Program Contacts

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Important Information

The Postgraduate Medical Education Orientation, which is mandatory, will be held on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.

Competency-Based Medical Education

As of July 2019, residents entering Cardiac Surgery will participate in competency-based training through the Competence by Design (CBD) educational initiative of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

To contribute to the success of Canadian physicians and the delivery of high-quality patient care, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has embarked upon an initiative to introduce competency-based medical education (CBME) in Canadian postgraduate specialty training and in professional practice in Canada. This initiative, called Competence by Design (CBD), aims to enhance patient care by aligning medical education and lifelong learning with evolving patient needs and empowering learners to more fully engage in their education process. 

CBD will use time as a framework rather than the basis for progression. It is not anticipated that the duration of training will change for the majority of trainees. Residency programs will be broken down into stages, and each stage will have a series of milestones based on required competencies. These milestones will create more targeted learning outcomes and involve more frequent, formative assessments within the clinical workplace to ensure residents are developing and receiving feedback on the skills they need.

All programs implementing CBD will continue to undergo the same rigorous accreditation processes as traditional programs. All CBD programs (and traditional programs) will continue to lead to Royal College approved certification. Certification for trainees in both CBD and traditional programs will include the completion of a Royal College examination; however, residents in CBD programs will also be assessed against program milestones throughout their training. Within a CBD program, all milestones and the Royal College examination must be successfully completed to achieve certification.

For more information, please contact cbd@royalcollege.ca.

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Return of Service

The following applicants will be required to sign a Return of Service “ROS” contract with the Province of Manitoba. The ROS commitment is commensurate with the length of the training program.

• All applicants entering the Family Medicine – Northern Remote Stream (including transfers into the program)
• All IMGs entering all training programs

IMGs already holding a return of service obligation must disclose these obligations at the time of application. IMGs who have undischarged return of service obligations may not be eligible to begin training in a position funded by Manitoba Health.

Such individuals may wish to contact Shared Health at pmao-residents@sharedhealthmb.ca for more information.

 

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

If you have any questions regarding application to the Cardiac Surgery Postgraduate Training Program at the University of Manitoba, please contact our Program Administrator, Karen Soares, at ksoares@hsc.mb.ca.

You are required to fulfill ALL of the most current Provincial Criteria for Canadian Medical Graduates for Manitoba

The criteria can be found at:  https://www.carms.ca/match/r-1-main-residency-match/eligibility-criteria/manitoba/

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Supporting Documentation / Information

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Review Process

Applications submitted after file review has opened on February 8, 2021

Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened  on  February 8, 2021

Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on February 8, 2021

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Interviews

Dates:

• March 17, 2021

Selection Criteria

• Superior academic standing.
• Demonstrated potential in acquiring surgical technical skills.
• Demonstrated interest in cardiac surgery.
• All applicants must complete a CASPer™ (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics) test. CASPer is an online test which assesses for non-cognitive skills and interpersonal characteristics. The confirmed dates are as below:
• Thursday December 10, 8pm EST
• Tuesday January 5, 8pm EST
• Sunday January 10, 2pm EST

https://takecasper.com/dates-times/

Program goals

The Cardiac Surgery Resident Training Program at the University of Manitoba seeks to provide the highest quality care to patients while supporting the educational, research, health and wellness needs of our residents. The aim of the program is to provide the best possible environment, technology, facilities and human resources in order to facilitate comprehensive education and training of residents, along with medical students and clinical fellows.

Selection process goals

A successful applicant will demonstrate a mature, dedicated and self-directed approach to acquiring the knowledge and technical skill set required for Cardiac Surgery. Effective communication skills and a team-based attitude are essential to working within an interdisciplinary team of care providers. Successful applicants will have elective experience in Cardiac Surgery, with an interest in ongoing research and academics.

File review process

Evaluation criteria :

Elective criteria

Interview process

Interview evaluation criteria :

Information gathered outside of CaRMS application

Specifically, we may consider:
Social interaction during program related events
Communication with program administration
Social media
Unsolicited reference letters
Unsolicited email references
Unsolicited verbal information on a candidate's prior performance
Unsolicited feedback from colleagues and co-workers

Ranking process

The behavior(s) exhibited below during the interview process may prevent an applicant from being ranked by our program :
Unprofessional or inappropriate behavior   
Did not attend interview   
Interview performance was not competitive   
Other : Any other situation, either witnessed or reported, wherein an applicant's professionalism and honesty are found to be compromised.

