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Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency Program

Vision Statement

The Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency Program at Queen’s University trains physicians to be innovative and highly competent practitioners in public health for Ontario and for Canada. The program strives for excellence in training and creative thinking in the specialists that it produces.

Grounded in the strong academic programs at Queen’s University (Queen’s Family Medicine and Queen’s Community Health and Epidemiology) and having strong practice settings at local public health agencies (KFL&A Public Health; Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit; and Hastings & Prince Edward Counties Health Unit), and national and provincial public health agencies (Public Health Agency of Canada and Public Health Ontario), the program provides comprehensive, high quality education that allow graduates to excel at the local, provincial and national levels. Through their elective time, the program is flexible, allowing trainees to pursue experiences of interest to them, such as expertise in international public health to foster this or other special interests in Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

Leadership

The program is administered jointly by three Fellowship-trained Public Health and Preventive Medicine specialists:

Dr. Ian Gemmill, Medical Officer of Health, KFL&A Public Health
Dr. Richard Schabas, Medical Officer of Health, Hastings & Prince Edward Counties Health Unit
Dr. Kieran Moore, Associate Medical Officer of Health, KFL&A Public Health

Dr. Gemmill is the Program Director, Dr. Schabas is the Program Lead for Placements and Electives, and Dr. Moore is the Program Lead for Evaluations and Exam Preparation. All three welcome enquiries from prospective residents.

Questions

Please contact:

Kathleen Thompson, Program Assistant

KFL&A Public Health

221 Portsmouth Avenue

Kingston, Ontario K7M 2B1

Tel: 613-549-1232, ext. 1147

Fax: 613-549-7896

E-mail: Kathleen.Thompson@kflapublichealth.ca

Program Overview

The curriculum is designed to be flexible to the needs of individual residents. We do our best to accommodate specific interests of individual residents during the clinical years (PGY1 and PGY2), during the academic year (PGY3), and during public health training (PGY4 and PGY5). In PGY4 and PGY5, the rotations are designed to give residents full exposure to Public Health and Preventive Medicine practice that they need to become competent practitioners. Each resident guided a Program Lead develops an individual learning plan.

In addition to rotations, the program offers a weekly academic half-day session throughout PGY3 to PGY5. It provides an opportunity to encourage personal, professional and scholarly development. The half-day sessions include: special lectures, journal clubs, writing seminars, communication skills, exam practice and similar activities. The program offers conference calling and other electronic communication opportunities when residents are off-site. The academic half-day sessions are often combined with those from other Public Health and Preventive Medicine Programs and occasionally with Family Medicine Programs.

PGY–1 and 2:

The first two years of training (PGY1 and PGY2) are clinical to complete the requirements for Certification in Family Medicine with the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). Throughout the family medicine training component, Public Health and Preventive Medicine residents are encouraged to focus on clinical areas relevant to Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Examples include an infectious disease rotation during internal medicine, community psychiatry during psychiatry and spending time in a local public health agency (e.g. sexually transmitted disease clinics, travel clinics, lactation clinics, well baby visits) during the clinical elective time.

PGY–3:

This year commences with a 2-month observership at a local public health agency. During this period, residents explore possible career options in Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and the professional aspects of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. This period is followed by one academic year in core disciplines of public health, such as epidemiology and biostatistics. Residents may extend their academic training to complete a master's degree. The Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Queen's University offers a 16 month Masters of Public Health (MPH) degree without a thesis and a 2-year M.Sc. degree in Epidemiology with a thesis requirement. For the MPH, residents are required to take seven core courses and three elective courses. They also complete a practicum of 16-weeks. For the M.Sc. in Epidemiology, residents are required to take four core courses, three elective courses, and prepare and satisfactorily defend a thesis. The M.Sc. in Epidemiology involves completing a thesis in an area related to Public Health and Preventive Medicine. A typical resident wanting to complete the thesis would spend two 3-month elective periods dedicated to thesis development and write-up. Residents are encouraged to select a thesis topic that can be directly applied in the field and to incorporate the data collection and analysis components of their thesis into suitable field placements. Please note: entry into master's degree programs may infringe on later elective time.

Residents receive the normal remuneration during their course work, but are responsible for their tuition fees. The additional courses required for a master's degree, with the approval of the Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and the Program Director, may be taken at other universities if the courses are deemed comparable.

Residents must apply to take either of these graduate degrees through the School of Graduate Studies at Queen's. Residents are encouraged to discuss their potential for a master's degree with the Program Director and with the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology. In the final 2 months, residents not completing a master's degree will begin their formal Public Health and Preventive Medicine training field rotations.

PGY–4 and 5:

Years 4 and 5 provide core and elective placements in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Core placements are of 18 months duration and include: communicable disease, public health policy and planning, health protection, health promotion and administration. The placements will entail successive levels of responsibility so that by the final rotation, the resident is functioning in the role of an Associate Medical Officer of Health.

Rotations have been developed to meet residents' educational needs and interests. For core training sites in Ontario, Queen's University provides accommodation and travel allowances for residents who are completing rotations outside the Kingston area. Electives both within and outside Ontario do not have financial support for accommodation or travel.

Some residents will use some time to complete the requirements for a master's degree. For the MPH, a practicum and additional course work will take up the first half of PGY4.

Careers

Queen’s prepares its Public Health and Preventive Medicine residents for success in a wide variety of career fields. Residents may pursue opportunities in combination of public health, clinical practice, health service planning and administration, teaching and research. Placements are found in local public health agencies, national and provincial public health agencies, global organizations and academia.

Program Strengths

Hands on training by experience and qualified Public Health and Preventive Medicine specialists. Strong linkages with local public health agencies and provincial agencies provide a wide range of exposure and experience.
Certification by the College of Family Physicians and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada broadens both personal and career opportunities.
The Family Medicine Program at Queen’s University is known nationally for its leadership role in medical education. Residents in the Public Health and Preventive Medicine Program directly benefit from its innovative curriculum.
Integration of a Master’s of Public Health or Master’s of Science in Epidemiology degree offered through the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Queen’s University makes the program a leader academically.
Degree programs in public health at other universities in Canada and elsewhere are possible, subject to approval by the Program Director.
The flexible program structure allows for choice and customisation. Individualised learning plans are developed by each resident with the support of a Program Lead.
Both rural and urban rotations and electives are available, as are international placements. Previous residents have completed electives in such locations as Malaysia, Nepal, Zimbabwe and Geneva.

Selection Criteria

We look for residents who have an understanding of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and are enthusiastic about a career in this field. We also look for applicants who have good judgement, good analytic skills and good communication skills.

We are interested in your career plans and professional aspirations in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. We try to find a match between your plans and desires and the program's ability to help you meet them. Prior experience in public health before medical school and during medical school is an asset, but not a pre-requisite.

Applicants must also meet the selection criteria for the Department of Family Medicine at Queen’s University as the first and second years are spent in clinical training that leads to certification in Family Medicine by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

Please visit the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) Web site to view the program description for Public Health and Preventive Medicine and the Department of Family Medicine at Queen’s University.

CaRMS Contact Information

171 Nepean Street, Suite 300

Ottawa, ON K2P 0B4

Tel: 613-237-0075

Toll Free: 1-877-CARMS-42 (1-877-227-6742)

E-mail: help@carms.ca

Web site: http://www.carms.ca/

Useful Links and Resources

Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residents at Queen's University have access to a wide array of educational opportunities:

Core Training Sites

Local Public Health Agencies:

Elective Training Sites

Kingston, Ontario, Canada. K7L 3N6. 613.533.2000

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