Program Contacts

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Important Information

Please be aware that most, if not all, hospitals and Universities in Ontario have mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in place that require, in the absence of a valid medical or human rights exemption, proof of vaccination. Acceptable vaccination must be in accordance with Health Canada. You will be required to provide documentation of COVID-19 vaccination to the appropriate institution if matched. Failure to comply and provide the appropriate documentation may result in the termination of the contract. These guidelines could change at any time in accordance with future direction from the Ministry of Health or the Universities based on information from Public Health.  

 

The University of Toronto has deferred the use of the CaRMS Self-Identification Questionnaire (CSIQ) responses until the 2024 R-1 Match. PGME is seeking to learn from the experience of other schools in the 2023 CaRMS match with a view to piloting this initiative in 2024 R-1 Match. 

For the 2023 R-1 Match - If you assign the CSIQ to any University of Toronto program the programs will NOT be able to view the content of your CSIQ response. There are programs which provide applicants other opportunities to self-identify as a member of an equity seeking group. Please see individual program descriptions for details.

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Return of Service

The Ministry requests all ROS agreements before June 1 of the year they were matched. All agreements should be returned to the Ministry prior to the start of residency training. It is the responsibility of the applicant to confirm eligibility with respect to THE ROS requirements of other provinces.

 

Information about the Ministry’s ROS programs is available at the Return of Service Program

A letter of release from existing return of service agreements must be submitted as part of the application.

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

• The University of Toronto’s orthopaedic residency training program underwent a regular Royal College accreditation site survey in April of 2015 and received full approval by the Accreditation Committee.
• Resident in-patient load varies from service to service. Some services for example may have no in-patients (sports rotations). The heaviest rotations for in-patient responsibilities are typically the spine service and the trauma service.  Everyone attempts to make the load on any given resident reasonable so that service is balanced with education on the service.  These issues are best discussed with the residents during the informal part of our interview system.

We offer the ability to perform elective rotations within the University of Toronto network (such as at St. Joseph's Hospital, William Osler Etobicoke site, North York General Hospital, Southlake Hospital, and Trillium Hospital in Mississauga), as well as outside the University network.

All hospitals have internet access and many hospitals have subscriptions to electronic journals.  All residents are supplied with a University of Toronto e-mail address, which is utilized as their primary contact.

 

 

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Supporting Documentation / Information

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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

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Interviews

Selection Criteria

International Medical Graduates (IMGs)

The University of Toronto Orthopaedic Surgery Program encourages applications from IMGs. The candidates we are looking for are bright, have excellent interpersonal skills, good clinical judgment, high ethical and professional standards and have a real interest in community Orthopaedic Surgery. Evidence of recent graduation and clinical contact are also important selection criteria (note that we do not consider observerships to be clinical contact).  Given the large number of applicants expected, we will be unable to offer an interview to all candidates.  Personal interviews will be offered to a limited number of candidates based on the criteria listed above and are mandatory for admission to the program.  Further information regarding selection criteria can be found below.

 

Program goals

This was done as a pilot project in anticipation of an emerging movement to restructure postgraduate training across specialty education in Canada. The pilot training program, referred to as the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), responded to the changing demands in postgraduate medical education and a growing understanding of the limits of a strictly time-based postgraduate system. 

The CBC was designed to not only meet the current accreditation and educational requirements of the postgraduate medical education accreditation body in Canada, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), but also in anticipation of meeting the requirements for an initiative in Canada to transition all training programs to competency-based medical education (CBME).  Approval for this initiative was provided by the RCPSC through a FIRE (Fundamental Innovations in Residency Education) application, which continues until 2020.

Based on the experience with the pilot, the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery fully transitioned to the CBC in the 2013-14 academic year. That year, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada announced a Competence by Design (CBD) initiative, which mandated that all postgraduate specialty programs in Canada are to adopt a competency-based framework by the year 2022. The Division will transition its current CBC to meet the demands of the CBD initiative in the 2020-2021 academic year.

Selection process goals

All applications are screened by a subcommittee of the Residency Program Committee.

The candidates that are considered to have a reasonable opportunity for acceptance are contacted for interview. 

The interview process is by a panel of orthopedic surgeons with resident representation. The candidate will meet with the Program Director and Chair as well. The members of the panel are briefed on each applicant before the interview and have access to the applicant's complete file. The 15-minute interview is informal and allows the members of the panel to meet the applicant and ask questions that are not covered by the formal application. The applicant in turn may ask the panel about the program. At the end of the day, the panel meets to short-list the candidates and rank them. 

Skills and attributes of a successful applicant include:

- a strong academic record which demonstrates special proficiency in those subjects related to our specialty

-candidates should have a proven interest in surgery.  This can be demonstrated by electives in any of the surgical specialties

- references should be obtained from academic specialists in orthopedic surgery.  Referees should be able to attest to interest and proficiency in the specialty as well as comments on interpersonal skills, motivation, work ethic, etc.