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Program Highlights

The University of Manitoba provides residency training in cardiac surgery. A faculty of eight surgeons perform approximately 1100 adult cardiac operations per year as well as run a dedicated 15 bed Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Unit. All surgery is performed at St. Boniface Hospital. The spectrum of adult cardiac surgery includes coronary artery bypass grafting, valve repair and replacement, repair of congenital defects, minimal access surgery, arrhythmia ablation, thoracic aortic open reconstructions and endovascular stent grafting, and mechanical circulatory support (ECMO and VAD).  There is a dedicated Thoracic Aortic Diseases Clinic. Cardiac transplantation and pediatric cardiac surgery are not performed in the province of Manitoba. Training in both of these areas is provided at the University of Alberta in Edmonton through a Royal College approved Inter-University Affiliation Agreement. The University of Manitoba has an integrated Cardiac Sciences Program including cardiac surgery, cardiology, cardiac anesthesia and critical care. Teaching and clinical exposure is done in a multi-disciplinary team approach and this offers a unique environment for learning.

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Program Curriculum

This residency program is for 6 years.

Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.

CURRICULUM

This 6-year residency program is designed to fulfill the training requirements of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for candidate examination and certification in cardiac surgery.

PGY-1 & PGY- 2

The first 2 years consist of Surgical Foundations training. Rotations are selected jointly by the Cardiac Surgery Residency Program Committee and the Surgical Foundations Program Director. These surgical and nonsurgical rotations, along with the Surgical Foundations Seminar Series, have the resident prepared to pass the Royal College Surgical Foundations Examination and serve as the basis for the future years of cardiac surgery training.

PGY-3

This is the academic enrichment year if it is spent in clinical or basic science research (further details in the section on Research). It can take place within the University of Manitoba or elsewhere at the request of the candidate and at the discretion of the program director and section head. If it is a year of focused clinical training, it is at the PGY6 level. 

PGY-4

Six months of adult cardiac surgery at a junior level and 6 months of vascular surgery at a senior level.

PGY-5

Six months each of pediatric cardiac surgery (at the University of Alberta) and adult cardiac surgery both at a senior level. 

PGY-6

One year of adult cardiac surgery at a senior level.

 

RESEARCH

All trainees are strongly encouraged to develop a research interest; this is primarily accomplished during the academic enrichment year. Residents have the option of obtaining a degree (MSc or PhD) through the Department of Surgery and the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies. This involves enrollment in the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies and the requirement for an extended research experience and to successfully complete required courses, carry out a research program and submit a thesis.

Within the Manitoba Cardiac Sciences Program, the University of Manitoba and the St. Boniface Hospital Cardiovascular Research Institute, there exist many well-established research programs particularly in the basic cardiac sciences such as physiology and molecular biology.

All residents are financially supported by the program to attend, outside Winnipeg, one scientific conference per academic year. 

 

SEMINAR/DIDACTIC SESSIONS

Weekly Cardiac Surgery Rounds consist of a variety of sessions including morbidity and mortality review, resident presentations, presentations from faculty in other programs and visiting professors. Journal Club is held in the evening approximately four to six times per year. Weekly didactic sessions with one faculty member are held for all residents to cover topics in the curriculum of cardiac surgery and the CanMEDS intrinsic roles. Faculty and residents attend weekly complex case rounds at St. Boniface Hospital.

 

EVALUATION

In-training evaluation reports, reflecting the rotation-specific goals and objectives and the CanMEDS framework, follow every rotation and are read and signed by the resident. Practice oral exams are given with progressive frequency during the last year. Residents' performance and progress are monitored closely by the Program Director and the Residency Program Committee with regular feedback to the residents.

Residents are invited to provide written evaluations of the teaching performance of the individual faculty members in an anonymous manner.

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Training Sites

The majority of training in the Cardiac Surgery Program takes place at St. Boniface Hospital.

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Additional Information

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FAQ

We do not accept late applications.