Our Neurology program values education and learning opportunities for all residents, and ensures that Academic Time is protected, regardless of the rotation you may be on.

During an average week, the program has eight hours of protected Academic Time for residents to attend, learn and teach.

Bedside teaching is done on Tuesdays (11 – 12 p.m.), consisting of a team of residents and staff members that discuss interesting cases, including finer points of the history and opportunity for residents to hone their neurologic exam with pointers and specific techniques from staff.

Academic Half-day is on Wednesday for three hours (12- 3 p.m.), consisting of readings based on Royal College Syllabi. These sessions typically consist of one to two hours of faculty-led teaching and the remainder of the time assigned to residents to prepare teaching and present the topic to their peers.  We ensure that the readings and teachings span the knowledge levels across all stages of the program. There is focused teaching by the staff each week in the first half of the year for the Junior Residents to help specifically with exam techniques and localization skills, as well as dedicated exam preparation time for those residents preparing for the Royal College Exam that year in the second half of the year.

Thursdays have dedicated teaching for neuroelectrophysiology. Both epilepsy and neuromuscular cases are discussed and presented, with a focus on the electrophysiologic studies, and their interpretation. The teaching and presentations are generally done by staff.

Neuroscience Grand Rounds (shared with the Neurosurgery Department, and attended by members of PM&R and non-clinical Neuroscience members) run for two hours on Friday morning (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.).  Generally, each resident will present twice a year for one hour. The presentation parameters are left open for residents to choose any topic or case to the entire department that they feel is interesting.

Additionally, on Friday, there is an hour reserved (12 – 1 p.m.) that provides teaching for residents on Neuroradiology.

In addition to the above-described protected Academic Time, there are optional teaching opportunities. Weekly Stroke Rounds take place with Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Radiology. Interesting cases are discussed and reviewed. Journal Clubs are available intermittently, and usually involve a guest speaker with a specific subspecialty topic. 

The Neurology Program at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) operates under the Competency By Design curriculum, generally planned out over five years.

In first year, approximately a third of clinical time is spent rotating through the Stroke Neurology and General Neurology ward and other Neurology rotations.  The remainder of the rotations are within the Department of Medicine fleshing out competency and ensuring residents are comfortable with the appropriate services, including but not limited to Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Infectious Diseases and Haematology. We have included early exposure to Outpatient Neurology for first year Residents to help exposure to non-acute Neurology.

Second year focuses residents on satisfying the remaining medicine requirements, including a mandatory two-month ICU rotation. Residents also gain further experience on the Neurology ward and in clinics, including an experience to introducing the basics of NCS/EMG to the residents. 

Third and fourth year really focus the resident on all the subspecialties within Neurology, including NCS/EMG, EEG, Neuroradiology, Neuropathology, Pediatric Neurology, with considerable time for electives both at home and away. Residents begin their Senior Clinic in third year with a staff of their choosing. This creates the opportunity for longitudinal management for residents in an outpatient setting, as well as exposure to what running an outpatient practice looks like.

The fifth year of the residency is meant to help residents solidify their previous training, experience the role of a Junior Attending, complete the Transition to Practice curriculum, and prepare for the Royal College Exam.

Currently the call for Neurology is designated as ‘In House Call’, during which residents are on call for consults as well as any issues that arise for the patients on the ward. The ward typically has anywhere between 20 to 40 patients who are receiving care. Generally, for the first six to seven blocks all PGY1 will be considered Junior Residents and will be placed on call with Senior Residents, to provide them with teaching, support and helpful hints to manage the call shifts effectively. 

Typically, the PGY1 will be considered both confident and skilled enough to handle intermittent solo call shifts in the later part of first year. PGY1 and PGY2 will participate in Neurology call shifts with on Neurology rotations and rotations that do not have associated call shifts. 

When on other rotations, such as CCU, ICU, CTU (Internal Medicine Clinical Teaching Unit), the residents will be on In-House call as per the needs/regulations for that service. 

When residents are comfortable with and capable of performing solo call, they added to the Senior Resident Call pool, where they will participate in supervising and assisting Junior Residents on call, with intermittent solo call shifts.  An average block will consist of somewhere between four and seven call shifts spaced throughout the 28-day blocks. All consults are accepted through and reviewed by staff who provide exceptional support for residents while on call.

The USask Neurology program is very supportive of all residents continuing to improve their education with research and attending conferences. There are 12 conference days available, and most residents can attend one or two conferences each year. During PGY1 and PGY2 residents are encouraged to attend the Rocky Mountain Basic Sciences Symposium, where they will join their colleagues from the University of Calgary and University of Alberta for a weekend of learning, competition and camaraderie in Banff. Common conferences attended include the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation (CNSF) and American Academy of Neurology (AAN) conferences, however residents are encouraged to submit research and attend any conference of their interest. 

The program can provide a base sum as well as a yearly stipend to help cover the resident cost of travel and accommodation to the conferences. Additional funding is available for any resident who has an abstract or other publication accepted for presentation. Additional funding may be present for those with research involving select researchers and subspecialties. 

The program hosts a yearly Research Day at which the residents will present research of their own doing. The expectations are graded appropriately for the varying levels of experience within the program. All research interests are thoroughly encouraged and supported. Dinner and awards follow the presentations.

Welcome to the Residents' page!

The Neurology program at USask has eleven residents. Being part of a smaller program comes with several advantages. A high staff to resident ratio of approximately 1:1, provides residents with excellent opportunities for teaching.  As well, residents have guidance for research and mentorship around career planning from staff with a range of subspecialties and research interests. Residents are exposed to a high number of cases from consults through to discharge, which affords residents the chance to become experts in all aspects of CanMEDS roles.  Finally, the small program creates a unique environment for residents to share experiences and create lasting relationships with one another.

As the largest centre for Neurology in the province, the catchment area provides the volume and breadth of presentations to ensure numerous and diverse rotational experiences throughout their residency.

We have a full complement of Neurology subspecialties at hand to ensure resident exposure to all areas within the discipline. The program promotes a positive and well-supported learning environment where residents are encouraged to grow in their learning and research interests.

We would welcome any questions about the program, resident life or experiences in Saskatoon.  Feel free to email our program administrator, who will connect you with our chief resident.  

Thank you for the interest in the program, and we look forward to hearing from you.

“Many of our faculty completed their residencies here and decided to stay. I think it says a lot about the positive work culture, strength of the program and that people want to raise their families here in the province.

One of our strengths is that because we are a smaller program, you’re getting significantly more clinical exposure than many of the larger programs. This makes us very strong clinical neurologists.

As a group of residents, we are all passionate about the field. We also spend quite a bit of time together as a resident cohort, including outside of work. There is a strong sense of collegiality between the residents and the faculty, as well as among residents and among the residents and other allied healthcare professionals. You really get to know everyone quite well. We have a small number of neurology faculty here, and a small number of residents, which means each faculty member is very invested in each residents’ learning. Because we work with them so much, they recognize our areas of strengths, areas we can improve in, and the learning style of each resident.

Working in this environment and culture, you feel comfortable. You enjoy what you do and the people you get to work with."

- Bashir Daud Shah, Neurology Chief Resident (2023-24), PGY3