Resident Manual

RESIDENT SUPPORT 

Updated March 2021*

COVID-19 Impact on Surgical Foundations: 

McMaster University is monitoring the current crisis closely, providing updates to all faculty and members of the community. As of April 8th, 2020, Surgical Foundations has held majority of lectures online and has limited all in-person teaching when possible.

RESIDENT WELLNESS

Post-Graduate Medical Education (PGME) at McMaster University provides a multitude of resources, available to all surgical foundations residents. Residents are encouraged to seek out support and can find additional information here.  Additional resources for physical and mental well-being for all graduate and post-graduate learners at McMaster University can be found here. 

PARO RESROUCES

Link to information for PARO can be found here. 

SURGICAL FOUNDATIONS OMBUDSPERSON

An ombudsperson has been appointed for Surgical Foundations so that the residents might have a neutral person to whom they can turn to for advice or help in case there are any concerns (e.g. with the evaluation process). 

Using an alternative dispute resolution sensibility, an ombudsperson can provide options to residents and provide mediation for conflicts, whilst maintaining confidentiality.  He/she/they may also track problem areas, and make recommendations for changes to policies or procedures in support of orderly systems change.

The following policy with the respect to an ombudsperson has been drafted for Surgical Foundations:

• The ombudsperson will be suggested by the Surgical Foundations Director and appointed after review by the Surgical Foundations Committee
• The ombudsperson will serve for 5 years *renewable upon request and review
• The ombudsperson may at any time give notice of resignation
• The ombudsperson appointment will be reviewed yearly by the Surgical Foundations Committee
• The ombudsperson appointment may be withdrawn by the Surgical Foundations Committee if it is felt that the ombudsperson’s position/responsibilities have changed so that he/she/they are no longer in a position of neutrality with respect to the residents in Surgical Foundations.

As of November 2019, the SF Ombudsperson is:

Dr. Graeme Fraser, MD, FRCP
Assistant Professor

     Department of Medicine, Hematology & Thromboembolism, Department of Medicine

     Department of Oncology, Division of Malignant Hematology​

A second resource is the Resident Affairs website for Post Graduate Medical Education, website found here.

RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVES

Surgical Foundations (SF) Resident Representatives increase communication between residents and the SF Program Director and Coordinator. Suggestions, questions, comments, and concerns from residents are brought forward to their home-discipline resident representative who then communicates with the Resident Representative President, Vice-President, and SF program director and coordinator accordingly. A resident representative from each surgical discipline creates the Resident Representative Group (RRG). 

Additionally, Resident Representatives are responsible for gathering topic prompts for Academic Half Day Lectures, providing specific topics or questions from residents to the SF Program Coordinator in advance of lectures. A resident representative from each surgical discipline creates the Resident Representative Group (RRG). *Resident Representatives are PGY2s.

Once all home-disciplines have selected their Resident Representative, voting will take place among representatives to fill the following positions: President, Vice-President, and PGY1 Representative.* The President, Vice-President, and PGY1 Representative sit on the SF Resident Program Committee (details on page 2).

*Voting for the PGY1 resident representative will take place in September 2020 to allow for incoming residents to familiarize themselves with colleagues and cast a knowledgeable vote. All PGY1’s are eligible for the position.

RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE GROUP (RRG) ​2021-2022