University of British Columbia - Dermatology - Vancouver
2022 R-1 Main Residency Match - first iteration
CMG Stream for CMG
Dr. Allison Gregory
835 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver , British Columbia, V5Z 4E8
Program Contacts
Important Information
Dermatology is still in the planning phases of Competence by Design (CBD), however, it is our goal to have this program in place for those beginning residency in July 2022.
There are currently three CMG regular stream positions.
General Instructions
Program application language: English
Supporting Documentation
• Canadian Birth Certificate or Act of Birth
• Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
• Passport page showing Canadian Citizenship
• Canadian Permanent Resident Card (both sides of card)
Required documents for ALL applicants
Canadian Citizenship
The province of British Columbia will accept one of the following notarized/certified documents as proof of the citizenship/permanent residency and is required for all types of applicants. Photocopies are accepted but, citizenship documents other than what is listed below are not accepted. Proof of citizenship/permanent residency must be submitted to CaRMS by the File Review deadline. No allowances for late submission.
- Canadian Birth Certificate
- Canadian Passport
- Canadian Citizenship Certificate
- Canadian Citizen Card (both sides)
- Current Canadian Permanent Resident Card (both sides)
• IELTS
• Occupational English Test (OET) - Medicine
• Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) - General
CMG / USMG
If you graduated from an English medical school in Canada (including McGill) or the US, you are exempt from providing proof of language proficiency.
Candidates who attended medical school in Quebec or the University of Ottawa where the language of instruction or the primary language of patient care was not English, must fulfill the English Language Proficiency requirements of the College of Physicians of Surgeons of BC as identified below. This requirement is the same for IMGs and is required by the start of the Ranking Period.
IMG
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC requires applicants to be proficient in the English language.
The Registration Committee may determine that an applicant has demonstrated English language proficiency if the following conditions are met:
- The primary language of medical education was English, and
- The primary language of patient care was English.
Applications received by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC on or before June 30, 2022, who have not met the above requirements will require one of: IELTS Academic examination, OET Medicine Examination or CELPIP General Examination for licensing (see criteria below). As such, applicants must submit the proof of English language proficiency to CaRMS by the start of Ranking Period. Photocopies are acceptable.
- IELTS Academic - Minimum score of 7 in each component.
- IELTS scores are valid for a period of 2 years from the date taken.
- OET Medicine Examination - Minimum grade of B in each component.
- OET results are valid for a period of 2 years from the date taken.
- CELPIP General Examination - Minimum score of 9 in each component.
- CELPIP results are valid for a period of two years from the date taken.
Please note that results from these three examinations cannot be mixed. Candidates must meet all of the criteria in either the IELTS, OET or CELPIP examination.
Applicants are advised to review the College of Physicians and Surgeons English Language Proficiency Requirements here: https://www.cpsbc.ca/files/pdf/REG-ELP.pdf
Three letters of reference are required. If more than 3 letters are submitted, only the first 3 will be reviewed. They should be written by a faculty member if possible. At least one Dermatology faculty reference is recommended, but not mandatory.
Order from your Registrar
Medical Student Performance RecordThis should be sent from the candidate's medical school or Dean's Office.
Personal LetterAn original, short personal letter (approximately 550-600 words) expressing goals, dermatology interests and experience is required.
Undergraduate Transcript (Bachelor's Degree)Undergraduate transcripts must be included.
Graduate Transcript (Master/PhD Degree)If applicable.
Abstract/PublicationsCandidates are encouraged to submit abstracts of their publications rather than the publication itself. Authored textbook chapters, patient information pamphlets, etc can be submitted as well.
Custom Résumé / CVAwards, distinctions, extra-curricular and health advocacy activities can be listed here or within the CaRMs application itself.
Review Process
Applications submitted after file review has opened on January 31, 2022
Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened on January 31, 2022
Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on January 31, 2022
The following are considered in the selection process:
1) A maximum of THREE (3) reference letters can be submitted. Any number in excess of this will not be read or considered.
2) Personal letter (550-600 words) expressing goals, dermatology interests and relevant experience.
