Western University - Psychiatry - Windsor
2023 R-1 Main Residency Match - first iteration
CMG Stream for CMG
London Health Sciences Centre - Victoria Hospital
800 Commissioners Road E., Zone B, 8th Floor, B8-102
London, Ontario, N6A 5W9
Program Contacts
Important Information
Accredited with notice of intent to withdraw
General Instructions
Program application language: English
Western University will offer Psychiatry residency positions at two separate sites:
Windsor campus - 3 spots (2 CMG / 1 IMG)
London campus - 8 spots (5 CMG / 3 IMG)
Organizationally, both sites are part of one program and CaRMS interviews for both sites will be conducted together. However, there is a separate application for each site. You may apply to one or both sites.
- Royal College accredited program and subspecialty programs in Psychogeriatrics and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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Interprovincial electives can be taken in the PGY-1, PGY-4, and PGY-5 years
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International electives can be taken in the PGY-4 and PGY-5 years.
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Ratio of residents to faculty is very favourable. Residents can expect to have 1:1 supervision on most rotations with supervisors who are dedicated to medical education.
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The size of the Windsor program allows for more direct supervision yet provides residents with exposure to the full breadth of psychiatric practice available in larger settings.
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The number of residents in the program fosters a sense of community and camaraderie within the resident body
- There are no mandatory rural rotations but we fully support and encourage the rural experience with support from Distributed Education Network (DEN) and Ontario Psychiatric Postgraduate Education Network (OPPEN).
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We provide residents with access to electronic medical information resources.
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Program strongly supports resident social activities.
The size of the program allows individual attention and regular one-to-one contact between faculty and residents. The number of residents also facilitates cohesiveness. Residents in psychiatry at Western come from medical schools across the country and around the world, adding richness and diversity to the group.
Residents take a very active and substantive role in the continuous quality improvement of the program. Significant flexibility is offered in the selection of their rotations.
New residents coming to Windsor typically have no difficulty locating affordable accommodation in the city of Windsor. Windsor remains a wonderful city for young families.
Medical work abounds in the area and the area is known for its centrality and ease of access to multiple U.S. and world cities. Additional information about Windsor can be found at www.visitwindsoressex.com
Supporting Documentation / Information
• Canadian Birth Certificate or Act of Birth
• Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
• Confirmation of Permanent Residence in Canada
• Passport page showing Canadian Citizenship
• Canadian Permanent Resident Card (both sides of card)
Proof of current citizenship or permanent resident status must be provided by submitting one of the following verifications to CaRMS by File Review Opening Date (January 10, 2023). (Photocopies acceptable). No other forms of verification are acceptable:
- Notarized photocopy of Birth Certificate issued by an authority in Canada with any photo ID, or
- Notarized photocopy of Canadian Passport, or
- Notarized photocopy of Canadian citizenship certificate, Record of Landing; or
- Notarized photocopy of Permanent Resident Card/Canadian Citizen Card – copies of both sides of card must be provided and legible.
- Three letters of reference are required. Letters of reference are required from faculty/staff who have been your direct supervisor.
- A letter from a resident will not be considered.
- At least one letter from a physician testifying to the suitability of the candidate for psychiatry is required. Please give some thought before selecting a referee. A good choice would be a referee who has sufficient knowledge of you to enable them to:
- Comment on your interest in psychiatry.
- Comment on your clinical skills and ability to interact with patients and other members of the healthcare team.
- Be able to compare your performance to the expected standard for your level of training or other students they have worked with. Generally, psychiatry clerkship coordinators, psychiatry attendings, or other staff you have had close clinical contact with are good choices to serve as referees.
- It is recommended that no more than one letter come from an individual you have not worked with clinically (e.g. research supervisor).
- Reference letters must be dated no earlier than one year before time of receipt. Undated letters will not be accepted.
- References and other supporting documents scanned by CaRMS after January 10, 2023 will not be considered.
- We will not accept updates directly to our office.
A personal letter is part of the applications. This letter should provide reasons as to why the applicant has chosen psychiatry as a career and why Western would be a good match for their residency training. A description of education and experiences that contribute to the applicant's suitability for training in psychiatry is also requested in this letter. No minimum/1000 word maximum.
