Non-Clinical Electives in Anglophone Settings

Research Project

The research elective is a possibility of a non-clinical elective to work on a research project in progress. This elective must be done in a university affiliated center or a teaching hospital. The supervisor must hold an academic rank within his own Faculty. The research elective must be from 2 weeks to 4 weeks at the most and can be interrupted by the Christmas holiday or the CARMS interviews period.

Note that a student is not allowed to do more than four (4) weeks of non-clinical electives (this includes research) throughout 4^th year.

The Supervisor's Role

The supervisor or delegate will provide direction for you on the project and will be responsible for ensuring that you have a good attendance record and that you complete all assigned work.

The research elective must take place in the same geographical work place of your supervisor. It is also required that you will meet regularly in person with your supervisor.

Application Instructions

After finding a research elective, you must submit a research application form to the Liaison Officer Year 4, either in person, by fax, or by email. The request will then be sent to the Director of Electives for approval.

Research application form (PDF)

Failure to submit a complete application form may result in a refusal of your research elective.

If the research project is a Leadership project, you must only submit a copy of your Leadership Elective Application with the confirmation letter from Dr. Charles Su.

• Supervisor’s confirmation: A confirmation from the supervisor is required for approval of the research elective by signing the appropriate section of the research application form. An email confirmation from your supervisor to the Liaison Officer, Year 4 could also be accepted.
• Application submission date: The application form must be submitted preferably 2 months prior the start of the elective, but at the latest, 1 month could be accepted.
• International research elective: If the research elective is to be done internationally, you must also be pre-approved by the Medical Education Office and Global Health Office once your research elective has been approved by the Director of Electives.
• Clinical Placement account: After submitting your application, you must enter the elective in your Clinical Placement account.

After completion of a research elective, the supervisor must complete your online evaluation, and you must submit:

• a brief (1-2 pages) report describing your experiences;
• a copy of the abstract of the manuscript (if you are a co-author).

The report and the abstract (if applicable) must be returned to the Liaison Officer Year 4 after completion of the elective as soon as possible.

Objectives

Over the course of this elective, participants will be able to:

• Reflect critically on the roles and responsibilities of the physician in society, as an individual and as a health care provider.
• Engage in critical thinking for a better understanding of complex ethical issues.
• Explain the impact of physicians’ values and perspectives and those of their patients in a health care setting, taking into account the meaning of patients’ histories and their interpretation.
• Explore philosophical, anthropological and cognitive sciences texts in order to better organize their thoughts and construct valid arguments.
• Improve their observational and listening skills required to practice medicine, using writing as a tool to reflect on their own clinical experiences.
• Respect the perspectives of other disciplines and professions and to recognize their contributions to medicine and health care.
• Acknowledge the importance of other ways of knowing and understanding that exist in the world.

Description: This elective will enable students to acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities related to clinical medicine by exploring the psychosocial aspects of medicine, ethics, the patient-physician relationship, and the values of both the caregiver and care receiver. Students will also have the opportunity to develop their observational, reflective thinking and communication skills. They will explore their role as a health care professional using concepts drawn from the humanities and social sciences. This will allow them to gain a broader perspective of medicine beyond solely clinical skills and improve the students' understanding of the intrinsic CanMEDS competencies. Students will explore their own creativity, and reflect on its importance in their future professional lives. The elective will highlight the link between the art and science of medicine. Training will be given through interactive workshops, writing sessions, discussions, observing works of art, reading philosophical texts and by completing online learning modules.

Benefits for students interested in taking this elective:

• Better tolerance for the uncertainty that is always part of health care delivery, by exploring various mind-body concepts and benefiting from the perspectives of philosophy, sociology and anthropology.
• Better listening to patients’ histories for a greater understanding through narrative medicine. 
• Ability to reconcile and integrate the scientific approach to illness by identifying social and cultural determinants of health and exploring significant cases of the history of medicine.
• Develop clinical observational skills by looking at works of art in order to understand the multiple interpretations possible in medical practice.
• Develop a collaborative relationship with peers.
• Engage in a reflective practice and creative expression in order to enhance well-being.
• Broaden one’s approach to medicine beyond the biomedical model.
• Explore ways of approaching learning, using methods not commonly experienced in usual medical school classes.
• Improve appreciation of the intrinsic CanMEDS roles.

