Gastroenterology

Human Digestive System Anatomy — Faculty of Medicine

Department of Medicine - DoM

Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology is a branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis and treatment of disorders related to the digestive system.

The Division of Gastroenterology at The Ottawa Hospital is an experienced group of Academic clinicians with special interests in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Colon Cancer, Liver Disease/Liver Failure, and Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy. We provide tertiary care and clinical expertise to a large population of patients with all types of acute and chronic gastrointestinal disorders. We have recently recruited several young gastroenterologists who have obtained advanced trained at highly respected centres in both IBD and Endoscopic Ultrasound.

Pre-Clerkship electives are available to first and second year uOttawa medical students.
Clerkship electives are available to all fourth-year medical students throughout Canada and Internationally. At uOttawa, students can choose between a two-week elective in the Clinical Teaching Units (CTUs) or in the Consult/Triage (C/T). Applications are accepted via the AFMC portal.

More information can be found on the UGME - Plan an Elective page.

Electives for uOttawa residents

Internal resident interested in doing an elective, should contact their Program Administrator, who will then help them find inquire whether the hospital they want to rotate through has a spot available.

Electives for non-uOttawa residents

Interested residents should apply a minimum of 60 days in advance via the electives portal. More information can be found on the Electives page.

The purpose of an observership is to gain knowledge and expertise concerning health care and services, such as patient care procedures, within a hospital or healthcare organization.

Observerships may be arranged with the individual programs in the Ottawa regional hospitals by contacting the Program Director in the hospital in which you wish to have observer status.

Resident Observerships are not available in the Core Internal Medicine Specialty.

Arrangements are not provided by the Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) office of the University of Ottawa and observers do not register with the PGME Office.

If you encounter any technical issues, please contact the PGME office at [email protected].

Those interested in pursing Gastroenterology as a subspecialty must first complete the 3-year Core Internal Medicine Postgraduate Specialty Program.

The Core Internal Medicine Program feeds into the following thirteen Department of Medicine Subspecialties:

Cardiology
Critical Care
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Gastroenterology
General Internal Medicine
Geriatric Medicine
Hematology
Infectious Diseases
Medical Oncology
Nephrology
Palliative Care
Respirology
Rheumatology

A team of doctors sitting around a laptop

Core Internal Medicine

Visit our webpage to know more information about this program.

Core Internal Medicine Postgraduate Specialty Program (3-years)

The Division of Gastroenterology subspecialty program is a fully accredited two-year residency. Residents enter the program after completing three years of internal medicine. The first year of the GI training program allows residents to complete their requirements for internal medicine and to write the internal medicine Royal college examinations. After completing the second year of the GI program, residents qualify to write the gastroenterology examinations of the Royal College.

The GI program in the Department of Medicine has always been recognized as a strong clinical program, with excellence in resident teaching. The large referral base of the Ottawa hospital provides an excellent opportunity for residents to see a multitude of common and rare medical conditions and emergencies as well as outpatient gastroenterology-related illnesses. This large referral base also exposes residents to a multitude of both emergency as well as routine endoscopic procedures including a variety of specialized procedures. This large referral base provides a strong foundation for our teaching program – facilitating both clinical teaching as well as research opportunities.

Participation in GI Division Rounds, IBD Rounds, Academic ½ Day, M&M Rounds, GI/Liver and Path Rounds, Journal Club and GUT Club are expected over the course of both years regardless of which rotation the resident is doing.

Longitudinal clinics occur in both years. In the first year one half day per week is given to a longitudinal clinic in general gastroenterology. In the second year, one-half day per week is given to a Longitudinal Liver Clinic with either Dr. Shaw-Stiffel, Dr. Kelly, Dr. Tsien or Dr. Cheung. A similar half-day per week is given to a longitudinal Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic under the supervision of Dr. Saloojee, Dr. Sy, Dr. McCurdy or Dr. Murthy. There is also a one-half day per month TPN Clinic with Dr. Murthy.