Medical School TranscriptYour medical school transcript can be submitted through one of the methods below:
- Obtain your medical transcript from your school and upload it directly to your CaRMS Online account. Follow your school’s policy regarding accessing or requesting your transcript;
- Ask your medical school to upload your medical transcript through their CaRMS Undergraduate Portal account; or
- International (IMGs) and United States (USMGs) medical graduates can transfer their transcript from their physiciansapply.ca account.
For current year Canadian medical graduates (CMGs), there is no action required from you. Your medical school will automatically submit your MSPR to CaRMS on your behalf for you to assign.
If your MSPR is in a language other than the program language of English or French, you are required to have the document translated.
Review Process
Applications submitted after file review has opened on January 10, 2023
Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened on January 10, 2023
Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on January 10, 2023
We will NOT accept any documents sent directly to our office. We will only consider references and supporting documents submitted to the CaRMS site.
Interviews
Dates:
- February 10, 2023
- February 17, 2023
- February 22, 2023
Candidates selected for interviews will be contacted by email. Candidates who are not offered interviews will not be contacted.
Interviews will be scheduled in order of receipt of confirmation email by the candidate.
**Please note that in view of COVID-related limitations the format of the interviews for the 2023 match will be virtual**
For more information regarding the Residency Training Program in Psychiatry at Western applicants are encouraged to visit our website:
https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/psychiatry/education/postgraduate/index.html
Selection Criteria
Our program is looking for candidates who have excellent interpersonal skills, good clinical judgment, high ethical and professional standards, and a genuine interest in psychiatry. Selection is based on the dossier you submit, as well as the interviews on CaRMS day. The interview segment is mandatory. The strength of the applicants' academic record and interest in psychiatry, as represented by the Medical Student Performance Record, medical school transcript, the personal letter, letters of reference, and the interview all factor into into the ranking of candidates.
**Please note that for 2023 match year, the number of psychiatry-specific electives will be not be relevant**
Program goals
The department of Psychiatry at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University is committed to providing residents with a comprehensive training program that will prepare them to be exceptional psychiatrists in whatever practice setting they choose. We aim to provide residents with a mulifaceted and balanced educational experience that emphasizes biological, pychological, and sociocultural aspects of psychiatry preactice and prepares them for lifelong learning. Flexiblity is prioritized so the residents can customize their residency experience to suit their clinical and academic interests. We endeavor to foster the growth and development of our residents so that they can be the psychiatrists they strive to be while meeting the needs of our patients an society.
Selection process goals
The Department of Psychiatry at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University emphasizes a culture of collaboration, excellence and compassion. Our mission is to produce outstanding psychiatrists to serve the community, to contribute to academic endeavours and to advance the field of psychiatry. We seek candidates who are curious to learn about the human mind and who are compassionate in the face of the suffering of others. Demonstrated pursuit of execellence in medicine through learning clinical skills, teaching and research is essential to successful candidates. Our program aims to have a group of residents with a diversity of skils, background experiences and interests that rounds out and strenghthens our program
File review process
Review team composition : The CaRMS committee consists of members of the Residency Program Committee, other psychiatry faculty, and resident representatives.
Average number of applications received by our program in the last five years : 401 - 600
Average percentage of applicants offered interviews : 0 - 25 %
| File component | Criteria |
|---|---|
| CV | Extracurricular activities, evidence of leadership, research productivity |
| Electives | Number of elective experiences in psychiatry will not considered for the 2023 |
| Examinations | We do not evaluate this file component |
| Extra-curricular | Evidence of interest in a variety of activities demonstrating balance and well-roundedness |
| Leadership skills | Evidence of leadership potential |
| MSPRs | Evidence of lapses in professionalism |
| Personal letters | Evidence of a genuine interest and understanding of psychiatry |
| Reference documents | Evidence of superior performance in clinical activities |
| Research/Publications | Evidence of interest and productivity in research activities |
| Transcripts | Evidence of consistent performance |
Elective criteria
2023 match year extent of elective experiences in psychiatry will not be taken into account.
Interview process
Interview format :
We may accommodate requests to re-schedule interviews for applicants due to weather, technology failure, or unforeseen circumstances.
| Interview components | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Collaboration skills | Evidence of collaborative skills |
| Collegiality | Evidence of collegiality |
| Communication skills | Evidence of good communication skills |
| Health advocacy | Evidence of good health advocacy |
| Interest in the discipline | Evidence of genuine interest in psychiatry |
| Interest in the program | Evidence of genuine interest in the training program at Western |
| Leadership skills | Evidence of leadership potential |
| Professionalism | Evidence of professional behaviour |
| Scholarly activities | Evidence of research productivity |
Information gathered outside of CaRMS application
Specifically, we may consider:Ranking process
The behavior(s) exhibited below during the interview process may prevent an applicant from being ranked by our program :Program Highlights
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Royal College accredited program.
