medical education team
• Most of the off-service rotations are at MGH, allowing us to get to know our colleagues well!
• Opportunity to enhance skills in palliative care, addictions medicine, family medicine obstetrics and emergency medicinep from the curriculum section

Unique rotations or opportunities include:

• All PGY2 specialty rotations are normally one-on-one with specialty physicians specifically tailoring their teaching towards the needs of family medicine residents, combining in-hospital and in-office experience.
• A group of young and keen family physicians that work closely with residents to provide an exciting hands-on family medicine obstetrics experience.
• Hospitalist medicine service providing a unique opportunity to learn inpatient medicine under the auspices of a hospitalist.
• Strong family medicine presence with inpatient care through the hospitalist and palliative care/rehab programs.
• Popular, busy emergency room experience with over 76,500 annual visits staffed entirely by family physicians who make teaching a priority and serve as excellent role models to residents considering combining emergency medicine with their family practice career.
• Two clinical researchers who divide their time between clinical work and research which includes dedicated time with residents to guide them through their research projects.
• Clinical, educational and research opportunities in community-based services and agencies.
• Dedicated time available to spend counselling your patients with an experienced therapist.
• A very popular Wednesday morning academic program that features a balanced mix of sessions by family physicians as well as our local specialists who target their teaching to future family doctors. A core seminar day is held once a year at the Integrated Communities teaching hospital sites combining excellent educational sessions with preceptors and the opportunity for social activities in a relaxed setting outside of Toronto.
• A hands-on academic program featuring three to four procedural skills workshops facilitated by family physician teachers as well as three to four ER workshops in such diverse areas as casting, ECG interpretation, airway management, suturing and wound care, etc.
• Sports medicine, ENT, women's health and dermatology integrated into core family medicine rotations as selectives.
• New competency-based care of the elderly program and women’s health program.

1st Year:

2nd Year:

Unique rotations or opportunities students should be aware of:

• Busy and popular emergency department
• Family medicine obstetrics group
• Palliative care rotation
• Competency-based care of the elderly program
• Hospitalist medicine service
• Preceptor-based medicine rotation

All PGY-2 specialty rotations are preceptor-based, combining in-hospital and in-office experience.

Family Medicine Block Time
(X indicates location of family medicine block rotations) 

Horizontal Electives Offered During Family Medicine Block Time: 

Number of Family Medicine half-day back (continuity time) per week: 1 half day