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 2024 - 2025
Full schedule in PDF here.
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker |
Location |
Notes |
|
10-Sep-24 |
8:00 - 8:15am |
Introduction to Surgical Foundations |
Mark Wheatcroft, Alysha Nensi |
Zoom |
|
|
10-Sep-24 |
8:15 - 8:30am |
Office of Learner Affairs Introduction |
Jory Simpson |
Zoom |
|
|
10-Sep-24 |
8:30 - 9:30am |
Management of On Call Scenarios |
Brandon Van Asseldonk |
Zoom |
|
|
10-Sep-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Pre-Operative Medical Problems I |
Yash Patel |
Zoom |
|
|
17-Sep-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Nutrition and Surgery |
Vickie Hiltz |
Zoom |
|
|
24-Sep-24 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
ABG (Arterial Blood Gas) |
Shane Shapera |
MSH Auditorium |
|
|
24-Sep-24 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Indigenous health I |
Ryan Giroux, Nadia McLaren |
MSH Auditorium |
|
|
01-Oct-24 |
8:15 - 9:30am |
CBD/EPA Clinic |
Lisa St. Amant, Justin Fletcher |
Zoom |
|
|
01-Oct-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Quality Improvement OR sustainability |
Sarah Ward |
Zoom |
|
|
08-Oct-24 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Palliative Care for a Surgeon and an Introduction to MAID |
Jonathan Ailon |
MSH Auditorium |
|
|
15-Oct-24 |
8:30 - 11:30am |
Quality Improvement Curriculum I |
Sarah Ward |
MSH Auditorium |
|
|
22-Oct-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
SIRS and Sepsis |
Alberto Goffi |
Zoom |
|
|
22-Oct-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Antibiotic Stewardship |
Linda Taggart |
Zoom |
|
|
29-Oct-24 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Transitioning to Surgical I |
Heather Flett + facilitator(s) |
TGH Education Centre, Room 025/026 |
Seminar rooms 3-8 |
|
05-Nov-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Post-Operative Medical Problems II |
Yash Patel |
Zoom |
|
|
05-Nov-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Foundations Exam Prep |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
12-Nov-24 |
8:30 - 9:45am |
Thromboembolic Disease |
William Geerts |
MSH Auditorium |
|
|
12-Nov-24 |
9:45 - 11:15am |
Ethics I |
Sunit Das |
MSH Auditorium |
|
|
19-Nov-24 |
8:00 - 10:00am |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft, Alysha Nensi |
Zoom |
|
|
19-Nov-24 |
10:00 - 11:15am |
Surgeon in Society: Global Surgery |
Mojgan Hodaie, Eisha Christian |
Zoom |
|
|
26-Nov-24 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Anaesthesia I - Peri-operative Management of Acute Pain |
Natalie Clavel |
Zoom |
|
|
26-Nov-24 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Trauma |
Andrew Beckett |
Zoom |
|
|
03-Dec-24 |
8:00 - 11:30am |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft, Alysha Nensi |
Zoom |
|
|
10-Dec-24 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Wound Care and Wound Healing |
Elisa Greco, Melinda Musgrave |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
10-Dec-24 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Transitioning to Surgical II |
Heather Flett + facilitator(s) |
LKS Auditorium |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 212, 213, 214, 215, 217 |
|
17-Dec-24 |
8:00 - 11:30am |
Resident meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft, Alysha Nensi |
Zoom |
|
|
24-Dec-25 |
|
Holiday Break |
|
|
|
|
07-Jan-25 |
8:00 - 9:15am |
Perioperative Geriatrics |
Camilla Wong |
Zoom |
|
|
07-Jan-25 |
9:15 - 10:45am |
Ventilators |
Christie Lee |
Zoom |
|
|
14-Jan-25 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Professionalism & leadership |
Mojgan Hodaie |
LKS Room 241 |
To be confirmed |
|
14-Jan-25 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Indigenous health II |
Ryan Giroux |
LKS Room 241 |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 212, 213, 214, 215, 217 |
|
21-Jan-25 |
8:00am - 11:30am |
NTS Simulation Pilot |
Petal Abdool |
