Program Administrator (PA) Resources
The PGME Office is committed to providing resources to PAs to support them in their roles.聽
A Program Administrator, or "PA", refers to an individual whose role it is to support the formal administration required for an accredited Residency or Area of Focused Competence (AFC) program to meet its educational requirements. These positions may be uniquely titled depending on the structure of the program’s department under which it falls (e.g. Program Administrator, Administrative Assistant, Program Coordinator, CBD Coordinator, Site Coordinator, etc.).
PAs are integral to the residency/AFC program and its ability to function effectively. PAs have a challenging and complex role that differs greatly from most administrative positions on campus.
PAs must have competencies in standard administrative areas (e.g. recruitment, event planning, meeting coordination) but must also be familiar with the Standards of Accreditation (and related processes), educational models (and their accompanying curricula, evaluations, and objectives), and PGME policies and procedures. Their roles additionally have a significant communications component that includes interpersonal relationship building, conflict management, and stakeholder interactions.
The Program Administrators Advisory Committee (PAAC) is a PGME committee whose purpose is to facilitate governance and oversight of program administrative support to residency/AFC programs and to support the Office of Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) and the Education Team Lead in planning, organizing, and evaluating all aspects of program administrative support.
PAAC has an active hand in PA professional development, policy reviews, the continuous quality improvement of PGME and program areas, and more. They discuss and address PA concerns brought to them by the PAs of programs for whom they represent.
The overarching PGME PA Policy governs residency/AFC PAs. Other key policies and procedures that relate specifically to PAs include:
The PGME Program Handbook is a one-stop-shop for accredited residency & AFC programs looking for our topic-specific resource toolkits (e.g. CaRMS, Accreditation), templates, forms, key PGME contacts (based on topic/common inquiries from programs), as well as information/resources that have previously been shared by PGME with our programs via our newsletters.
Please email pgmecom@ualberta.ca for the link, as access is limited.
In accordance with the General Standards of Accreditation, in the Fall of 2022 PGME launched several targeted newsletters (for residents and for PDs/PAs) to ensure ongoing communication with our stakeholders. Our goal is to both provide support to PAs in their roles and ensure they are kept in the loop with the latest information, news, reminders, deadlines, tips, and more.
If you aren't receiving these and believe you should be, please contact pgmecom@ualberta.ca.
Individual learning needs are self-identified by PAs and should be discussed on an annual basis as part of their performance review with their direct supervisor.
PGME does have centralized professional development for PAs that is developed in consultation/collaboration with PAAC. Learning needs for centralized professional development are identified by PAAC via broad PA community needs assessments.The following PA professional development opportunities are available:
- New PA Onboarding
- Monthly Workshops (with topics categorized into Administration, Residency Training, Technology, Accreditation, External Stakeholders & Organizations, Wellness & Team Building)
- Asynchronous Guides (e.g. CaRMS, Accreditation, Assessment, etc.)
- ICRE PA Conference Attendance (based on availability of grant funding)
- PGME-wide PA Meetings (approx. 6 per year)
- Annual PA Professional Development Retreat
- PGME PA Mentorship Program
- Biennial PGME PA Symposium
Additionally, there are university-level resources and support, which include:
- Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) for staff to access self-selected learning opportunities
- University Staff Learning & Development (advertised via internal monthly communications)
All PAs are automatically sent an invitation to these events. If you haven't been receiving invitations, please email pgmecom@ualberta.ca.
Resources & Quick Links
For all programs (residency, AFC, and fellowship):
- (fillable)
Residency-specific:
- (Credit, Waiver, etc.)
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Fellowship-specific:
Please visit the to access fillable and sample forms, how-to documents, process guidelines, Terms of Reference and presentation materials.
Please note that CCID login is required to access all of the above resources, templates, and forms.