Longitudinal clinics allow residents the opportunity to perform the initial consultation, and then follow these patients. These one-half day per week clinics allow the residents to take on the primary caregiver role and therefore the resident is expected to attend these clinics while on their general GI clinic rotations. The residents are exempt from these clinics only during elective and research periods. The longitudinal clinics have been an excellent learning experience for our residents and have been highly rated by them.

The program has benefited greatly from the development of the inflammatory bowel disease clinic at the Ottawa hospital. This clinic serves the needs of the inflammatory bowel disease population by providing a multidisciplinary clinic including a General Surgeon, a Gastroenterologist, and the support of nutrition services. The clinic has allowed the creation of an IBD longitudinal clinic as well as provided opportunities for research projects. Currently Drs Saloojee and Sy attend IBD clinic as does Dr. M. Friedlich from the Department of Surgery.

Being a small program, we have the luxury of having a very close relationship with our residents and an open door policy. Both the program director and the division chief are easily approachable and responsive to the needs of the residents. Residents also have close contact with the rotation supervisor and undergo a post rotation evaluation, which also gives the staff an opportunity to discuss matters of career planning, and any concerns the residents may have. The program director meets with the residents every six months to formally go over their evaluations and to also discuss career planning and any concerns they may have.

Strengths of this program

Diverse clinical experience afforded by the large referral base.
Protected educational time. Very good service to educational ratio making this an excellent clinical training program with a record of producing solid gastroenterology.
The members of the division are dedicated, clinical teachers.
The program administrator works tirelessly to better the program, Spearheading such initiatives as videoconference equipment, and the GI website. Through her diligence, the program runs seamlessly.
Longitudinal clinics provide residents with a feeling of ownership over patient care. Residents form long-term physician-patient relationships and witness the effects of management decisions.
Multidisciplinary IBD clinic allows a concentrated exposure to IBD patients and collaboration with surgeons and other personnel.
The multitude of rounds, Journal clubs, and Gut clubs ensures a complete exposure to issues in Gastroenterology.
The enthusiasm of our colleagues in pathology, radiology and surgery add to the learning experience of our residents.

For further information, please contact:

Bonnie Quast
Program Administrator
Email: [email protected]

What we offer you

This fellowship provides you the opportunity to gain exposure to a large number of advanced endoscopic procedures and to pursue research opportunities in varied fields (e.g. quality in endoscopy to epidemiological studies to translational studies.) You will be offered advanced procedural and clinical training, beyond the level expected from trainees who have completed their Gastroenterology Residency Program at an accredited Canadian institution.

As a trainee in this program you will learn the following:

ERCP: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is a procedure that allows examination and therapeutic intervention of the pancreaticobiliary (pancreatic and biliary ducts) system with the assistance of fluoroscopy. Approximately ~800 cases are done annually at our center.

EUS: Endoscopic ultrasound has become essential in early cancer diagnostics, staging, and management. Using a miniature ultrasound at the tip of an endoscope (echoendoscope), an EUS can be performed from within the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and distal colon) allowing closer examination of the luminal wall, surrounding organs and tissue sampling can be performed by fine-needle aspiration. Additionally, EUS can guide therapeutic interventions such as fiducial implantation and cyst drainage. Approximately ~800 cases are done annually at our center. Additional therapeutic interventions which the AES Fellow will be exposed to include stenting of luminal or biliary strictures, megapolypectomy (endoscopic mucosal resection), deep enteroscopy, and endoscopic diverticulotomy, to name a few.

Research is considered a critical component of the program and the Fellow will be expected to continue ongoing research as well as develop novel research projects during their Fellowship.

Application details:

Prerequisite(s): Gastroenterology Fellowship, preferred experience training in North American setting, proficiency with the English language. Strong preference will be given to applicants who have performed an elective in gastroenterology at The Ottawa Hospital and who have worked with the Therapeutic Staff.
Estimated % clinical workload: 70%
Number of positions annually: 1
Duration: 1 year
Start date: July 1st
Application deadline: November 1st
Contact: Bonnie Quast at [email protected]
Fellowship Director: Dr. Avijit Chatterjee

What we offer you

The Ottawa Hospital Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic was developed to enhance the care of the IBD patient through a collaborative working environment involving gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, and nutrition services. The IBD Fellowship enhances the academic goals of the department by providing an environment conducive to clinical research and ongoing staff, resident, and student education. The attributes of the fellowship are further enhanced by bimonthly multidisciplinary IBD rounds and Journal Club.