- One block of orientation prior to the onset of service. Thus is unique to our program.
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Favourable faculty to resident ratio, allowing for 1:1 supervision for residents.
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Excellent research supervisors and facilities.
- Resident Research Track
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Royal College subspecialty training opportunities in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry. The PGY-5 year can be used as the first year of subspecialty training.
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International electives available for senior residents.
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No mandatory rural rotations although rural rotations are fully supported and encouraged through DEN and OPPEN.
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National leader in resident preparation for Royal College OSCE exams.
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Graded call experience.
- Residents take on a very active role in the continuous quality improvement of the program with resident representation on most departmental committees
- Very favourable cost of living and attractive lifestyle opportunities in the City of Windsor.
- As a relatively new program, you have a chance to help pioneer Psychiatry Residency training in the City of Windsor.
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.
TEACHING SITES
All of the hospitals in Windsor are affiliated with Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Windsor excels in education and patient care.
Toldo Neurobehavioural Institute, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare:
- Inpatient and Outpatient treatments
- Mood disorders
- Schizophrenia and Psychotic disorders
- Dual Diagnosis
- Geriatric
Windsor Regional Hospital: Ouellete Campus and Metropolitan Campus
- Clinical Liaison
- Outpatient clinics
Maryvale:
- Child & Adolescent treatment centre
All of these facilities provide very comprehensive exposure to all aspects of Psychiatry and Medicine.
CURRICULUM
The educational needs of psychiatry trainees are paramount in Windsor. The training program meets all Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) certification requirements.
YEAR 1
All programs in Windsor commence on July 1st, with a one-day Orientation in London prior to start date.
The PGY-1 curriculum is designed to provide a superb introduction to the Department of Psychiatry and the areas of medicine relevant to a career in psychiatry.
The rotations are selected to facilitate success also on the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part II.
The Psychiatry residency training program in Windsor has a very innovative block long orientation program offered during July that is unique across the entire country. It provides new residents with an extended period of time to grow accustomed to the city, as well as time to tour the many community agencies partnered with the hospital.
The PGY-2 to PGY-5 curriculum has been devised to fulfill current Royal College requirements.
- PGY-2: General Adult Psychiatry rotations (inpatient and outpatient)
- PGY-3: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry rotations
- PGY-4 and PGY-5: required rotations in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Shared Care, and Severe and Persistent Mental Illness
The PGY-4 and PGY-5 years also include time for selective and electives rotations.
Throughout the PGY-2 to PGY-5 years, there are longitudinal learning experiences in Psychotherapy (CBT, DBT, Psychodynamic, Family, Supportive), Addictions, and Research.
ELECTIVES / SELECTIVES
Rotation selection is determined primarily by the particular interests and career goals of the individual residents and enables residents to undertake the broadest possible experience before making final career decisions.
Electives are available in collaborative (shared) mental health care services, forensic assessments at jails or detention centres, community clinic consultations in and outside of Windsor, research projects, psychotherapy, psychogeriatrics, psychoses, mood and anxiety disorders, neuropsychiatry, rural psychiatry, consultation-liaison, eating disorders, concurrent disorders, emergency psychiatry, and a growing number of other options.
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Training is conducted throughout the years of residency and includes formal seminars, individual and group supervision, interviewing skills seminars, and psychotherapy workshops.
Skilled supervision in many modalities is available, including psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural, interpersonal, group, family, child, and dialectical behavioural therapy.
Protected time is provided throughout the PGY-2 to PGY-5 years in order to complete practical psychotherapy training hours.
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY
The Department of Psychiatry in Windsor offers an excellent experience in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is very active with a wide range of experiences available in a variety of settings including inpatient, day treatment, outpatient, and telepsychiatry programs.
Residents will have the opportunity to work in hospitals, children's mental health agencies, schools and other community agencies. Opportunities are also available in centres in London.
Training is available in a variety of therapies including family, group, individual, play, behaviour management, cognitive behavioural, interpersonal, dialectical behavioural, and psychopharmacology.
Many research opportunities are available in areas such as pervasive developmental disorders,mood and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, psychotropic medications, and psychotherapeutic interventions.
