Geoff Carr Lupus Fellowship 2010/2011

The successful candidate will likely have completed his/her core training in Internal Medicine or Pediatrics and have completed a minimum of two years in rheumatology. Lupus Ontario administers the Fellowship. Click here to download the application. Applications for the academic year 2010/2011 must reach Lupus Ontario not later than January15^th, 2010.

General:

1. This Fellowship is offered in competition annually to provide advanced training to a rheumatologist specializing in lupus at an Ontario Lupus Clinic.

2. The Fellowship is administered by Lupus Ontario, 2900 John Street, Suite 301, Markham, Ontario,  L3R 5G3, Phone 905-415-1099 or 1-877-240-1099, Fax: 905-415-9874, email: admin@lupusontario.org. Awards are made on the recommendation of The Arthritis Society's Medical Advisory Committee. Lupus Ontario reserves the right to approve or decline awards without stating its reasons.

3. Geoff Carr Lupus Fellowships are awarded for a period of 12 months only. These awards are not renewable.

4. Tenure of a Fellowship will normally commence on July 1, but Lupus Ontario may, on request, authorize a different date of commencement.

5. Successful candidates are expected to devote themselves for a period of 12 consecutive months wholly to the objectives of the Fellowship; namely they will assess and follow patients with SLE in an accredited lupus clinic, participate in patient education, as well as physician education and become involved in clinical research.

6. During that time they are not permitted to receive remuneration for any other work or hold a second major scholarship, except that, with the approval of their supervisors, they may engage in and accept remuneration for such departmental activities that are conducive to their development as clinicians, teachers or investigators. If a Fellowship is not held for the full 12 months, Lupus Ontario should be notified. A pro-rated reduction in the stipend will be made.

Eligibility:

7. A successful candidate for a Geoff Carr Lupus Fellowship will have completed his/her core training in Internal or Pediatric medicine, and at least two years of rheumatology. 

8. This award is open to both Canadian and foreign applicants with preference given to Canadians.

9. Awards are held only at accredited Lupus Clinics as defined by Lupus Ontario criteria, i.e., availability of at least 100 patients, associated with an Arthritis Centre at an Ontario medical school, available data accumulation - retrieval system to follow patients, appropriate academic and administrative personnel, designated clinical area and access to laboratory and in-patient facilities.

10. The following are accredited Lupus Clinics (as at July 2006, subject to completed progress reports):
    1. Ottawa General Hospital - Ottawa, Ontario
    2. Hospital for Sick Children - Toronto, Ontario
    3. McMaster University - Hamilton, Ontario
    4. University of Toronto Lupus Clinic - Toronto Western Hospital
    5. Arthritis Institute at St. Joseph's Health Care Centre - London, Ontario

Stipends:

11. The stipend attached to the Geoff Carr Lupus Fellowship will be $65,000 Cdn. per annum and will be administered through the institution of the supervisor.

12. Awardees may be subject to personal income tax in Canada or in accordance with the applicable law of their country of origin. As evidence of stipends paid during the calendar year, Geoff Carr Lupus Fellows will be furnished a Canadian tax form T4A during the succeeding February.  No deductions will be made at source for any purpose.

13. Fellows are Post Graduate Trainees, not employees of Lupus Ontario.  Their status with respect to hospital insurance and other social security measures is that of a student. Fellows are advised to ascertain and take advantage of the medical and other insurance benefits for which they may be eligible at the institution of tenure.

14. Geoff Carr Lupus Fellows will receive their payments in the same manner as other post-doctoral equivalents in their department and the university will be reimbursed for their salary by Lupus Ontario.

15. Geoff Carr Lupus Fellows will be awarded a travel allowance up to $1000 Cdn to meet their out-of-pocket expenses to attend one or more professional or scientific meetings where the Fellow is presenting the results of their research. The Fellow's supervisor must countersign specific requests for the authorization of travel allowances.

