Off-Service Residents | Department of Surgery | School of Medicine

Welcome to the Department of Surgery.

Please take a moment to explore the following information and become familiar with the Rotation Specific Objectives for the rotation you will be on. Also note that you can download the Call-Stipend form for Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Point of Contact forms for your feedback etc.

For Vacation, Conference or no-call requests please visit the "Time off" menu to the left.

Should you require any additional information, please feel free to contact our Postgraduate Program Coordinators Kim Lloyd and Cynthia MacIntosh.

Surgical Foundations Rotations

When you begin your Surgical Sub-specialty service please be sure to follow the guidelines below:

Please review the goals and objectives for your rotation. Surgical Foundations Rotation Specific Guidelines
Be sure to seek out your service chief at the beginning of the block to discuss your objectives for the rotation and make an appointment at the end of your block to discuss your evaluation.
Please find the Department of Surgery Point of Contact evaluation forms. It is necessary to ensure that you have two of these completed each week. These are a learning tool that will help complete your summative evaluation at the end of each block. Copies will be available in the clinic and OR lounges. Once completed, forward to the Surgery Postgraduate Medical Education Office.
If you are post call, you must contact Kim Lloyd and/or Cynthia MacIntosh(by phone or email) so that we can remove you from the KGH On-call schedule for the day. Please also notify your supervising attending and co-residents (if applicable) that you will not be available for clinical duties.

General Surgery Rotations

When beginnning a General Surgery Rotation, the following information will help to guide you through your time on service with us.

The call schedule and time off requests are approved by a specific Lead PGY5 Resident depending on the block. Any call changes must be approved by the Lead PGY5 Resident who is responsible for administrative duties during your block on service.
We would like to recommend that you read through the orientation document (below) before begining your rotation. General Surgery Rotation Guidelines for Junior Residents
We strongly recommend that you contact the senior on your service the day before you start in order to arrange a meeting time and location for rounds on your first day. If you do not have your senior's contact information please contact the Department of Surgery Postgraduate office and they will be happy to help.
Once you have completed your rotation, please ensure that you contact your Service Chief and arrange to meet with them in order to discuss your evaluation from your time with General Surgery.
If you are a Family Medicine Resident, please contact Dr. Jalink's office and arrange for a meeting with him in order to discuss your goals and objectives prior to the start of the rotation.
The Department of Surgery uses Point of Contact evaluation forms in order to help provide you with more feedback during your time with us. Copies of these forms can be found under the Forms & Important Dates link, as well as in clinics and ORs.
Your call stipend should be sent to the Lead PGY5 Resident at the end of the block in order for them to be reviewed and submitted. A copy of the KHSC call stipend form can also be found on the Forms & Important Dates link.
Please ensure that you read and review the Rotation Specific Goals and Objectives for General Surgery Clinical teaching unit that you are apart of, prior to the start of your rotation.

Time Off (Vacation/Call/Sick leave)

If you are an off-service resident who wishes to apply for time off (vacation, conference/educational leave, no call etc.), please click on the link below to take you to our Time Off Request Form.

Off-Serivce Vacation Request Guidelines and Form 2023-2024

Off-Service Vacation Request Guidelines and Form 2024-2025

While we make every effort to accommodate time off requests, there are times where we may not be able to guarantee your request do to coverage shortages and patient care.

Vacation and Educational Objectives:

As outlined in the Queen's University, Assessment, Promotion, and Appeals Policy section 8.0, "8.1 In order to meet pedagogical requirements, a resident should not miss more than 1/4 of a rotation or horizontal learning experience due to illness, leave, holidays etc.", The Department of Surgery does not encourage residents to take more than one week off at a time (unless extenuating circumstances), in order to ensure that educational and patient care needs are being met.

Switching Call:

Once the call schedule has been sent out to all Faculty and Residents (2 weeks before the beginning of the block) the schedule is considered to be "live". If a resident wishes to switch a call shift regardless of the reason, it is the responsibility of the resident to find a suitable replacement. Once a switch has been agreed upon by all parties involved, an email is to be sent by the resident requesting the change to the Department of Surgery Program Coordinator as well as any other residents involved.

This will ensure that the On-call system is accurate and that the Surgery Postgraduate office is aware of the switch.

Calling in Sick:

If you need to call in sick, you must inform your surgical team, supervisor as well as the Department of Surgery Postgraduate Administrators immediately. If you are scheduled to be on call the night that you are ill, it is expected that you arrange for another team member to cover your shift, and then the Surgery Postgraduate office in order for the On-Call system as well as Switchboard to be made aware (during the hours of 8:00am to 4:00pm).

If a switch is made from 4:00pm to 8:00am, it is the responsibility of the resident to contact Switchboard and notify them of the call change.

Academic Days

The Department of Surgery is not responsible for ensuring that off-service residents are given time off to attend their Academic Days, as well as ensuring that they are not post call for the Academic Days. It is the responsibility of the resident to submit a “no-call request” through the time off link above, for the night before their academic day. It is also the responsibility of the resident to inform their supervising attending if they are not able to participate in clinical activities due to a scheduled academic day.