Resident Representative Report to the Membership – 2011

The NSSCM Resident Council, composed of representatives from Canadian Community Medicine Residency Programs, works on initiatives relevant to Canadian Community Medicine residents and supports the work of the NSSCM resident representative. The committee met quarterly in 2010-2011 by teleconference, and once annually at the NSSCM Annual Conference.

The current representatives are listed below:

  • Piotr Klackowicz – University of British Columbia
  • Silvina Mema – University of Calgary
  • Kamran Golmohammadi – University of Alberta
  • Matthew Myatt – Northern Ontario School of Medicine
  • Adriana Dragan – McMaster University
  • Lawrence Loh – University of Toronto
  • Piotr Ogzala – Queen’s University
  • Claudia Sarbu – University of Ottawa
  • Stephanie Susser– Université de Montréal
  • Alena Valderrama and Christelle Kom Mogto – Université de Laval

We would like to thank the following outgoing residents who were a part of resident council during 2010-2011!

Nicholas Brousseau, Janet DeMille, Naomi Dove, Adriana Dragan, Larisa Hausmanis, Julie Kryzanowski, Dominique Elien Massenat, Matthew Myatt, Richard Rusk and Mark-Andrew Stefan

Resident Council activities over the past year were as follows:

Establishment of a Resident Council Terms of Reference

Resident council approved a terms of reference regarding the role and function of council. From this document, current and future resident representatives can better understand the scope of resident council and their respective roles.

Resident membership:

All Community Medicine residents are invited to join the NSSCM and do not have to pay to be members. Residents will be contacted again this year after July 1st to increase membership.

Resident listserve:

The NSSCM resident listserve, administrated by Nikhil Rajaram, has been more active this year, with bimonthly mailouts sent to residents across Canada who have registered as NSSCM members. The mailouts include information on resident council activities as well as links to upcoming conferences and learning opportunities. Future plans for the listserve and online communications may include the sharing of information on elective opportunities as well as the development of an online repository of valuable links to learning resources.

Collaborative work with the American College of Preventive Medicine:

Lawrence Loh, representative from U of T, has put in some significant initial work in developing ties with the ACPM's Resident Physician Section (RPS) to identify ways in which American and Canadian preventive medicine residents can collaborate on public health learning opportunities. Lawrence has contributed two short Canadian-focused pieces to the ACPM's monthly resident newsletter and other residents are being encouraged to contribute as well. Future plans include possibly developing a webinar with a Canadian public health expert to be produced and distributed online with the help of the RPS.

Comparative document on residency programs:

This document was compiled by Richard Rusk at the University of Manitoba and has been updated this year as a secure online living document that resident representatives have access to for editing and sharing with their colleagues. The aim of the document is to outline the differences and best practices of each academic site where PHPM is offered in Canada to inform and inspire resident-driven changes to program structure.

Network building:

Community Medicine Resident social events were organized during the NSSCM/ CPHA Annual Meetings in 2009, 2010 and are again planned for 2011.

Case of the week:

An exciting new venture is being created, the "case of the week"; an opportunity for residents at various schools to construct case scenarios to be distributed to residents across Canada for review of common topics in public health and preventive medicine. Cases will be sent out via the resident listserve on a regular basis, with links to references and learning material attached. This initiative is expected to begin in the summer of 2011.

Resident representation on NSSCM committees:

Beyond the work of the Resident Council, residents have also volunteered on NSSCM committees. Richard Rusk from the University of Manitoba was the previous resident member of the External Communication and Advocacy Committee and Stephanie Susser from the Université de Montréal is on the Continuing Professional Development Committee.

Respectfully submitted,

Nikhil Rajaram

Resident Representative to the NSSCM