Formal subspecialty training is available for those residents interested in pursuing a career in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY
Geriatric Psychiatry is multi-disciplinary and has links with family medicine, geriatric medicine/physical rehabilitation, and neurology. There is a regional geriatric psychiatry program, a geriatric community outreach program, an active geriatric consultation-liaison service, and significant opportunities for research.
Formal subspecialty training is available for those residents interested in pursuing a career in Geriatric Psychiatry.
FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY
Forensic psychiatry training is a unique and fascinating specialty arm devoted to caring for people with mental health disorders who also have legal issues.
Our work is exceptionally broad in scope and consequently offers the opportunity to tailor your training or career to meet your goals. Examples of some of our colleagues include legal counsel, mental health courts, correctional centres, the Ontario Review Board, the Consent and Capacity Board, and the Faculty of Law.
Forensic subspecialty training is in the developmental stage.
RESEARCH
Residents are participating in research as part of their training, consistent with the Royal College training recommendations.
Training in research is provided as part of the teaching modules in the program.
The department has active research programs under the guidance of Dr. Priya Sharma who is a well-known researcher in multiple areas of psychopharmacology and will provide supervision and training in research.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Thursdays are devoted for educational purposes and residents are excused from clinical duties for scheduled educational activities. Educational time is either a half day or full day depending on year of training.
Didactic teaching of core material is an important part of our training experience and has been integrated into the residents’ clinical schedule.
During the PGY-2 to PGY-4 years, core modules are taught, covering the topics of adult, child and adolescent, psychotherapy, and geriatric psychiatry. The modules also include essential topics in forensic, social, administrative psychiatry, epidemiology, and research methodology.
Interviewing skills are emphasized throughout the four years of psychiatry specific training. Interviewing sessions are geared towards preparation for the Standardized Assessment of a Clinical Encounter (STACER) examinations. Successful completion of the STACER examination is required for Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada certification.
Evaluation using the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) method is part of the spring Royal College examinations. OSCE skills are also emphasized throughout the four years of psychiatry specific training at Western with monthly sessions utilizing what is probably the most extensive and formalized OSCE resource of any psychiatry residency training program in Canada.
Monthly resident facilitated evidence-based practice sessions are tutored by an expert in the field and Critically Appraised Topics (CATs) are prepared by the resident facilitator for each session which is then converted for web-based use by all psychiatry trainees at Western.
Western psychiatry residents have a very high success rate at Royal College examinations.
ON CALL DUTIES
On call will be coordinated mostly through Windsor Regional Hospital. On call in Windsor is shared with the medical students in clerkship to provide a clinical teaching opportunity for the residents. Senior residents are also provided with the opportunity to supervise and mentor junior residents, while on call.
At this point, residents are not expected to stay in the hospital overnight and most on call duties are completed by 11:00 PM in the evening, resuming the following morning at 7:00 AM.
Consultant back-up will always be available.
Training Sites
Training Sites
All of the hospitals in Windsor are associated with Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and excel in education and patient care.
Teaching Hospitals
Windsor is in the midst of planning for and producing a super hospital but in the meantime we have three campuses.
Windsor Regional Hospital Ouellete: This site has 68 beds and offers a full range of medical services and psychiatric services.
Metropolitan campus does not have any acute psychiatry beds but does provide consultation-liaison and may be a part of the resident's educational experience.
Toldo Neurobehavioural Institute at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Tayfour Campus: Campus has a tertiary facility with 49 beds as well as a range of outpatient services for acute and chronic psychiatric disorders as well as developmental disabilities and dual diagnosis.
Additional Teaching Hospitals
The Windsor program is relatively new. It is small, very intimate, and one of the great advantages of Windsor is the contact with the preceptors.
It is an exciting time to be starting in Windsor and opportunities abound for a future in a very livable and very stable community.
Additional Information
The size of the Western University Psychiatry Residency Program allows for individual attention and regular one on one contact between residents and faculty - and yet, it is large enough to offer exposure to a wide variety of subspecialties and world class research opportunities.
The number of residents also facilitates cohesiveness. Residents in psychiatry at Western come from medical schools across the country and around the world adding richness and diversity to the group.
The training program offers a broad and exceptional range of learning opportunities including outstanding preparation for the Royal College exams and subspecialty opportunities.
All information contained is subject to change until such time as the rank order lists are filed.
Please ensure you review information on a regular basis.