Spring 2017 (Volume 27, Number 1)

An Update on the CRA’s Programs for Students and Young Rheumatologists

By Christine Charnock, CEO of the CRA

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Since it was founded, the CRA has worked to promote and advance the field of rheumatology by organizing networking, training, and educational opportunities for clinicians, students, allied health professionals and researchers alike. The following programs are just a few of our initiatives to help highlight rheumatology to students and residents and to support residents and early-in-career rheumatologists.

FLIRT

The Future Leaders in Rheumatology Training (FLIRT) is a mentorship program designed for rheumatologists at an early career stage who are likely to become leaders in research and/or education and/or advocacy in Canada.

This program seeks to identify and promote leadership in community, research, and academic rheumatologists early in their career. It is comprised of a variety of initiatives identified via a needs assessment conducted with participants, and a collaboration with Canadian mentors and expert advisors. This program is presented by leaders in academic centres and community practice and covers topics relevant to all “rising stars” regardless of their practice setting.

To learn more, visit https://rheum.ca/en/members/flirt, and turn to page 11 for Dr. Janet Pope’s description of this popular mentorship program.

The Dilemma Rheum

The Dilemma Rheum is a series of educational teleconferences designed for recently certified rheumatologists and trainees. Each session features an expert on a particular topic who will discuss and answer questions on cases brought forward by participants. Topics discussed during these educational teleconferences are always changing, and future topic suggestions are welcome.

Upcoming sessions include:

• Sarcoidosis and other problem cases – May 10, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET
• Autoinflammatory Diseases, Behcet’s and other problem cases – June 6, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET

Our feedback from attendees has been fabulous; they love the opportunity to be able to ask questions directly to experts in the field. To register, please visit https://rheum.ca/en/education/dilemma_rheum. To read more about a former Dilemma Rheum participant’s thoughts on this program, read Dr. Tom Appleton’s article on page 12.

NRRW

We are in the midst of planning the next iteration of the National Rheumatology Residents’ Weekend (NRRW) designed to bring together all of the residents and program directors from across Canada to address topics that are better suited to a larger group education session and discussion. It is also an opportunity for rheumatology residents to network with their colleagues and form lifelong working and personal relationships.

Residents’ Pre-course

We continue to support the highly valued Residents’ Pre-course, which welcomes any students who attend the CRA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). It covers topics that both residents and program directors suggest be covered. Popular sessions include those on career planning, practice set-up, x-ray interpretation and other disease-specific topics.

ASM Mentorship Program

The mentorship program has been developed to ensure that students and residents are made to feel part of the CRA Annual Scientific Meeting and rheumatology community and to introduce them to people and sessions at our meeting. It enables our “seasoned” members to connect with up-and-coming members, to share their wisdom as well as learn from our “newbies.” This is where great partnerships and connections are made to support careers and foster learning.

TROT

The objective of the Training the Rheumatologists of Tomorrow (TROT) program is to increase awareness and interest in rheumatology among medical students, internal medicine residents, and pediatric residents. The program aims to produce and disseminate evidence-based messages about rheumatology, so that students’ future career choices take into account first-hand knowledge about the subspecialty.

With an impending severe shortage of rheumatologists in Canada, TROT’s mandate is as important as ever. For more information on TROT and their initiatives, turn to page 6 or contact Dr. Alf Cividino at civi@cogeco.ca.

The CRA is very keen to meet the needs of our future members, so if you have any suggestions…please send them our way!

Christine Charnock
CEO, Canadian Rheumatology Association
Newmarket, Ontario