McCain Building, B1-B409-BSMNT |
Attendance TBD |
|
28-Jan-25 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Foundations Exam Prep |
Mark Wheatcroft |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
28-Jan-25 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Ethics II |
Sunit Das |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
04-Feb-25 |
8:00 - 9:30 am |
Global Health |
Rachel Spitzer, A J Mata, Barbara Jemec |
Zoom |
|
|
04-Feb-25 |
9:30 - 11:00 am |
Clinical Pearls in Symptom Management and Palliative Care |
Anand Govindarajan |
Zoom |
|
|
11-Feb-25 |
8:30 - 11:30am |
Quality Improvement Curriculum II |
Sarah Ward |
TGH Education Centre, Room 025/026 |
|
|
18-Feb-25 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Office of Learner Affairs - Learner Wellness and Mistreatment Resources |
Meeta Patel, Shaheen Darani |
LKS Room 211 |
|
|
18-Feb-25 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Transitioning to Surgical III |
Heather Flett + facilitator(s) |
LKS Room 211 |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 212, 213, 214, 215, 217 |
|
25-Feb-25 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Biostatistics I |
Katherine Lajkosz |
Zoom |
|
|
25-Feb-25 |
9:30-11:00am |
Coagulation |
Michelle Sholzberg |
Zoom |
|
|
04-Mar-25 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Abdominal Compartment Syndrome and Lower Limb Compartment Syndrome |
Miranda Witheford |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
04-Mar-25 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Indigenous health III |
Tyler Chesney, Nadia McLaren |
LKS Room 240/241 |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 212, 213, 214, 215, 217 |
|
11-Mar-25 |
|
March break |
|
|
|
|
18-Mar-25 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Anaesthesia II - Management of Chronic Pain |
Neilesh Soneji |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
18-Mar-25 |
9:30 - 12:00pm |
Specialty meetings |
Mark Wheatcroft, Alysha Nensi |
Zoom |
|
|
25-Mar-25 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Ethics III/IV |
Sunit Das |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
25-Mar-25 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Surgeon in Society talk: Indigenous healthcare |
Mary Macdonald |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
01-Apr-25 |
8:00 - 9:30am |
Medical Oncology |
Susanna Cheng |
Zoom |
|
|
01-Apr-25 |
9:30 - 11:00am |
Radiation Oncology |
Andrew Hope |
Zoom |
|
|
08-Apr-25 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Transplant |
Blayne Sayed |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
08-Apr-25 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Health Advocacy |
Anna Dare, Amanpreet (Preet) Brar, Dominique Vervoort |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
15-Apr-24 |
8:00 - 11am |
Delirium/Competence/Forms/Psychiatric Issues in the Peri-Operative Period |
Lu Gao |
Zoom |
|
|
22-Apr-25 |
8:30 - 11:30am |
Your Journey (former title: CanMeds Roles in Practice) |
Jerry Maniate |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
29-Apr-25 |
8:30 -11:30am |
Resident Leadership |
Sneha Raju, Dhruvin Hirpara |
LKS Room 240/241 |
|
|
06-May-25 |
9:30am - 11:30am |
Foundations Exam Prep |
Mark Wheatcroft |
Zoom |
|
|
13-May-24 |
8:30 - 10:00am |
Biostatistics II |
Katherine Lajkosz |
LKS Auditorium |
|
|
13-May-24 |
10:00 - 11:30am |
Transitioning to Surgical IV |
Heather Flett + facilitator(s) |
LKS Auditorium |
LKS Breakout Rooms: 212, 213, 214, 215, 217 |
|
20-May-25 |
4:30 - 8:00pm |
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT CURRICULUM PRESENTATIONS |
Sarah Ward |
Faculty Club of UofT, Wedgewood Dining Room |
|
|
27-May-25 |
8:00-11:00am |
Foundations Practice Exam |
Mark Wheatcroft, Alysha Nensi |
MSB |
mandatory |
|
03-Jun-25 |
|
No lecture |
|
|
|
|
17-Jun-25 |
|
No lecture |
|
|
|
|
24-Jun-25 |
8:30-11:30am |
Foundations Exam Review |
Mark Wheatcroft, Alysha Nensi |
LKS Room 216 |
|