3) Medical school transcript & Medical Student Performance Record
4) Undergraduate (eg. BA / BSc) and graduate (eg. MSc, PhD) transcripts are also required
5) Publications (journal articles as abstracts, health advocacy articles, patient support group articles, textbook chapters, etc)
6) Custom Résumé / Curriculum vitae that may include volunteer activities, scholarly accomplishments, awards, achievements, etc.
Once these documents are reviewed, candidates will be ranked and then an interview list will be generated.
Interviews
Candidates who are successful in obtaining a virtual interview will be notified well in advance if any changes occur to this date.
Selection Criteria
Apart from academic performance, candidates will be selected on the basis of their potential to contribute significantly to dermatology, and their proven ability to function well individually and in group settings.
The file review will assess:
1) Undergraduate transcripts, (eg. BSc, BA, etc)
2) Graduate transcripts (MSc, PhD, etc.) if applicable
3) Dean's Letter / medical student performance record (MSPR)
4) Medical school transcript
5) Three (3) reference letters
6) Personal letter
And also the following, which can be listed in a CV:
7) Awards & distinctions
8) Research (ongoing projects, publications, abstracts, posters / oral presentations, textbook chapters, etc)
10) Extra-curricular / health advocacy activities
Program goals
At UBC, we are committed to training physicians who will ultimately be serving our population. Residents in our program are expected to demonstrate clinical and academic excellence, exceptional interpersonal and teamwork skills, research experience, and a sense of responsibility and dedication to the profession. Residents are expected to be active community members and demonstrate balance as evidenced by engagement in volunteer, extracurricular or other types of activities. At UBC, we rely on the entire province for training. Therefore, the ability to complete rotations 'away' from your home base is expected.
Selection process goals
- Identify applicants interest in dermatology, and those who will develop into exceptional clinicians, educators, administrators and researchers
- Identify applicants who have demonstrated ability to interact appropriately with patients, colleagues, and healthcare team members alike
- Identify applicants who have demonstrated attributes highlighted in the CanMEDS 2015 roles.
- Identify applicants who have demonstrated ability and enthusiasm to learn and are able to adapt to the various demands of residency training.
- Identify applicants who have a sincere interest to serve British Columbians
File review process
Review team composition : Our review team is composed of the CaRMs Selection Committee composed of the program director, faculty and staff, and residents in the program.
Average number of applications received by our program in the last five years : 51 - 200
Average percentage of applicants offered interviews : 26 - 50 %
| File component | Criteria |
|---|---|
| CV | Research, publications, electives, extra-curricular activities, volunteer work, & awards |
| Electives | Clinical evaluations (in particular those from our specialty) |
| Examinations | We do not evaluate this file component. |
| Extra-curricular | Volunteering (Medical and non medical) and mentoring |
| Leadership skills | Holding office in a student government, clubs and organizations |
| MSPRs | Demonstrated interpersonal skills |
| Personal letters | Unique aspects & traits that would demonstrate interest and commitment to dermatology |
| Reference documents | Traits that would characterize an excellent clinician, researcher, educator & leader |
| Research/Publications | Demonstrate an interest in advancing research in dermatology, before, during and after residency |
| Transcripts | Academic performance from undergraduate, graduate and medical school studies |
Elective criteria
Due to the pandemic and exceptional circumstances of 2021, we do not require or implicity expect an on-site elective or rotation.
Interview process
Interview format :
We do not re-schedule interviews for applicants after we have completed the scheduling process.
