The Residents Section, founded in 1990, is a network for those in paediatric training. The section makes up nearly a quarter of CPS membership and represents 94% of all paediatric residents in Canada. It provides a forum for residents to develop ideas and discuss issues related to their training and education. The section is active in areas such as advocacy and professional development, particularly during the CPS Annual Conference.
The section has representation on the CPS Board of Directors and an executive committee made up of from each paediatric program in Canada.
My name is Meagan Roy, and I am a proud Métis person with roots in the Algonquin and Huron-Wendat nations. I’m the parent of four kids aged six and under and I work hard at the Alberta Children’s Hospital as a fourth-year student in paediatric emergency medicine to find time to play at home and to chair the CPS Residents Section. Excellent work is easier in a team, and I am privileged to be working with Dr. Jhanahan Sriranjan (Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine – McMaster University) in the Vice-President role and Alexandra Klem (Northern Ontario School of Medicine University) in the Medical Student Liaison position. En tant que stagiaires en médecine, note capacité à apprendre et à defender les intérêts de nos patients et de leurs familles est au minimum liée à notre propre santé globale. With this knowledge in mind, the CPS Residents Section sets to re-kindle our fires for self-care and advocacy so that we can live, learn, work, and play on the traditional territories on which we are privileged to access across Canada.
The aims for the 2024-2025 academic year for the CPS Resident Section are:
Advocate for paediatric resident wellness. As mentioned, our ability as medical trainees to perform as advocates and learners is contingent on our own wholistic wellbeing. As such, the importance of the CPS Residents Section advocating at a national level for important issues central to paediatric training in Canada, such as the Royal College Examination, wellness initiatives, and advocacy support, is imperative in the upcoming academic year. Knowing the differences between training programs, the CPS Residents Section endeavours to unify the programs on common issues while ensuring local issues are appropriately addressed. We welcome and encourage feedback – please see email addresses below.
Encourage and support advocacy initiatives among paediatric trainees.With the 17 distinct residency groups across Turtle Island, the CPS Residents Section will not only actively encourage resident groups to conceptualize advocacy projects locally, provincially, and nationally, we will also ensure that appropriate support is given for such projects. A national project through a partnership with the CPS First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Health Committee will become a central project for all resident groups, while ongoing local advocacy efforts being prioritized and supported through funding opportunities, periodic review of projects, and assistance with application to the CPS Annual Conference for presentations. Our Grand Rounds topic will be focused on advocating safely as medical trainees on topics affecting local to global populations.
Liaise with the Medical Student Liaison to promote the field of paediatrics. Paediatrics in Canada in as diverse as Turtle Island itself! With a variety of settings, inpatient versus outpatient, remote versus large urban, and a diversity of populations and languages served, the CPS Resdents Section has a unique role of working with the medical school programs to promote paediatrics as THE field to work in. With plans for upgrading previous initiatives, such as the previous podcast series and our “Why Paeds?” panel (slated to be done en français this academic year), and a few tricks up her sleeve, Alexandra is embracing her collaborative role as Medical Student Liaison to ensure that medical students have the opportunity to know about how amazing a career in paediatrics is, and also to experience the field firsthand! If you are a paediatrician in Canada, please email Jhan and/or I directly (emails below J) in order to facilitate engagement.
We look forward to working together to ensure the bright future of paediatrics has its appropriate sunglasses and sunscreen, and the fun we have is helmeted on bikes and less so on trampolines. The time is now for risky play, so let’s engage together for a safety-first approach to a great 2024-2025 year!
