Surgical Foundations
INTRODUCTION TO SURGICAL FOUNDATIONS
Surgical Foundations (SF) is a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited residency program which runs alongside, or parallel to the main surgical specialty programs. For the first 2 years of residency, residents are automatically enrolled in the Surgical Foundations Residency Program in addition to one of the Specialty programs listed below:
The University of Toronto Surgical Foundations Program is the largest in Canada with approximately 65 residents per year. Dr Mark Wheatcroft is the Program Director for Surgical Foundations and the Postgraduate assistant is Helen Nguyen. Please do not hesitate to reach out to pgme.surgery@utoronto.ca with any questions, issues or concerns.
Prep Camp
The SF program commences early July with an Induction day followed by Prep-Camp; an intensive hands on practical course held at the Mount Sinai Hospital Surgical Skills Centre and coordinated by Lisa Satterthwaite, SSC Consultant and Shunne Leung, SSC Senior Manager.
SF Lecture Series
The Surgical Foundations Lecture Series commences at the start of September, is held every Tuesday morning from 8:00am to 11:30am, and runs for the rest of the academic year. Topics covered include those listed by the Royal College as core knowledge requirements and also topics relating to clinical care and professional development. Currently a hybrid system of virtual and in-person lectures is used. An attendance score of 75% is required to pass the Surgical Foundations course, with full details of how this is achieved being described in the Surgical Foundations Handbook.
QI Project
Residents are divided into small groups and through a series of lectures and home work, are guided through a QI project of their own design. This takes place over the course of the PGY1 year and culminates in submission of a completed project together with a presentation day where all projects are presented and judged by a panel, the three best project presentations are awarded as “winners”.
Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs)
An entrustable professional activity or “EPA” is a defined task deemed essential to be competent in for the Specialty. Each EPA is made up of a selection of Milestones which are definable individual skills. Surgical Foundations has its own set of EPAs set out by the Royal College. Residents must complete all SF EPAs in order to complete the program. EPA completion is one set of data that is closely monitored for each resident by the Competence Committee.
Surgical Foundations Practice Exam
The SF practice exam is created independent to, but in the same style (MCQ) as the formal Royal College Surgical Foundations Exam. It is created by the Canadian SF Programs to provide residents with a method of assessing their knowledge acquisition and preparation for the formal exam. It is generally held towards the end of the PGY1 academic year (May / June). A pass is not required to pass the SF program.
Royal College Surgical Foundations Exam
The Royal College SF exam requires that you register for eligibility to take the exam and that you pay the appropriate fees. Registration and fee payment are the sole responsibility of the resident. It is mandatory to pass the SF exam to be eligible to take the final FRCSC exam, but it is not required to pass the Surgical Foundations stage of training. It is therefore not a requirement to progress to Core of Discipline. Click here for details.
The following are key components of the SF program:
- Prep Camp
- SF Lecture Series
- QI Project
- Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs)
- SF Practice Exam
- Royal College SF Exam
SURGICAL FOUNDATIONS LECTURES SERIES
Tipsheet.pdf
Surgical Foundations Lecture Series 2023 - 2024
Full schedule in PDF here.
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker |
Location |
Notes |
|
05-Sep-23 |
7:30 - 8:30am |
Management of On Call Scenarios |
Brandon Van Asseldonk |
Zoom |
|
|
05-Sep-23 |
8:30 - 8:40am |
Introduction to Surgical Foundations |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
Recording |
|
05-Sep-23 |
9:00 - 10:30am |
MAID |
Jonathan Ailon |
Zoom |
|
|
19-Sep-23 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Pre-Operative Medical Problems I |
Yash Patel |
Zoom |
|
|
19-Sep-23 |
9:30 - 11am |
Nutrition and Surgery |
Vickie Hiltz |
Zoom |
|
|
26-Sep-23 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
ABG (Arterial Blood Gas) |
Shane Shapera |
MSH |
|
|
26-Sep-23 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Indigenous health I |
Ryan Giroux |
MSH |
|
|
03-Oct-23 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
SIRS and Sepsis |
Alberto Goffi |
Zoom |
|
|
03-Oct-23 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Quality Improvement OR sustainability |
Sarah Ward + facilitator(s) |
Zoom |
|
|
10-Oct-23 |
8:00 - 11:00am |
Quality Improvement Curriculum I |
Sarah Ward |
LKS Room 241 |
|
|
17-Oct-23 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Post-Operative Medical Problems II |
Yash Patel |
Zoom |
|
|
24-Oct-23 |
8:00 - 9:15am |
Thromboembolic Disease |
William Geerts |
Zoom |
|
|
24-Oct-23 |
10:15 - 11:45am |
Ventilators |
Christie Lee |
Zoom |
|
|
31-Oct-23 |
8:00 - 9:15am |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
31-Oct-23 |
9:15 - 9:55am |
Surgeon in Society: Global Surgery |
Mojgan Hodaie, George Ibrahim |
Zoom |
|
|
07-Nov-23 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Anaesthesia I - Peri-operative Management of Acute Pain |
Natalie Clavel |
Zoom |
|
|
07-Nov-23 |
9:30 - 11am |
Trauma |
Andrew Beckett |
Zoom |
|
|
07-Nov-23 |
11:00am -12:00pm |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
14-Nov-23 |
8:00 - 9:15am |
Perioperative Geriatrics |
Camilla Wong |
Zoom |
|
|
14-Nov-23 |
9:15 - 10:30am |
CBD/EPA Clinic |
Lisa St. Amant |
Zoom |
|
|
14-Nov-23 |
10:40-11:50am |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
21-Nov-23 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Antibiotic Stewardship |
Linda Taggart |
Zoom |
|
|
21-Nov-23 |
9:30-12am |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
28-Nov-23 |
8:00 - 11:00am |
Delirium/Competence/Forms/Psychiatric Issues in the Peri- Operative Period |
Lu Gao |
Zoom |
|
|
28-Nov-23 |
11:00am - 12:00pm |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
05-Dec-23 |
8:00am - 12:00pm |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
12-Dec-23 |
9:00 - 10:00am |
Professionalism & leadership |
Mojgan Hodaie |
LKS Auditorium |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 212/213/214/215/216/217 |
|
12-Dec-23 |
10:00 - 11:00am |
Professionalism & Learner Mistreatment |
Meeta Patel, Charlie Guiang |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
19-Dec-23 |
|
Break |
|
|
|
|
26-Dec-23 |
|
Holiday Break |
|
|
|
|
02-Jan-24 |
8:00 - 11:00am |
Quality Improvement Curriculum II |
Sarah Ward |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
09-Jan-24 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Ethics I |
Sunit Das |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
16-Jan-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Anaesthesia II - Management of Chronic Pain |
Neilesh Soneji |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
16-Jan-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Indigenous health II |
Ryan Giroux |
LKS Auditorium |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 211/212/213/214/215/217 |
|
23-Jan-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Ethics II |
Sunit Das |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
30-Jan-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Surgeon in society: global surgery efforts in Ukraine |
James Rutka |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
30-Jan-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Wellness I |
Heather Flett + facilitator(s) |
LKS Auditorium |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 211/213/214/217 |
|
06-Feb-24 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Ethics III/IV |
Sunit Das |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
06-Feb-24 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Surgeon in Society talk: Indigenous healthcare |
Mary Macdonald |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
13-Feb-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Wound Care and Wound Healing |
Elisa Greco, Melinda Musgrave |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
13-Feb-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Wellness II |
Heather Flett + facilitator(s) |
LKS Auditorium |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 212/213/214/215/216/217 |
|
27-Feb-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Abdominal Compartment Syndrome and Lower Limb Compartment Syndrome |
Miranda Witheford |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
27-Feb-24 |
9:30 - 11:30am |
Indigenous health III |
Ryan Giroux |
LKS Auditorium or 240/241 |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 212/213/214/215/217 |
|
05-Mar-24 |
8:00 - 9:30 am |
Global Health |
Rachel Spitzer |
Zoom |
To be confirmed |
|
05-Mar-24 |
9:30 - 11:00 am |
Clinical Pearls in Symptom Management and Palliative Care |
Irene Ying, Anand Govindarajan |
Zoom |
|
|
12-Mar-24 |
|
March break |
|
|
|
|
19-Mar-24 |
9:30-11:00am |
Health Advocacy I |
Dominique Vervoort, Amanpreet (Preet) Brar |
MSH |
|
|
26-Mar-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Surgeon in Society talk: head injuries in sport + advocacy for wearing helmets |
Michael Cusimano |
Zoom |
To be confirmed |
|
26-Mar-24 |
9:30 - 12:00pm |
Specialty meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
02-Apr-24 |
8:00 - 10:00am |
Professionalism & Leadership |
Mojgan Hodaie |
LKS Room 240/241 |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 211/212/213/214/215/217 |
|
02-Apr-24 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Wellness III |
Heather Flett + facilitator(s) |
LKS Room 240/241 |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 211/212/213/214/215/217 |
|
09-Apr-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Transplant |
Blayne Sayed |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
09-Apr-24 |
9:30-11:00am |
Health Advocacy II |
Anna Dare, Amanpreet (Preet) Brar |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
16-Apr-24 |
8:00 - 11:00am |
Your Journey (former title: CanMeds Roles in Practice) |
Jerry Maniate |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
23-Apr-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Medical Oncology |
Susanna Cheng |
Zoom |
|
|
23-Apr-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Radiation Oncology |
Andrew Hope |
Zoom |
|
|
30-Apr-24 |
8:00 -11:30am |
Resident Leadership |
Sneha Raju, Dhruvin Hirpara |
MSH |
|
|
07-May-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Biostatistics I |
Katherine Lajkosz |
Zoom |
|
|
07-May-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Coagulation |
Michelle Sholzberg |
Zoom |
|
|
14-May-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Biostatistics II |
Katherine Lajkosz |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
14-May-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Wellness IV |
Heather Flett + facilitator(s) |
LKS Auditorium |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 211/212/213/214/215/217 |
|
21-May-24 |
4:30 - 8:00pm |
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT CURRICULUM PRESENTATIONS |
Sarah Ward |
LKS Room 136 & Lobby |
|
|
28-May-24 |
|
HOLD |
|
|
|
|
04-Jun-24 |
|
HOLD |
|
|
|
|
11-Jun-24 |
|
HOLD |
|
|
|
|
18-Jun-24 |
|
General Surgery event |
|
|
|
|
TBD |
2-3 hours |
Foundations Exam Prep |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
TBD |
8:00-11:00am |
Foundations Exam Review |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
TBD |
8:00-11:00am |
Foundations exam |
Mark Wheatcroft |
MSB |
Hold: 2nd half of May and 1st half of June (2 dates) |