| Interview components | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Collaboration skills | Ability to work coherently with others |
| Collegiality | Appropriate behavior, attitude, and ability to work well with others |
| Communication skills | Ability to speak and write fluently in English, with excellent verbal & written communication |
| Health advocacy | Demonstrate commitment, compassion and care to patients |
| Interest in the discipline | Demonstrated interest and ability in the specialty; evidence for compassion |
| Interest in the program | Demonstrated interest in the clinical, didactic, research and administrative aspects of the program |
| Leadership skills | Ability to initiate programs, lead organizations or groups, and make an impact |
| Professionalism | Correspondence with staff and chief residents, behavior during interivew |
| Scholarly activities | Awards and achievements may come up when the candidate answers an interview question |
Information gathered outside of CaRMS application
We do not consider any information gathered outside of the CaRMS application and local interview processes.Ranking process
The behavior(s) exhibited below during the interview process may prevent an applicant from being ranked by our program :Program Highlights
Quick Facts
The rate of residents to faculty is approximately 1:3
Residents may travel inter-provincially and/or internationally to do electives with the approval of the Program Director and the Residency Program Committee (RPC) up to a maximum of 6 months in the 5 year residency.
Residents provide in-hospital consultation services with an average patient load of 15 to 25 cases per month. Residents rotate through outpatient clinics where the patient load is variable.
Community rotations are mandatory in places such as Victoria. Other locations in BC and Yukon are possible as part of the Tele-Dermatology and Community Dermatology blocks depending on availability of faculty.
Sufficient time is given for research and there is at least one research block per year. Residents in senior years (PGY4 and PGY5) may have more research time scheduled if approved by the Program Director. Please consult the Specialty Training Requirements for Dermatology (2012 version) on the Royal College website for further details.
The Department of Dermatology organizes a very well-received week of teaching for 2nd year medical students, as part of the integument portion ("Rash Week")of their curriculum. Residents have the opportunity to spend a week in Victoria, Prince George and Kelowna to assist with the teaching.
Resources
Electronic resources are available from both the Department and from the University itself through the UBC Campus Wide Log-in (CWL). Residents will be given a username and password and will have round the clock online access to many dermatology textbooks including Fitzpatrick & Bolognia.
The Department has electronic access to many of the commonly read English language dermatology journals, as well as access to several online references. Physical copies are available as well. In addition, the homepage of the Department, www.derm.ubc.ca, maintains links to several teaching resources. Further electronic medical resources are available through the UBC Health Sciences Library. The Department also maintains an extensive library of books and hard-cover journals available at all times.
Program Curriculum
This residency program is for 5 years.
Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.
General information
The program is based at the UBC teaching hospitals where the Department of Dermatology and Skin Science has clinics. Residents will receive training in both inpatient and outpatient dermatology.
Residents also rotate through subspecialty clinics which include a senior resident clinic, HIV dermatology, dermatology for marginalized and inner-city patients, pediatric dermatology, psoriasis daycare and phototherapy unit, dermatologic surgery (including Mohs), laser & photo-medicine clinic, wound healing clinic, immuno-dermatology clinic, connective tissue disease clinic, skin lymphoma clinic, melanoma clinic and a combined dermatology/radiation oncology clinic. Established electives in Tele-Dermatology (with some travel to rural communities) and cosmetic / aesthetic dermatology are open to residents as well as well, depending on preceptor availability.
Clinical responsibilities increase through the period of training under staff supervision. There is an active academic program of morphology lectures, dermatopathology slide sessions with lectures and discussions, clinical meetings, weekly academic noon rounds with actual patients, teaching rounds, journal clubs and formal grand rounds. Weekly basic science and clinical seminars are prepared and presented by trainees under the direction of faculty members. Emphasis throughout the three year core dermatology program is placed on excellence in clinical dermatology and basic skin science. Clinical and basic science research is strongly encouraged. Elective time for PGY4 and PGY5 residents is available.
Candidates who select this program will complete at least one year (PGY-1, PGY-2) of approved resident training as per the Royal College Specialty Training Requirements (STR).
Competency by Design (CBD) planning is underway and it is our goal to have this program in place for those starting their training in July 2022.
PGY-1
The first year of residency is based at the Royal Columbian Hospital (New Westminster), St. Paul's Hospital (downtown Vancouver) or at the Victoria teaching hospitals (Vancouver Island). This year is based on the old "rotating internship." Residents rank their preferred sites but if there is more than one individual who is interested in one particular site, the process will be determined at random. This year provides a broad-base to residents and allows them to consolidate clinical concepts learned in medical school and remain well-rounded.