The third-year fellowship allows trainees to see new IBD cases, see those sent for second opinions, follow patients through exacerbations and remissions, evaluate the effects of treatment decisions, and form long-term physician-patient relationships. Furthermore, the fellow will become an expert in managing urgent and complicated IBD cases.

The general objectives of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program is to develop knowledge of all aspects of IBD, including relevant basic sciences. This includes the genetics, patho-physiology and treatment of IBD. The program emphasizes IBD research. This is a critical component on the Fellowship year. The expectation is for the trainee to complete a clinical or translational research project to present at a national/international meeting with later submission to a peer-review journal. The resident will master consultancy, research and teaching skills as they relate to IBD.

Application details:

Prerequisite(s): Applicant must have completed medical school or a 3 year Internal Medicine residency or a 2 year Gastroenterology residency in Canada or the United States.
Estimated % clinical workload: 75%
Number of positions annually: 1
Duration: 1 year
Start date: July 1st
Application deadline: January 2nd
Contact: Bonnie Quast at [email protected]
Fellowship Director: Dr. Nav Saloojee

What we offer you

The Ottawa Hospital Hepatology Fellowship program offers a one-year clinical fellowship aimed at enhancing consultancy expertise in caring for patients with liver disease. The fellow will also master research and teaching skills as they relate to hepatology. Our collaborative team provide excellent learning and mentoring environment. Our vision is to form strong clinician hepatologists who will be leaders, in academic or community settings.

During the one-year program, the hepatology fellow is actively involved in ambulatory and inpatient care. Through longitudinal clinic with a large variety of referrals, trainees foster long-term physician-patient relationships while developing knowledge and proficiency in managing patients with common as well as complex liver diseases. In addition, the inpatient hepatology experience allows trainees to become expert in management of urgent liver disease and complications. Their exposure can be personalized depending on interest and time spent along different hepatologists, each with specific expertise, as in general hepatology, viral hepatitis, autoimmune liver disease, as well as liver transplantation.

The experience is further enriched with additional activities. The trainees participate in the weekly hepatobiliary round with collaboration with the multidisciplinary team, discussing management of hepatocellular carcinoma. We have monthly teleconference with Liver Transplant Center at the University Health Network (Toronto), where trainees participate in discussion of patients pre and post liver transplant.

Our fellowship program has an additional focus in providing mentorship for clinical research. The trainee is expected to complete clinical or quality improvement research project to present at a national/international meeting with later submission to a peer review journal. The trainee is expected to participate in teaching activities through journal club, pathology round, and supervision of gastroenterology residents.

Application details:

Prerequisite(s): completion of Gastroenterology residency (FRCPC or equivalent); or Canadian trainee who has completed 1 or 2 year of General Internal Medicine subspecialty residency training.
Estimated % clinical workload: 75%
Number of positions annually: 1-2
Duration: 1 year
Start date: July 1st
Application deadline: January 2nd (late application will be considered on an individual basis)
Contact: Bonnie Quast at [email protected]
Fellowship Director: Dr. Pearl Tan

Undergraduate Pre-Clerkships and Clerkships Electives arrow_drop_down

Postgraduate Resident Electives arrow_drop_down

Electives for uOttawa residents

Electives for non-uOttawa residents

Observerships arrow_drop_down

Core Internal Medicine

Strengths of this program

For further information, please contact:

Advanced Endoscopic Services Fellowship arrow_drop_down

What we offer you

Application details:

Inflammatory Bowel Disease arrow_drop_down

What we offer you

Application details:

Hepatology Fellowship arrow_drop_down

What we offer you

Application details: