Appointment

The Program Director will be selected using processes put in place by PGME and the Department Chair; all appointments must have final approval by the Vice-Dean of PGME.

Term of Office

The appointment will be for 5 years once renewable, provided that yearly evaluations are favourable.

Reports to

Reporting to the Vice-Dean of Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) and the Chair of the Department.

Mandate

The Program Director (PD) at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) Faculty of Medicine is responsible for the overall integrity of the residency, Area of Focused Competence (AFC), or clinical fellowship program.

Description of Portfolio / Responsibilities:

Accreditation

• Demonstrates knowledge of, and ensures adherence to, accreditation standards.
• Complies with the guidelines as set out by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or the College of Family Physicians of Canada to ensure the continued success and positive accreditation of the program.
• Collaborates with the Department Chair, key faculty members, and PGME to prepare for accreditation reviews and provides requisite material for this purpose.
• Completes program reviews in a timely manner, which includes reviews of:
  • Each component of the educational experience, to ensure quality and that the educational objectives and competencies are being met.
  • Competencies/goals and objectives manual or operations manual
  • Optimal use and review of available resources and facilities.
  • The evaluation system for assessment of trainee performance in all domains based on the CanMEDS roles or the four principles of family medicine, as well as required competencies.
  • Documentation required for accreditation.
  • Opinions and concerns of the trainees as well as formal trainee evaluation of faculty, rotations and curriculum.
• Participates actively in PGME process of internal program reviews.
• Prepares documentation as required for purpose of accreditation.

Evaluation

• Forms and chairs the program’s Residency Program Committee (RPC) or AFC Program Committee (AFC-PC) and directs the program such that it meets the general and specific standards of accreditation. This includes the selection and scheduling of rotations, curriculum, other educational activities and events and educational sites.
• For Clinical Fellowships, the Fellowship Program Committee (FPC) duties include all of the above with the exception of accreditation standards, as there are none.
• Participates as a member of the Competence Committee (CC) or other programmatic evaluation body, to conduct regular reviews of individual resident/AFC trainee performance and provides assistance, remediation and extra educational activities for improvement as required.
• Ensures trainees are aware of the appeal mechanism and upholds fairness in procedure, reasonable timely decision-making and transparency within the program.
• Ensures all required tools to complete reviews, evaluations and feedback mechanisms are in place.
• Ensures a clear and efficient process is in place to facilitate the timely completion of summative assessments and to provide effective and timely feedback to trainees.
• Ensures a clear and efficient process is in place to facilitate the completion of low stakes assessments, preferably in the moment, but within 14 days of the observed assessment, to provide effectively and timely feedback to trainees.

Implementation of Competence by Design (CBD) (applies to residency PDs only)

• Leads the change to and maintenance of CBD, educates their faculty and residents about CBD, develops new curriculum, sets-up a competence committee, and drives assessments.
• Sits on the competence committee (CC) (cannot be the Chair and is to be non-voting). Brings context to a resident's portfolio and can alert the CC of the resident's circumstances. Ensures CC recommendations are brought to the RPC for ratification and communicates feedback to the resident.
   

Development of Educational Plan and Objectives

• Oversees and assists in the development of the curriculum plan for the program.
• Facilitates career planning and participates in training, development planning and implementation of educational experiences for trainees.
• Ensures formal teaching events are organized, relevant and continuously updated.
• Manages the program with a view towards increasing equity, diversity and inclusivity and upholding social accountability initiatives.

Wellness Advocate

• Ensures that appropriate counseling services are made available to trainees and responds to their difficulties such as those related to stress, fatigue risk management, wellbeing, and learning challenges.
• Advocates for the wellbeing and development of the trainees, seeks assistance for remedial support from PGME such as the Wellness Office and other resources available.
• Is aware of professionalism, wellness and accommodations policies and procedures.
• Collaborates with the Director of Academic Support to create and follow remedial plans when required, in a timely manner.
• Collaborates with the appropriate Faculty of Medicine leaders and Wellness leads to ensure a fair remedial process.

Recruitment and Selection

• Leads, participates in, and ensures a fair and transparent trainee selection process.
• Completes all selection processes with professionalism and ethical decision making.  
• Ensures all selection committee members have completed the mandatory module on unconscious bias within the past 2 years prior to participation in selections
• Plans and advocates for the growth of the program when indicated by workforce assessments and program quality and capacity.
• Collaborates to meet the Faculty’s objective to increase internationalization.

Program Administrator Support

• Provides support and guidance to the Program Administrator.
• Provides constructive feedback for the purpose of effective performance management.
• Encourages PAs to participate in assemblies, retreats, conferences, and courses to support professional development.
• Provides clear direction to ensure goals and objectives of the program are met.

Administration

• Has a working knowledge of policies and procedures within PGME and Post Graduate Council of Faculties of Medicine (as posted on the uOttawa PGME website).
• Ensures compliance with PARO-OTH contract (applies to residents only).
• Acts as a liaison between PGME Office and Department to communicate pertinent information effectively.
• Ensures trainees meet mandatory compliance requirements in time to start training.
• Is aware of and upholds the faculty’s mission statement: To expand our impact on the health of individuals and populations in both official languages through interdisciplinary education, research and responsive care.
• Support the Francophonie and bilingual goals of the University.

Expected workload:

In order to adequately perform the duties of this role, the PD must have:

• Adequate protected time to carry out the responsibilities required as defined by the PGME guidelines for minimum protected time, depending on the size of the program, as designated in the table below (0.1FTE = 1/2 day per week).
• Appropriate additive support with protected time for an Assistant or Associate PD is acceptable to meet the minimum standards for PD protected time.
• The support of the Department Chair to ensure adequate resources are provided and that professional development opportunities are made available to the PD.
• Appropriate support of a Program Administrator (PA) to undertake duties for the education program, with a minimum allocation of protected time depending on size of program, as designated in the table below (0.1 FTE = ½ day per week):

Education and other Requirements:

The Program Director must:

• Be a faculty member in good standing.
• Possess strong leadership ability.
• Possess ability to negotiate, mediate conflicts, advocate and resolve problems.
• Possess strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Be able to interpret and apply policies and procedures; ensure proper follow up and reporting to appropriate senior leadership.
• Be familiar with performance management methods and ensure that effective feedback is provided in a timely manner.
• Demonstrate commitment to continuous learning.
• Complete PULSE 360 evaluation tool within first year as a PD, and every two years thereafter.
• Attend one professional development workshop targeted toward Program Directors offered by the Royal College (free for new PDs), the CFPC, or other approved training provider, within the first year of appointment.
• Complete PGME mandatory modules designed for PDs, within the first year of appointment.
• Complete Crucial Conversations within the first two years of appointment.
• Attend one or more PGME workshops, retreats, or faculty development opportunity each year during their term as PD.
• Attend and participate in Postgraduate Education Committee (PGEC) or AFC/Clinical Fellowship Committee and other meetings as required.
• Attend a minimum of one CFPC or Royal College specialty committee meeting each year, as arranged by the responsible college (Clinical Fellowship PDs exempt). Attendance may be in person or virtual.
• Be up to date in best practices in postgraduate medical education.