Our workshops are meant to help you develop selective key competencies as defined by the CanMEDS framework. They also provide a space to connect with your peers and discuss some of the unique challenges of residency/fellowship, which may decrease the risks of social isolation, burn out, depression, and anxiety during your training, and contribute to building a healthier and safer medical culture.
While we highly encourage you to participate in our activities, we want you to know that most of them are now voluntary and that you may choose not to attend. The only OMLA activity which still requires mandatory participation for accreditation purposes is the Fatigue Risk Management Workshop.
Workshops may be organized for program-specific groups of 3-15 residents/fellows who may be at different stages of training (e.g., PGY3-5s or juniors and seniors together). Please note that to ensure psychological safety, workshops are to be attended by trainees only. There is no maximum number of attendees for required workshops (see table below).
To request a workshop for residents/fellows (e.g., during an academic half-day), please fill out the following application form and we will contact you within 2 to 3 business days:
Below is a list of Voluntary Workshops currently offered by the PGME Wellness Consultants (for groups of 3-15 residents/fellows).
| TITLE | CanMEDS Role | PRESENTER |
|---|---|---|
| RESPONDING TO STRESS: SKILLS TO ENHANCE WELL-BEING |
CanMEDS ROLE: PROFESSIONAL Key Competency: 4. Demonstrate a commitment to physician health and well-being to foster optimal patient care (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) This seminar will focus on recognizing and responding to the stress of residency training. It comprises didactic, interactive, and experiential components that aim to help learners integrate evidence-based strategies to enhance their well-being and maintain resilience in response to acute and chronic stress. |
PGME Wellness Consultant |
| NAVIGATING RESPONSES TO FEEDBACK |
CanMEDS ROLE: PROFESSIONAL Key Competency: 4. Demonstrate a commitment to physician health and well-being to foster optimal patient care (4.1) This workshop aims to a) address negative emotional responses to feedback commonly experienced by residents through the lens of pertinent psychological theories and within the unique context of medical training; b) help residents become more aware of their emotional responses to feedback using self-reflection exercises and sharing in pairs or small groups; and c) impart evidence-based skills to help residents better regulate their negative emotional responses to feedback with the goal of preventing negative mental health and learning outcomes. |
PGME Wellness Consultant |
Below is a list of Mandatory Workshops currently facilitated by the PGME Wellness Consultants (minimum of 3 participants).
| TITLE | CanMEDS Role | PRESENTER |
|---|---|---|
|
FATIGUE RISK MANAGEMENT |
CanMEDS ROLE: PROFESSIONAL Key Competencies: 2.2. Demonstrate a commitment to patient safety and quality improvement 4.1. Exhibit self-awareness and manage influences on personal well-being and professional performance 4.2. Manage personal and professional demands for a sustainable practice throughout the physician life cycle 4.3. Promote a culture that recognizes, supports, and responds effectively to colleagues in need This seminar will focus on gaining knowledge, increasing awareness, and developing skills to navigate fatigue in the context of residency training. It includes didactic, interactive, and experiential components, as well as evidence-based strategies, which aim to help residents manage fatigue risk effectively. |
PGME Wellness Consultant |
Below is a list of workshops offered by various professionals who have been selected by the Office of Medical Learner Affairs as external collaborators. Please note that there is a fee associated with each of these workshops, to be determined directly with the facilitator, based on your program's needs. To request a quote or schedule a session, please contact the facilitator directly at the email address provided.
| TITLE | CanMEDS Role | PRESENTER(S) |
|---|---|---|
|
TIME-MANAGEMENT IN RESIDENCY
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CanMEDS ROLE: LEADER Key Competency: 4. Manage career planning, finances, and health human resources in a practice (4.1, 4.2) CanMEDS ROLE: PROFESSIONAL Key Competency: 4. Demonstrate a commitment to physician health and well-being to foster optimal patient care (4.1, 4.2) Meeting deadlines and prioritizing commitments are common challenges experienced during residency. This workshop offers residents the space to reflect on their values, priorities, and sense of control over their time during the uniquely demanding years of residency. Through an introduction to effective time-management strategies known to help busy professionals achieve higher levels of efficiency, residents are encouraged to re-assess their existing practices, re-define the concept of “time management” during residency, set realistic goals, and consider ways of integrating room for self-care, self-compassion, and mindfulness while safeguarding their learning and clinical performance. |
Sonia Rahimi, Ph.D. Sonia holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Learning Sciences from McGill University, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Philosophy from Carleton University. She is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Robert Vallerand at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her research focuses on the emotional and motivational processes which underscore learning and personal development. More specifically, she is interested in better understanding the concepts of procrastination and time management. Contact: sonia.rahimi [at] mail.mcgill.ca |
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EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES TO REDUCE SHIFT WORK FATIGUE FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS |
CanMEDS ROLE: PROFESSIONAL Key Competency: 4. Demonstrate a commitment to physician health and well-being to foster optimal patient care (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) Shift workers often experience high levels of fatigue. This workshop gives practical and evidence-based strategies to mitigate this issue for healthcare professionals. We begin with an overview of chronobiology and its implications for shift work. We then discuss the optimal timing of strategies to reduce fatigue. These strategies include: when to get (and avoid) bright light, what and when to eat during night shifts, when and how long to nap before or during the shift, and when to exercise. Attendees will then build their own plan of their most feasible strategies to reduce fatigue. Objectives:
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Jay Olson, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University. He has developed practical interventions to reduce the effects of circadian disturbances due to jet lag and shift work. His intervention to reduce jet lag has been used over a million times by travellers across the world. Mariève Cyr, M.Sc., is a medical student at McGill University. Despina Z. Artenie, M.Sc., is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at l’Université du Québec à Montréal. They both specialize in bridging the gap between laboratory studies and real-world application. They have developed evidence-based behavioural interventions for shift workers, and have created and led various workshops for healthcare professionals. Contact: jay.olson [at] mail.mcgill.ca |
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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT |
CanMEDS ROLE: COLLABORATOR Key Competency: 2. Work with physicians and other colleagues in the health care professions to promote understanding, manage differences, and resolve conflicts (2.1, 2.2) CanMEDS ROLE: COMMUNICATOR Key Competency: 1. Establish professional therapeutic relationships with patients and their families (1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5) This workshop offers a practical and theoretical approach to avoiding, reducing, and responding to conflict in the workplace. It explores some of the root causes of reactive behaviors that lead to conflict and offers training in skillful communication techniques for use in resolving conflictual situations. Participants are encouraged to expand their self-awareness in terms of their own reactivity (and of all behaviors along the spectrum of aggression) and enabled to recognize the early signs of this in others. There is an emphasis on body language and on the steps involved in non-violent communication (Rosenberg, 2005) with a focus on recognizing and resolving the unmet needs of all parties to a conflict. Participants will have an opportunity to explore these new approaches in interactive exercises, such as case studies and role-play relating to diverse conflict scenarios in the clinical setting. |
Kate Bligh, MFA PPCC Kate is a communications consultant, trainer, and certified Life Coach. She holds an MFA in Directing for the Theatre, and is a part-time professor at Concordia University, where she teaches in the departments of Theatre, Irish Studies, and English. She is a former surgical patient at the Montreal General Hospital, and has been delivering training to physicians and residents at the MUHC since 2011. The training she delivers includes a strong focus on role-play and experiential learning, and every session is adjusted to meet the precise needs of the group she will be supporting. Contact: katebligh [at] gmail.com |