PGY1 residents will be asked to come to the Dermatology academic half-day on Tuesday afternoon once a month to maintain their connection to the program. The PGY1 sites have their own, separate academic-half day as well.
Residents are also encouraged and will be supported to attend the Spring Update dermatology review conference, which serves as a preparatory course for their core PGY3-5 years.
Residents are no longer able to obtain a general license (GP license) after two years of post-graduate training. This license was unique to BC and ended in 2010.
PGY-2
Year Two emphasizes internal medicine and pediatrics rotations, in addition to at least one month of clinical dermatology and one month of dermatopathology. Mandatory one month rotations include Infectious Disease and Rheumatology, as per the current Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons 2012 specialty training requirements for dermatology. Residents are also required to do selective training, including at least 3 of the following: plastic surgery (required by our program), vascular surgery, emergency medicine, oncology, pathology, allergy & immunology, family medicine, medical genetics, occupational medicine, psychiatry, ophthalmology, oral medicine and otolaryngology. Some of these rotations will have already been completed in the PGY1 rotating year.
Please consult the following link for more details regarding the speciallty training requirements (STR) in Dermatology:
https://www.royalcollege.ca/rcsite/documents/ibd/dermatology-str-e.pdf
Residents (PGY1 and PGY2) will be supported to attend the Spring Update dermatology review conference, which serves as a preparatory course for their core PGY3-5 years.
PGY-3
The third year is largely dedicated to hospital-based consult services and hospital-based clinics. The training includes the rotations in the following hospitals: Vancouver General Hospital, Skin Care Centre outpatient clinics, BC Cancer Agency outpatient clinics, St. Paul's Hospital, BC Children's Hospital, and hospitals and community clinics in Victoria.
Specialty clinics include photo-medicine, psoriasis day-care, immuno-dermatology, contact dermatitis clinic (with patch testing), wound healing clinic, rapid-access dermatology clinics, paediatric dermatology, melanoma clinic, cutaneous lymphoma clinic, joint dermatology-radiation oncology clinic for non-melanoma skin cancers, transplant dermatology, and combined dermatology-rheumatology clinic.
There is also a once weekly, longitudinal Resident Clinic where residents are given increasing and graduated responsibility.
PGY-4
The PGY-4 residents are assigned similar rotations as in PGY3 but with increased expectation to excel in both the medical expert and non-medical expert CanMEDs roles.
PGY4 residents will be assigned some inpatient consult months in a senior resident capacity, but the majority of the time will be spent in the outpatient subspecialty clinics listed above.
Residents are expected to complete a minimum of 3 months of Dermatologic Surgery and 3 months of Pediatric Dermatology in their PGY3, PGY4 and PGY5 years.
There are more opportunities for electives and research blocks in the PGY4 and PGY5 years.
PGY-5
The PGY-5 focuses on the needs of the resident and his/her future goals.
Research
Residents are required to do a scholarly research relevant to Dermatology from the PGY3 onwards. Research in PGY1 and PGY2 is encouraged as well.
Residents can seek the assistance of the Research Director, Program Director or speak with individual faculty to find projects or develop research ideas.
The program has active research units that include immuno-dermatology, photo-medicine, clinical trials, and epidemiology.
Research will be tailored according to career goals and academic interest. Participation in the annual UBC Dermatology Skin Research Day is mandatory for core residents (R3-R5). First and second year residents must attend, but are not required to present research. Scholarly activities are encouraged throughout the residency. Research interests of the Department include skin cancer, photo-medicine, genomics, cutaneous barrier function, immuno-dermatology, and wound healing. Residents attending national and international conferences in PGY3-5 will generally receive funding if they present an oral or poster presentation.
Training Sites
Resident rotations will be scheduled at the following hospitals and facilities over the Lower Mainland.
The Skin Care Centre and Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.
BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.
St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.
BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, B.C.
Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster, B.C.
Mount St. Joseph Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.
Island Medical Program, Victoria, B.C.
Northern Medical Program, Prince George, B.C.
Southern Medical Program, Kelowna, B.C.