Credits: With this elective, students are awarded 40 credits in Medicine and the Humanities Program. Students will be given special recognition in their Medical School Performance Record (MSPR) by obtaining a minimum of 100 hours of credit or a Certificate of Excellence in Medicine and the Humanities by obtaining 125 hours of credit and completing a special project.

Supervisor: Dr. Jean Roy, MD, Director of Medicine and the Humanities Program

Location: RGN, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa

Duration: 5 days, morning and afternoon

Number of students: 10-15 students

Availability: Offered in English from February 4 - 15, 2019.

Objectives:

• To provide students with essential knowledge and skills in Healthcare Leadership.
• To provide an opportunity for enhanced leadership development through practical application of skills and knowledge.
• To expand students’ network through mentorship and collaboration with physician leaders.

Description: The leadership elective is a longitudinal 4^th year elective aimed to further develop and enhance the leadership knowledge and skills of students with a particular interest and/or aptitude for healthcare leadership. The leadership elective is based upon the five pillars of Leadership in Healthcare as described by Leaders for Life ©, a paradigm also utilized by the CMA. 

Who should apply?

University of Ottawa fourth year medical students:

• With a particular interest in healthcare leadership.
• Who want to build on their leadership knowledge and skills.
• Who want to practically apply their leadership skills and knowledge while networking with experienced physician leaders and mentors.
• Who envision leadership as a core component of their career.
• Prior experience in leadership is not required.

Application process:

The following requirements should be sent with student’s application.

1. Letter demonstrating genuine interest in healthcare leadership
2. CV highlighting relevant leadership experiences
3. Outline of a change management project to be carried out over the student’s 4^th year with an approved supervisor

Location: 

Seminar series will take place in Roger Guindon Hall – Faculty of Medicine (or one of the attached hospitals, based on room availability), University of Ottawa.

Duration:

The LE is a longitudinal elective. The first seminar/workshop series will take place over several days in September of fourth year, prior to first week of electives block. Students will work on their individual change management project with an approved supervisor/mentor throughout the year (September to March). During this time, students may choose any 2 weeks to dedicate to the leadership elective project. However, students should expect that their leadership project will require longitudinal work throughout fourth year. Students will then reconvene for a 3-hour session at the beginning of Back to Basics during which they will present their leadership projects to their leadership elective peers, supervisors and other healthcare leaders.

Number of students:

Maximum 12 students

Educational Objectives by Content Domain

Domain: Principles of Education and Learning

Goal: Understand the underlying principles of medical education, with an emphasis on educational management principles and learning theory.

Domain: Teaching Methods - These sessions will introduce students to effective techniques and resources available for improving teaching in the clinic, on the ward, and in the lecture hall. Topics include Giving Effective Feedback, and Simulation in Medical Education.

Goal: Participants are going to learn new teaching techniques, with an opportunity to practice them with their peers and junior medical students.

Domain: Educational Research Methodology - Students will be introduced to basic methodology in educational research, with applications and examples taken from healthcare education. Topics include Interpreting a Medical Education article, Publishing and Funding in Healthcare Education.

Goal: Participants are going to learn basic aspects of medical educational research.

Description: The overall goal of the Clinical Teaching Elective is to foster an interest in clinical teaching and academic scholarship in healthcare education. The intent is to introduce students to some theoretical aspects of learning and scholarship interspersed with practical opportunities to demonstrate teaching skills and receive feedback on teaching. The elective is a mix of didactic teaching, peer-assisted learning opportunities, independent assigned readings and student presentations.This two week elective is available to fourth year medical students at the University of Ottawa.

