FACILITIES:

Each resident has office space with computer and internet access, visual and audio capabilities for tele-psychology, as well as lockable space.  All residents have access to audio-visual equipment to record sessions for supervision, a large hospital library and a large mental health hospital library, all with literature search capabilities and assistance.

RENUMERATION:

Annual salary is $34,000.00 ($CAN) with 4% vacation pay (equivalent to 10 paid vacation days).  Residents are also eligible for 11 paid statutory holidays, one floater day to take as they wish, and they may take up to 5 paid educational days during their residency year.

SUPERVISION:

Formally scheduled, clinical supervision is provided for a minimum of four hours per week. There are other supervision experiences each week, which includes activities such as co-therapy, opportunities to learn more about psychology in the context of our professional identity, and participation in case conference weekly.  

RESIDENT SCHEDULE:

Residents are with us for a full year.  This means that they will be spending approximately 1950 hours with NORPIC over the course of their residency and be working a 37.5 hour work week.  It is recognized that the resident’s role is primarily that of a trainee and therefore their time spent is direct and indirect service demands are limited to a maximum of 60% of the resident’s time. Ten percent of their time is devoted to vacation, professional education days, and statutory holidays, 12.5% of their time is spent receiving (10%) and giving (2.5%) supervision, 10% of their time is devoted to quality improvement / program evaluation / social responsiveness engagement, and the remaining 7.5% is spent in education and didactics such as formalized seminars, ad hoc training seminars or conferences, reading, etc.

A Typical Work Week for a resident would include the following:

Educational Seminars, Didactic Experiences, & Case Conferences:

Formal teaching is an integral aspect of the residents’ experience. All residents participate in weekly seminars on professional and clinical issues as well as weekly case presentations and any departmental learning opportunities.  Whenever possible, inclusion of a Provincial seminar series and a National training seminar series will be incorporated. Thus, residents have the opportunity to acquire knowledge and develop competence in a variety of areas of clinical psychology, regardless of which area of emphasis they have chosen.  Residents may also attend video conferenced rounds that are available through the respective organizations.  Residents are expected to attend regular case conferences and are expected to present three case conferences over the year (reflecting at least one assessment and one treatment cases). 

Quality Improvement / Program Evaluation / Social Responsiveness Experience:

Residents have dedicated time to explore quality improvement/program evaluation and social responsiveness through exposure to both training didactics and completion of a formal project.  To accomplish this, residents will spend a portion of their training year which approximates to 175 hours (10%) devoted to either a QI/PE initiative or a social responsive initiative to extend their learning. 

Residents will be encouraged to select an area of focus that is less familiar to them in the spirit of broadening their knowledge and skills with the overarching goal of rounding out their understanding and appreciation of the various scopes in psychological practice. 
This dedicated time can be operationalized and embedded into the resident’s schedule in a manner that best reflects the overall composition of their rotation and learning with a strong preference for monthly exposure (1/2 day a week, 1 full day bi-weekly, or 2 consecutive days a month).  Regardless of chosen stream (QI/PE or Social Responsiveness) their experience is overseen by the Quality Improvement Director.

EVALUATION:

At the start of each rotation, residents meet with their supervisor(s) to establish a formal, written supervision agreement in line with College of Psychologists of Ontario standards which covers the objectives of the rotation and the method(s) of supervision. Formal, written evaluations are completed at the mid-point and end of each major rotation. These include both an evaluation of the resident by the supervisor and an evaluation of the rotation and quality of training by the resident.  Supervisors are also evaluated by the residents to ensure receptivity to resident feedback which supports ongoing growth, development, and reflection for our supervisors.

Successful completion of the residency is based on satisfactory completion of the objectives for each rotation as well as meeting the formal standards of the program (supplied to each resident on commencement). Residents are required to pass the final rotation in order to pass the residency. Written reports are provided to the residents’ university training program as required, but will, at a minimum, be provided at a mid-point and at the end of the residency. The final report contains a description of the training experiences and skills acquired, number of training hours, and whether the residency was completed successfully.

If the supervisor believes that a resident is having serious difficulties in the rotation, or if the resident has concerns about the quality of training they are receiving, the Policies and Procedures Manual clearly outlines procedures to follow.  The program has formal, written policies and procedures for evaluation and grievances.

 ETHICAL AND RESPONSIBLE PRACTICE:

NORPIC endorses and supports the Code of Ethics of the Canadian Psychological Association.  Psychologists are aware of and in compliance with relevant provincial and federal laws and statutes, which govern health care.  Psychologists are aware of the limits of their competence, and practice within their areas of competence. 

RESIDENT REQUIREMENTS:

NORPIC Residents are hired as contract employees of the host organization, St. Joseph's Care Group (SJCG). 

All applicants should be aware of the following conditions of employment: 

1. Residents will need to provide a satisfactory vulnerable persons criminal record check (obtained within the 6 months prior to beginning the residency and provided to Human Resources).  

2. Healthcare workers within Ontario’s hospitals are required to show evidence of immunity for certain communicable diseases such as measles, rubella, varicella, tuberculosis etc. and will be required to provide proof of (copy of vaccination history) to the Occupational Health and Safety Department at the time of hire.  A 2 Step TB Test may be required at the time of hire and will be provided by the Occupational Health and Safety Department.

3. Residents will need to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination status at the time of hire.

4. Residents will be required to obtain professional liability insurance prior to their start day and will be required to hold valid insurance throughout the duration of the residents year.  

*Residents are required to meet these conditions prior to starting the residency year.  Employment offers can therefore be altered or rescinded if these requirements are not met. 

DIVERSITY:

Psychological practice should be grounded in an appreciation of cultural diversity and psychologists should be competent in adapting their methods of practice in response to individual differences.  Northwestern Ontario is a very heterogeneous geographical landscape, where psychologists need to be able to interact competently with persons from a wide variety of cultural and ethnic groups, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientations, disabilities, and ages.  NORPIC recognizes that the population we serve encompasses the larger geographic region of Northwestern Ontario (NWO) and individuals throughout NWO may be traveling up to four hours for treatment on a weekly basis.  Service delivery happens in Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, and many of the fly in Indigenous Reserves in Northwestern Ontario.   Rural and Northern communities not only pose special challenges for delivery of high-quality accessible health care services, but also these small resource based communities have distinct cultures which influence their use of the health care system.