Côte-des-Neiges Family Medicine Unit (CSSS de la Montagne)

Description

LOCATION

Located in Montréal, in the Côte-des-Neiges area.

Special note to residents: Depending on which site they are assigned to, residents will work either in Côte-des-Neiges district, in downtown Montréal or in Parc-Extension district (starting in 2014-2015).

To visit their website, click here. 

LANGUAGE

• Spoken: The language of communication with the patients is about half French and half English, but the patients come from many linguistic backgrounds.
• Teaching: English
• Charting: English or French

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The CLSC de Côte-des-Neiges was established in 1975 and became a McGill Family medicine teaching site (FMU) in 1986. The CLSC is renowned for it's capacity for innovation. As an example, the first and only Maison de Naissance staffed exclusively with midwives was established under its jurisdiction. PRADA and CDAR, the only clinics in all of Quebec providing prise en charge care exclusively for refugees and asylum seekers in the Greater Montreal area was also established within the CLSC. 

In 1991, it was decided that a new independent teaching unit would be created in the CLSC de Côte-des-Neiges. At this time, there were 8 residents in total. In the last decade, the FMU became a University Family Medicine Group (U-FMG) and gradually expanded to 24 residents and 24 clerks in 2018-2019. It also expanded to include a new facility specifically aiming at vulnerable pregnant women, La Maison Bleue.

POPULATION

One of the most distinctive features of the CLSC Côte-des-Neiges is the population it serves. Mainly populated by immigrants, the Côte-des-Neiges district shelters people from a wide range of cultures. Thus, the resident must expect to be in contact with a immense diversity of situations, illnesses and problems. A lot of the UMF clients are considered as "vulnerable".
Residents are exposed to patients of all ages. We also have a strong refugee and asylum seekers clientele. Those are often very complex cases, but our medical and social teams are well trained to address this specific clientele. Thus, at their graduation residents have a strong experience in dealing with immigrant's issues.

Undergraduate Teaching

Student's activities:

Undergrad students will follow doctors and residents in their clinics, as well as having their own clinics. If they are paired with a doctor from the Suivi intégré de la femme enceinte (SIFE) program, they will experiment pre-natal care.

They will also be initiated to primary care by doing the walking clinics during daytime and, once per month, during the evening and on a saturday.
They will attend a vaccination clinic with a nurse and spend a half-day with one of the Groupe de médecine familiale (GMF) nurses, who are specialized in chronical diseases and mental health.
Undergraduates will be introduced to home care by spending one half-day with a doctor from the Soins aux personne âgées (SAPA) program and another one with a nurse from the Enfance-Jeunesse-Famille (EFJ) program. Additionally, they will work one half-day in palliative cares with Dr. Jean Zigby.

The UMF has a partnership with the Centre de réadaptation en dépendance de Montréal, a health facility whose mission is to improve the health and integration of people with alcohol, drug or gambling addiction. Undergraduates will have the chance to spend a full day with Dr. David Luckow, working with patients suffering from an addiction trouble.

They will also learn about social working and care to immigrants by following a social worker from the Programme régionnal d'intégration et d'acceuil des nouveaux arrivants (PRAIDA) during a half-day.
Finally, knowledge is one of the core values of the CSSS and we make sure that the clerks are kept up-to-date in their learnings. Thus, each wednesday afternoon, clerks will be apart of the academic half-day with the residents. They will have the opportunity to learn from lectures by doctors and residents. Another learning experience are the Practice Based Small Groups (PBSG). During the rotation, clerk are required to present a medical jourm=nal article at the Journal club.

Postgraduate Teaching

CAPACITY

• 24 residents (12 R1s and 12 R2s)

CURRICULUM

• Horizontal (residents maintain a family practice three half days per week throughout the two-year program) 

To learn more on the postgraduate curriculum, click here. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Residents can expect to meet patients from many different cultures and from all different ages and background. The Côte-des-Neiges clientele is renowned as a group with very diverse needs and problems. Hence, the graduate resident will leave the UMF with various experiences.

Residents who are interested in obstetrical care to vulnerable women may ask to complete some of their clinics in one of the two Maison Bleue. These facilities work in completely new interdisciplinary model with a holistic approach that combines prenatal care, obstetric care, pediatric care, social services and social activities.

Residents interested in immigrant issues may also request to follow a doctor from the Clinique des demandeurs d'asile et des réfugiés (CDAR). This clinic focuses on providing care to a very specific clientele : asylum seekers and refugees. These patients come from all around the world and their situation is often quite complex. Thus, they require a dedicated medical team with specific resources to match their needs.

Residents will be taught by many omnipraticians with specialization in fields such as genetic medicine, palliative care, clinical research or obstetrics. They will also work with a pedo psychiatrist and an ethno-pshychiatrist.

CSSS de la Montagne is fully dedicated to multidisciplinary teams. In the Côte-des-Neiges team, residents will collaborate with two practician nurses, three nurses and an auxiliary nurse.

Contact us

For questions regarding the curriculum, please contact: