A comparative analysis of graduate preparedness for a career in General Internal Medicine before and after national subspecialty recognition to inform curricular changes: have we met the mark?

Background: A survey of General Internal Medicine (GIM) graduates published in 2006 revealed large training gaps that informed the development of the first national GIM objectives of training in 2010. The first recognized GIM certification examination was written by candidates in 2014. The landscape is again changing with the introduction in 2019 of competency-by-design (CBD) to GIM training.

Correction to: Internal Medicine Point of Care Ultrasound: Indicators It's Here to Stay.

This editorial, "Internal Medicine Point of Care Ultrasound: Indicators It's Here to Stay" (DOI: 10.1007/s11606-019-05268-0), was intended to accompany "Education Indicators for Internal Medicine Point-of-Care Ultrasound: a Consensus Report from the Canadian Internal Medicine Ultrasound (CIMUS) Group".

The Evolution of General Internal Medicine (GIM)in Canada: International Implications.

General internal medicine (GIM), like other generalist specialties, has struggled to maintain its identity in the face of mounting sub-specialization over the past few decades. In Canada, the path to licensure for general internists has been through the completion of an extra year of training after three core years of internal medicine. Until very recently, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) did not recognize GIM as a distinct entity.

Interprofessional Skills Learning Guide: A Multimedia E-Book for Small-Group or Individual Learning.

Introduction: Redefining learning space beyond physical classrooms with fixed resources is necessary to address challenges of interprofessional learning in a clinical setting. This multimedia e-book introduces recognized team skills of shared mental models, situational awareness, and the SBAR (situation, background, assessment, and recommendation) communication tool for individual or small-group learning. The e-book was derived from work done to develop an interprofessional small-group interactive learning tool for use in a clinical environment where resources, including meeting space, time, and facilitators, were limited.

Postgraduate internal medicine residents' roles at patient discharge - do their perceived roles and perceptions by other health care providers correlate?

Knowing one's own role is a key collaboration competency for postgraduate trainees in the Canadian competency framework (CanMEDS®). To explore methods to teach collaborative competency to internal medicine postgraduate trainees, baseline role knowledge of the trainees was explored. The perceptions of roles (self and others) at patient discharge from an acute care internal medicine teaching unit amongst 69 participants, 34 physicians (25 internal medicine postgraduate trainees and 9 faculty physicians) and 35 health care professionals from different professions were assessed using an adapted previously validated survey (Jenkins et al.

Determining specific competencies for General Internal Medicine residents (PGY 4 and PGY 5). What are they and are programs currently teaching them? A survey of practicing Canadian General Internists.

Background: General Internal Medicine (GIM) has recently been approved as a subspecialty by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. As such, there is a need to define areas of knowledge that a General Internist must learn in those two years of training. There is limited literature as to what competencies are needed in a GIM practice.

An internist's role in perioperative medicine: a survey of surgeons' opinions.

Background: Literature exists regarding the perioperative role of internists. Internists rely on this literature assuming it meets the needs of surgeons without actually knowing their perspective. We sought to understand why surgeons ask for preoperative consultations and their view on the internist's role in perioperative medicine.

Are Canadian General Internal Medicine training program graduates well prepared for their future careers?

Background: At a time of increased need and demand for general internists in Canada, the attractiveness of generalist careers (including general internal medicine, GIM) has been falling as evidenced by the low number of residents choosing this specialty. One hypothesis for the lack of interest in a generalist career is lack of comfort with the skills needed to practice after training, and the mismatch between the tertiary care, inpatient training environment and "real life". This project was designed to determine perceived effectiveness of training for 10 years of graduates of Canadian GIM programs to assist in the development of curriculum and objectives for general internists that will meet the needs of graduates and ultimately society.

Informed consent skills in internal medicine residency: how are residents taught, and what do they learn?

Purpose: Obtaining informed consent is an essential skill in internal medicine (IM). The authors' informal observations and formal testing revealed deficiencies in residents' informed consent skills. This study evaluated how residents acquire informed consent skills and how informed consent skills are addressed in Canadian IM residency programs.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-associated hepatotoxicity - part of a hypersensitivity syndrome.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is a commonly used medication. Side effects are numerous and include drug hypersensitivity syndrome. The case of a 24-year-old woman with severe liver failure is presented.

Are longer hospital stays beneficial for the elderly?

Utilization review is a way to manage healthcare costs and is widespread in Canada, as managers attempt to use available acute-care beds in a best practice manner. As we reduce beds and decrease length of stay, we often wonder if the outcomes for patients are affected, particularly if the patients are elderly.