Student & Resident Electives

Welcome to Rheumatology! We hope you enjoy your rotation with us.

Rheumatology is an exciting field which combines diagnostic skills with new and promising therapeutic options for our patients. There are few other specialties that can provide such dramatic improvement in people’s quality of life.

There are over 100 diseases rheumatologists will see, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, crystal arthritis, myositis and vasculitis. Your rotation will expose you to many of these conditions and teach you an approach to their diagnosis.

Rheumatology Elective Information:

Please note for resident out of town elective, our program is happy to cover the cost of your flight to Edmonton or equivalent!

Rheumatology is primarily based in the outpatient clinic, most of your time will be spent there. Please check the clinic schedule ahead of time and ensure you attend all the clinics you have been assigned. If you are unable to attend any clinic, it is your responsibility to find a replacement and let the staff person and program director know. Please be early for clinics, and prepare prior to the clinic.

In-patient consults also occur and are the responsibility of the entire team. Check the call schedule to know who is receiving the calls that day so consults can be equally distributed amongst the team of learners. Night call is from home; if you receive a consult, let the fellow on call (or staff person if there is no fellow) know immediately so arrangements can be made. If you are not in clinic, please see if other clinics require you. If not, you are expected to be on site, even if you are not on call. If you require time away, please inform the staff ahead of time. If you are away, this will be noted as an unexcused absence.

Aside from clinical duties, you will be responsible for a 20 to 30 minute presentation. Check the schedule to find out when this is. The best presentations are those of a difficult patient problem, either in diagnosis or treatment. There are also other rounds, including City-wide, Journal club and Radiology rounds that you are expected to attend.

We support time off during the rotation, however it must be booked at least one month in advance to ensure that you receive the time.

Formal objectives can be found to the left as well.  If you are interested in doing an elective with us, please contact us at mednrhe@ualberta.ca for more information.



What is Rheumatology?

Rheumatologists see over 100 different types of diseases. We are known for seeing arthritis, however, we also see many other conditions.

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Visit our YouTube channel and find a number of helpful videos to learn more about a range of topics relating to rheumatology.

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