Overview
- Eligibility
- Clinical Structure
- Academic Structure
- Site Descriptions
- Start Date/Duration
- Benefits
- Vacation and Academic Leave
- Return of Service
ELIGIBILITY
The fellowship positions are designated for US-trained physicians who have successfully completed a four-year anesthesiology residency accredited by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and have completed US licensing examinations. Applicants must also be Board Certified/Board Eligible in Anesthesiology to be considered for this unique opportunity. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) will undertake an assessment of training to ensure the training meets Canadian specialty-specific training requirements. Accepted candidates will be eligible to write the RCPSC certification exam in Anesthesiology upon completion of a set amount of training.
Applicants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or have the legal ability to live and work in British Columbia.
Upon accepting a BC Clinical Anesthesiology Fellowship position, participants are required to sign a two-year Return of Service (ROS) Contract with the Province of B.C. The ROS Contract and Policy for the BC Clinical Anesthesiology Fellowship Program can be found here:
CLINICAL STRUCTURE
The fellowship is 12 months in duration, with variable start dates that suit the individual and the hosting site . Fellows in General Anesthesia, supervised by members of the anesthesia staff, are expected to engage in clinical activities including on‐call. Fellows will rotate through most surgical specialties and obstetrics. There is a program of graduated responsibility over the first three to six months, progressing to allowing the fellow to demonstrate independent practice and meet the required milestones in the second half of the fellowship.
Each site will create a schedule of core rotations to expose the fellows to general and subspecialty practice to ensure that the Specialty Training Requirements in Anesthesiology have been met, for eligibility to sit the Canadian certification exams in Anesthesiology (Royal College).
ACADEMIC STRUCTURE
Clinical fellows will be expected to participate in the regular academic activities, including teaching rounds and simulation sessions, of the Department of Anesthesiology and off-service departments if completing a rotation in that department. Regular clinical teaching of medical students and residents is also an expectation. Presentations at teaching rounds, and possibly local conferences will also be part of your academic activities. A research component is not an expectation of the fellowship.
SITE DESCRIPTIONS
Fellows will be distributed across four hospital sites as described below:
St. Paul’s Hospital is a department of 38 Canadian certified anesthesiologists providing cutting edge, evidence-based delivery of peri-operative patient care to almost 21,000 patients per year. The department has many areas of subspecialty interest and expertise including cardiac anesthesiology, perioperative transesophageal echocardiography, chronic pain, high risk obstetrical and regional anesthesiology. As the Heart Centre for BC, almost 1000 open-heart surgical cases are performed annually included CABG, valvular surgery and lead extractions, as well as heart transplants. We have an innovative swing block room associated with the main operating rooms which is staffed daily with a dedicated anesthesiologist and an anaesthesia assistant. In addition, our facility operates a high-volume outpatient operating room area where extremity surgeries are performed solely under regional anesthesia techniques. Between our two block areas, approximately 2,500 regional anesthesia techniques are performed annually.
Royal Columbian Hospital is a busy tertiary care, Level 1 Trauma Centre. We are the busiest trauma centre in British Columbia with the highest number of air transport traumas received in the province. We also have one of the busiest cardiac cath labs in the country that is paired with a high-volume cardiac surgery program. We are one of the only true general hospitals in the Lower Mainland with every surgical service represented in elective and emergency work. We are a high volume and high acuity centre with approximately 60% of our surgical volume being non-elective urgent/emergent cases. In addition, we also have a very busy high-risk obstetrical service and one of the best neonatal ICUs in North America.
The Royal Columbian Hospital is currently undergoing one of the largest publicly funded expansions and redevelopment in Western Canada. The total project is $1.35 Billion and phase 1 (a new Mental Health and Substance Use facility) Spring 2020. This will be followed by our phase 2 – a new critical care tower with 18 new operating rooms (16 main and 2 obstetric) on an interventional super floor. Phase 2 will be opening in 2024.
Kelowna General Hospital is one of two tertiary hospitals in the Interior Health Authority and is located in the Okanagan Valley alongside Lake Okanagan. KGH offers a large variety of services both in the operating room and out-of-OR services. In-OR services include Thoracic Surgery which is one of four major Thoracic services within British Columbia involved in Esophagectomies, lung resection, both open and video assisted. The Neurosurgical service runs cases on a daily basis with about 80% of cases being spine procedures and 20% being craniotomies. While the Vascular Surgery services provides care for major aortic surgery both endovascular (TEVAR and EVAR) and open procedures as well as carotid procedures. The Orthopedic services typically runs a daily trauma room and 2 to 3 arthroplasty rooms a day. There is major reconstructive Plastic Surgery and General Surgery including hepato-biliary and colorectal services. As well as Gynecological and Urologic services in 14 state of the art operating theatres. Also included in the services provided at KGH are Cardiac Surgery, providing about 600 open-heart surgeries and 40 to 50 TAVI procedures, with electrophysiology starting in 2020. The Obstetrical services is involved in 1500 to 1700 deliveries a year. KGH offers high-level, specialty medical care including 24 hr emergency and trauma services, ambulatory and outpatient clinics, and diagnostic/paramedical services.