-candidates with an interest in research, both in basic science and clinical research are encouraged to apply

-special accomplishments either within medicine or outside of medicine are a strong endorsement.

All applications are screened by a subcommittee of the Residency Program Committee.

The candidates that are considered to have a reasonable opportunity for acceptance are contacted for interview, which will be held according to the schedule set by the Orthopaedic Specialty Committee of the Royal College and CaRMS.

File review process

Evaluation criteria :

Elective criteria

Interview process

Interview evaluation criteria :

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 :
Unprofessional or inappropriate behavior   
Did not attend interview   
Interview performance was not competitive   

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Program Highlights

Program Highlights

• As of July of 2013, all new PGY-1 residents have been trained using a Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). This is based on the very successful pilot CBC that commenced in July of 2009.
• As of July, 2020, all incoming residents will be trained along the “Competence By Design paradigm”, which all orthopaedic surgery residency training programs will be implementing as per the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons mandate.
• All PGY-1 residents spend the first month of training in the "Prep” and “Surgical Boot Camps", intensive courses that teach fundamental surgical skills including suturing, casting, bone drilling, basic orthopaedic surgical approaches and AO principles
• The Surgeon-Scientist Program (SSP) is available and encouraged for residents wishing to pursue a graduate degree (i.e., MSc, PhD) during their training
• There are currently a total of 57 residents at University of Toronto and 66 full time academic staff at 7 core teaching hospitals
• Community electives are available at various hospitals around the Greater Toronto Area
• Residents may undertake rural electives through the Rural Ontario Medical Program
• The University of Toronto Program underwent a Royal College accreditation site survey in April of 2015 and received full approval with no major weaknesses noted
• There is an excellent track record at the Royal College exams, with over 95% of our graduates passing the exam on the first attempt. 

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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.

The duration of the residency program is 5 years.

Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College standard.

Curriculum 

The University of Toronto orthopaedic training program has as its major objective not only clinical excellence but also academic excellence.  We believe that a formal research experience is an essential component of orthopaedic training, and furthers our mandate to train the academic leaders of tomorrow.  

In July of 2009, our program commenced a pilot competency-based education stream.  This novel curriculum follows several basic principles including: 

- early and frequent surgical skills sessions to maximize technical performance at an early stage of training

- frequent examination and feedback: each module utilizes knowledge-based, technical, and communication assessments to provide ongoing feedback to the residents

- individualized, flexible progress through the program 

Based on the immense success of this program to date, we extended the current pilot to include all new PGY-1 residents entering the program as of July, 2013.   As of July, 2020, all incoming residents will be trained and assessed as per the “Competence By Design (CBD)” paradigm of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.  The CBD curriculum is differentiated from the CBC program by having slightly different and more frequent EPAs completed in each training module.

The training modules within the curriculum are: 

• Prep Camp/Surgical Boot Camp
• Transition to Residency
• Basic Fractures
• Emergency Orthopaedics
• Basic Arthroplasty
• Basic Sports
• Basic Pediatrics
• Spine
• Foot and Ankle
• Hand and Upper Extremity
• MSK Medicine
• Oncology
• Advanced Trauma
• Advanced Arthroplasty
• Advanced Sports
• Advanced Pediatrics
• Research (integrated throughout the clinical training years)

Residents spend the first month of PGY-1 in the Surgical Prep/Boot Camp, which is an intensive surgical skills course held at the Surgical Skills Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital.  Under the direction of faculty, fellows and senior residents, residents practice skills such as prepping and draping, soft tissue handling, instrument identification, suturing, bone drilling and sawing, basic AO principles and casting.  Time is also spent practicing basic orthopaedic surgical approaches.  This course allows residents to quickly achieve competence in these technical skills, which enhances their early experience in the operating room. 

The remaining PGY-1 year is spent working through their early stage modules.  In subsequent years, residents will rotate through the other base hospitals to achieve competence in the other subspecialties.  Because of the rapid acquisition of technical competency, residents are able to undertake basic procedures such as hip fracture fixation and primary hip and knee arthroplasty in the first year of training. 

Each resident is required to conduct a research project throughout their residency training years and submit a manuscript of publishable quality by November 30 of their last year in the program, and to present this project at Research Day in the autumn of their last year.  The manuscript and presentation must be a new project or continuation of their research day project. 

For residents who wish to pursue a graduate degree (Masters or Ph.D.), support can be obtained from the Department of Surgery’s Surgeon-Scientist Program.  Residents take time out of their clinical training to complete their graduate studies and return to it once their studies have been successfully completed.

All University of Toronto Residents entering PGY-1 will be required to complete the web-based PGCorEd core competency modules as part of their residency program certification.  These modules provide the foundation for the intrinsic CanMEDS Roles for the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons of Canada Specialty Programs.  Completion of these modules will be required before the end of the PGY-2 year.  Failure to complete the modules will delay processing of Final In-Training Evaluation Reports (FITERs) and may constitute professional misconduct. 

