Starting on January 1, 2022 the PGME Office is implementing a PA Professional Development Fund to provide eligible staff members with up to $1,000 per calendar year to support their professional development.
Approval process:
After reviewing the PA Professional Development Fund to confirm eligibility applicants should obtain written approval from their Program Director, or delegate and complete the application form. Note: please ensure that approval of your Program Director and the PGME Office is confirmed before committing to any professional development activities.
Time Away from Work:
Program Administrators and Program Directors are reminded that completion of such activities may require time away from usual duties during the regular work day and approval should take this into consideration. Queen’s Human Resources states that: ‘It is recommended that managers allow up to three hours per week for employees attending courses; this is a guideline only and it is up to a manager’s discretion as operational responsibilities must take priority over the employee’s educational activities.’
Reimbursement process:
Upon completion of professional development activities approved staff members will need to seek reimbursement from their department or program, who will then submit proof of reimbursement to the PGME Office, who will generate a journal entry to reimburse the department/program.
You will also need to submit written feedback on how your learning objectives were met so that a determination can be made if it needs to be shared with the larger group.
Please also remember to submit proof of completion of your activity, to the PGME Office within 30 days of completion. E. g. a certificate of completion or attendance
Suggested professional development course/conferences:
- ICRE Program Administrators conference (part of the International Conference on Residency Education offered by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada) *See note below
- ICRE conference (The International Conference on Residency Education offered by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada)
- CCME (The Canadian Conference on Medical Education)
- CAMEO (Canadian Administrators in Medical Education Operations) {include pdf brochure}
- FMNEA (Family Medicine National Education Administrators) annual conference for Program Administrators at the Family Medicine Forum (FMF)
- ACCADA conference (Association of Canadian Clinical Academic Department Administrators)
- APC (Administrative Professionals Conference)
- Certificate in Process Management offered on occasion through Queen's by Excellence Canada
- Crucial Conversations course
- Smith School of Business Executive Education programs, which are 50% for Queen’s staff members.
* The PGME Office encourages all new PAs to attend the ICRE PA Conference in their first year in their role and will cover their registration, travel and accommodation costs separately from this fund. Anyone wishing to attend the ICRE PA conference in subsequent years will need to use the PA Professional Development Fund to cover some/all of the associated costs of attending (registration, travel and accommodation) depending on the location.
Other university professional development resources include:
Queen’s HR Learning & Development:
LinkedIn Learning - LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform that offers training on topics such as software, technology, business and creative skills. Containing the full Lynda.com library, LinkedIn Learning provides thousands of current, high-quality courses – free courses
Tuition Assistance:
Educational Development fund - pays tuition fees for Queen's credit courses (to a maximum per academic year) taken on a part-time basis.
Professional Development fund - reimburses tuition fees (to a maximum of $400 per academic year) for work-related courses taken at other recognized educational institutions.