Surrey Memorial Hospital is the largest of three regional hospitals in Fraser Health’s integrated network of care, providing primary, secondary, and tertiary services, including 24/7 emergency. It is the home hospital for one of BC’s fastest growing diverse communities; Surrey Memorial Hospital is the second largest hospital in the province with the province’s busiest Emergency Department, the second largest in Canada. Surrey Hospital completes approximately 16,000 surgeries every year with approximately 36% being non elective urgent/emergent cases. Surrey Memorial Hospital serves the community by providing specialized surgical care for orthopedics, urology, gynecology, general surgery, thoracic, plastics, ophthalmology, retinal, otolaryngology and dental surgeries. Surrey is home to the Regional Thoracic Surgical program and supports residents of not only Fraser Health but from all across BC as well. The hospital currently has 10 operating rooms in the Main OR and 2 Operating Rooms in the Satellite Ophthalmology OR. The 10 Operating Suites in the main OR are currently being renovated in order to support the latest technology and surgical equipment. The entire renovation will be complete in late 2022.
Surrey Memorial Hospital’s new critical care tower is a part of the hospital’s $512-million redevelopment and expansion project. This eight-story tower creates an additional 151 beds for Surrey Memorial, increasing the capacity by 30%, to 650 beds and adds an additional 650 direct care staff and over 300 clinical support staff. The tower doubles the capacity of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for high-risk babies. The tower also has expanded stroke and intensive care units as well as other specialized units.
The 40-room Family Birthing Unit (FBU) is the largest single-room maternity care facility in BC, with the second-most births of any B.C. hospital at 4,900 a year. The 2 dedicated obstetric ORs have recently been renovated to a very high standard.
Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre (JPOCSC), is a stand-alone facility for types of medical care and treatment that do not require an overnight hospital stay. This 180,000-sq.-ft. medical centre is equipped with more than 100 exam and treatment rooms, 10 procedural rooms and six operating rooms. By 2020 it will be able to serve 1,650 patients per day, or 600,000 patients per year.
START DATE/DURATION:
Rolling acceptance program. Fellowship positions will start once accepted into the program and all licensing and immigration requirements met. Duration of the fellowship is 12 months.
BENEFITS:
The remuneration for Fellows is linked to the Resident Doctors of BC Postgraduate Year 6 rate. This position is not part of a union and not covered by a collective agreement. During your Fellowship, you will be assigned at to one of 4 affiliated teaching hospitals of the University of British Columbia (i.e. St. Paul’s Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital, Kelowna General Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital).
There is no additional remuneration for On‐Call assignments. Medical, Dental and Extended Health coverage is provided by the employer. The Canadian Medical Protective Association, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and University registration fees will be paid for by the Fellow. In addition, the Fellow will be responsible for all other expenses including parking, accommodation, meals, etc.
VACATION AND ACADEMIC LEAVE:
The Fellow is entitled to 4 weeks Vacation Leave (20 working days). Only in exceptional circumstances is vacation leave granted to Fellows during July during the orientation/start of the fellowship year. Up to 5 days Academic Leave to present academic work at an approved meeting in North America will be granted as appropriate
Academic leave and vacation leave may only be taken after prior approval by the Fellowship Director and the Scheduling Anesthesiologist.
RETURN OF SERVICE:
The Province agrees to fund the Participant’s 12-month BC Clinical Anesthesiology Fellowship in exchange for provision of Government-funded anesthesiology services for a two-year period in an identified community-of-need upon completion of the Fellowship and obtaining licensure to practice medicine in BC.
The Province of BC will determine the process by which the Participant is assigned to a Health Authority and community where they will provide ROS. Designated ROS locations are based on current and emerging needs and are determined by the Ministry of Health in consultation with BC’s Health Authorities. For details on the ROS placement process and other requirements, please refer to the BC Clinical Anesthesiology Fellowship ROS Contract and Policy located on the ROS website: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/practitioner-professional-resources/physician-compensation/return-service-programs
Click on link for the Application Process: Application Process