In addition to initiating the CBD curriculum in PGY-1, all residents must complete the Surgical Foundations curriculum in their first academic year.  The Surgical Foundations curriculum is a separate Royal College specialty that all surgical, ENT and obstetrics/gynaecology residents in Canada must complete.  The program director for Surgical Foundations is Dr. Mark Wheatcroft.  Once admitted into the orthopaedic surgery residency training program, all in-coming residents will be contacted by the Surgical Foundations office about what the objectives of training are, what learning resources will be provided, and what assessments must be completed.

Research

As mentioned, residents may participate in the Surgeon-Scientist Program, which will lead to a graduate degree. Although not required, this program is strongly suggested to those who wish to pursue an academic career.

As mentioned, all residents are required to conduct a research project throughout their residency training years and submit a manuscript of publishable quality by November 30 of their PGY-5 year, and to present this project at Research Day in the autumn of their final year of training.  The manuscript and presentation must be a new project or continuation of their research day project.

 

Seminars:

There is centralized teaching held the first and last Wednesdays of each month from 14:30 – 17:30 hrs, which all residents must attend.  The teaching consists of a 2.5 year curriculum.  

There is also a separate Surgical Foundations didactic and technical skills curriculum, which takes place in the Surgical Skills Centre for all PGY-1 surgical residents.  Attendance at these sessions is mandatory and all residents are excused from clinical duties for these sessions.  

In addition, each hospital runs its own academic program, which enriches the central program.  The University of Toronto is privileged to have a very frequent program of visiting professors and fellows, which also adds to the academic program.  The curriculum has been redesigned to meet the CanMEDS objectives.

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Training Sites

Resources 

There are presently seven core orthopedic hospital divisions through which trainees rotate.  There are also various community sites around the Greater Toronto Area.  The hospital divisions comprise the University Division of Orthopedic Surgery.  The Division’s/faculty strengths are listed below: 

• The Hospital for Sick Children: pediatric orthopedics, regional trauma centre, sports medicine
• Mount Sinai Hospital: lower extremity reconstructive surgery, oncology, sports medicine
• Michael's Hospital: upper and lower extremity reconstructive surgery, trauma, spine, sports medicine
• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre: trauma, upper and lower extremity reconstructive surgery, spine, sports medicine
• University Health Network - Toronto Western Hospital: upper and lower extremity reconstructive surgery, sports medicine, spine
• Michael Garron Hospital (formerly Toronto East General Hospital): community orthopedics, trauma, lower extremity reconstructive surgery, sports medicine
• Women's College Hospital: sports medicine, foot and ankle surgery

All hospitals are equipped with computers which allow internet access and many hospitals have subscriptions to electronic journals.  All residents are required to have a University of Toronto e-mail address, and will have electronic access to all major orthopaedic journals through the University of Toronto library.  A resident-led review course takes place prior to the Orthopaedic In-Training Exam (OITE) each fall.  There is a resident mentor program for all new residents entering the program.

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Pre-residency Orientation Programs

All IMG candidates accepted to all residency programs will be required to complete either the Pre-Residency Program (PRP) or the Pre-Residency Program for Family Medicine (PRPFM) prior to entering into a residency program. Matched IMGs will be expected to attend these programs in Toronto, several weeks in advance of the start of their residency program. In some cases, this may result in a delay of the start date of the residency. Additional information on the PRP and PRP FM programs can be found at the following link: Touchstone Institute.

Assessment Verification Period

All IMG candidates accepted to residency training programs will be required to undergo an Assessment Verification Period (AVP). This assessment period is normally 12 weeks in length and is required by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to obtain an educational license to enter a residency program. CPSO – International Medical Graduates (IMGs).

IMGs that have failed an AVP and are reapplying through CaRMS are ineligible to apply for training in the same specialty in Ontario but may apply to a different specialty in the first and/or second iteration. IMGs who have withdrawn from a program prior to completion of an AVP must declare so upon application.

Additional Ontario Information:

1. Permanent Residents: Successful applicants who hold Permanent Resident status in Canada will be required to disclose their Country of Citizenship to the postgraduate medical education office in order to comply with current reporting requirements of the Ontario Ministry.
2. Matched applicants: CaRMS will provide their electronic data file to the matched university’s postgraduate education office. The postgraduate office will share the information as needed, but not limited to the Ontario Physician Human Resource Data Centre, Canadian Post-MD Education Registry, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, the Professional Association of Residents of Ontario, teaching hospitals and other training sites, Touchstone Institute and the Ontario Ministry of Health.
3. Changes: The Ontario Faculties of Medicine and Ontario Ministry of Health reserve the right to make changes to the information published on the CaRMS website pertaining to Ontario postgraduate training without prior notice.
4. Failure to meet or provide proof of any of the stated requirements may result in applicant file being removed at any point during the match.