Supervisor: Dr. Karima Khamisa

Location: The elective is considered a non-clinical elective and would be considered as time done outside The Ottawa Hospital.

Duration: February 18 to March 1, 2019.

Number of students: The elective is limited to 10 students.

Notes: Elective Blueprint

Clinical Anatomy and Imaging Boot Camp

Description:  The Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy is pleased to offer an innovative one-week elective rotation in Anatomy- Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) for clerkships students. The elective will emphasize student-centered, hands-on, small group learning using cadaveric prosections, and will provide a good opportunity for review of clinically relevant anatomy prior to residency. The POCUS sessions will include short lectures from various clinical departments, followed by peer-facilitated, hands-on sessions, in small groups. Knowledge will be assessed via a cadaveric and image based MCQ test at the end of the week.

Objectives:  Over the course of the elective students will be able to: 

• Review the clinically relevant anatomy of the limbs, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and head & neck.

• Explain the basic terminology used in describing US and the clinical importance of POCUS
• Demonstrate and visualize ultrasound appearance of basic anatomical findings in limbs, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and head & neck.

Supervisor: Dr. Alireza Jalali, Dr. Chris Ramnanan, Dr. Nermine Youssef

Location: Anatomy laboratory at Roger Guindon Hall – Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa.

Duration: 1 week.  Elective is offered with bilingual instruction 2 times a year to Year 4 students only.

Dates:  January 13-17, 2020 OR  February 24-28, 2020

Number of students:  20 students

Contact Person to reserve a place: Dr. Nermine Youssef, Email: nyoussef@uottawa.ca, Telephone: 613-562-5800 ext: 8247

Objectives

• Prepare medical students applying/matching to a surgical or anesthesia residency for a seamless transition to residency by providing them with practical knowledge and experience with ward management of surgical patients
• Establish concrete skills in writing admission orders, postoperative orders, and discharge summaries
• Demonstrate the ability to appropriately order and interpret common ancillary tests (radiographs, ECGs, lab tests) for patients pre- and postoperatively as they relate to acute on-call situations
• Demonstrate the ability to work-up and manage common and urgent perioperative conditions such as fever, chest pain, arrhythmia, etc.
• Establish an approach (including filling out forms) to fluid resuscitation, wound management, nutritional status, compartment syndrome, and other perioperative scenarios
• Demonstrate the ability to appropriately prescribe and manage antibiotics, analgesia, and anticoagulation for surgical patients pre- and postoperatively
• Develop effective approaches to managing and answering pages from other members of the healthcare team
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively with senior residents, staff, other services, and the interprofessional health team
• Demonstrate the ability to discuss difficult topics with patients and patients’ families including consent for procedures and blood transfusions, as well as category status
• Understand that there are resources available in the hospital including RACE, Allied Health, etc.
• Establish an approach to a trauma code and understand the role that a first year resident plays in the code

Description: This one-week non-clinical elective in perioperative management is offered to 4^thyear medical students, and is specifically aimed atthose applying to a surgical or anesthesia residency. All sessions are offered in the winter of each year, after CaRMS applications are due. The elective is designed to prepare students for their upcoming residency by teaching perioperative management skills required of a surgical resident. The goal of the elective is to increase the confidence and ability of students to make clinical decisions about surgical patients such that they are capable of taking first-call when doing call shifts and independently managing a floor of surgical patients. Each elective week consists of interactive lectures, group exercises, self-directed learning, and a trauma simulation afternoon. Students will be evaluated based on simulated pages sent to them throughout the week. The elective counts towards the non-clinical electives grouping and not towards the surgery or anesthesia groupings.

Supervisor: Dr. Feibel

Location: TOH

Duration:1 week

Number of students:15 x 4^thyear students per week – students should have an interest in perioperative medicine.

Available: Not offered in 2019.

Requirements: Students must have an iPhone or iPad that they can use for the elective in order to participate in the simulated pager program.In your email to the coordinator, please state which specialty you will be applying to for residency.