Immigration and Licensure:

16. Geoff Carr Lupus Fellows engaged in clinical activities and not licensed to practice medicine within the jurisdiction in which their Fellowships are held will need a work-study visa to enter Canada. This will require the assistance of the Canadian supervisor and the help of the supervisor's Dean's office. To obtain an educational license in Ontario, a work-study visa from Canada immigration is needed. An educational license is necessary if the awardee is to engage in clinical activities.

17. Ordinarily, an awardee who is not a graduate of a North American medical school must take the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination to obtain the Medical Council of Canada certificate before an educational license can be issued. Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination is the Canadian equivalent of the ECFMG examination and certification. Examinations in our two official languages and are held twice a year in Canada and various parts of the world. For precise information about this evaluating examination candidates should write to: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 100-2283 St. Laurent Blvd, Box 8234, Station T, Ottawa, Ontario, K1J 3H7, Canada.

18. Once the Medical Council of Canada certificate has been obtained by examination then the awardee's Canadian supervisor, with the help of the Dean's office, should apply to the Ontario licensing authority for an educational license by contacting The Registrar, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, 80 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2E2. If the awardee already holds a faculty position and/or has a faculty position to return to, then on the recommendation of the Dean of the host medical school and the approval of the Ontario licensing body, an 'Exchange Visitor' educational license or 'Courtesy Registration' may be issued without the awardee having to take the evaluating examination of the Medical Council of Canada. The awardee's supervisor should consult the licensing body to see if the awardee might qualify for this type of educational license.

19. Once the Provincial Ministry of Health has authorized a work permit for the Geoff Carr Lupus Fellow, then the Canada Immigration will send an enabling certificate to the awardee for presentation to Canada Immigration in his/her home country. This enabling certificate allows a work-study visa to be issued to the awardee by Canada Immigration at the Canadian Embassy or Consulate in his/her home country. In most provinces, a work-study visa is a prerequisite for an educational license.

Applications:

20. Applications for Geoff Carr Lupus Fellowships should be submitted on the prescribed form (see the 'general' section of this webpage) to reach Lupus Ontario, 2900 John Street, Suite 301, Markham, Ontario, L3R 5G3, Phone: 905-415-1099 or 1-877-240-1099, Fax: 905-415-9874 no later than January 15, 2010. Applications received after January 15, 2010 will be considered only after all applications received on time have been dealt with. So that Lupus Ontario may make clear copies for its purposes, an original only of the application need be submitted, typed single-spaced in black. Candidates are advised to retain a copy for their own records.
    Together with the application, the candidate must furnish Lupus Ontario with:
    1. an outline of the proposed research and training program to be undertaken by the applicant
    2. letters of recommendation from three referees, one of whom should be the current or most recent supervisor; it will be to the candidate's advantage if one or more of these referees are academic rheumatologists or medical educators; 
    3. a letter of acceptance from the proposed supervisor at the institution at which the candidate has arranged the training, which should include an outline of the proposed training program; 
    4. a certified transcript of the undergraduate record, if available
    5. a current CV

Reports and Publications:

21. On completion of the training year, Geoff Carr Lupus Fellows should submit to Lupus Ontario a report (not to exceed four pages) covering their educational, clinical and research activities. This report should reach Lupus Ontario not later than two months following the completion of the Fellowship. Lupus Ontario will also request the Fellow's Supervisor to submit a confidential assessment of his/her future as a clinician, teacher and investigator, two months following the completion of the Fellowship.

22. Should the work of a Fellow result in the publication of papers, these may be published with the approval of the supervisor. In any published paper, Fellows should acknowledge the fact that they were Geoff Carr Lupus Fellows at the time the work was undertaken.

Should you require any additional information on the adjudication process, please contact:

Julie Wysocki
Manager, Research and Career Development Program
The Arthritis Society
Tel: (416) 979-3353 x 393
Fax: (416) 979-1149
jwysocki@arthritis.ca

All other inquiries please contact:
Lupus Ontario (905)-415-1099, admin@lupusontario.org

This page was last reviewed/updated on : 11/26/2009