University of Toronto - Psychiatry - Toronto
2024 R-1 Main Residency Match - first iteration
CMG Stream for CMG
Last approved on October 26, 2023
Summary of changesAccreditation status : Accredited
Provincial Criteria
CAMH - College Street Site
Suite 832, 250 College Street
Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8
Program Contacts
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 at this time. PGME is seeking to learn from the experience of other schools in the 2023 & 2024 CaRMS matches.
For the 2024 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.
Important Information
The Department of Psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, with its unique breadth and depth of expertise, is well positioned to shape the future of psychiatry. Our vision is to improve access and transform mental health care through education, research, and professional development that meets the needs of our communities.
The core general psychiatry residency program at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto is built on a strong foundation of research and education. Teaching, fostering lifelong learning, continuous performance improvement, and a strong sense of professional identity are central to our residency program’s mission.
Wellness and Community
Resident wellness and community is supported in a variety of ways – through the PRAT (Psychiatry Residents’ Association of Toronto), strong resident leadership through our Chief Residents alongside faculty who are dedicated to fostering and welcoming the next generation of psychiatrists. We deeply value the learner experience and our faculty teachers endeavor to role model a high standard of professional behaviour.
Teaching and Learning: Competence by Design (CBD)
Our residency program is a leader in competency-based medical education (CBME) with the implementation of CBD, Canada’s model for CBME in postgraduate medical education. Education leadership in the Department of Psychiatry have led innovations in key components of CBD including workplace-based leaning and assessment, coaching, feedback and personalized learning plans. For more information on CBD in the residency program, please see our website. The residency program leverages the size and capacity of the department to deliver a dynamic and responsive curriculum to prepare residents for independent practice.
Collaboration and Integration
The broader community within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto creates a powerful network that influences and leads all aspects of mental health care. Through strong relationships between clinicians and researchers, alumni and faculty, the university and hospitals, our residents have the opportunity to participate in training experiences at the vanguard of cutting edge research, clinical excellence, and education.
General Instructions
Program application language: English
Applicants should provide all required information. Any questions about the required information or the interview process should be directed to Tammy Mok at the contact information above.
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)
• Canadian Citizenship Card (both sides of card)
Legal Status
Proof of valid current citizenship or permanent resident status must be provided by submitting one of the following verifications to CaRMS by the File Review Opening deadline. Failure to provide valid proof will result in your application being removed. No other forms of verification are acceptable:
- Notarized/certified photocopy of Birth Certificate/Act of Birth issued by an authority in Canada accompanied by photo ID (must be Canadian government-issued photo ID).
- Failure to provide proof of citizenship will result in the removal of your application. No other forms of verification are acceptable.
- Documents must be notarized/certified photocopies. Notarized/certified copies must be dated and not older than two years from the date of application submission deadline; otherwise, a new notarized/certified copy is required.
- Confirmation of permanent residence must be accompanied by a photo ID (must be a Canadian government-issued photo ID).
CaRMS is partnering with third-party organizations to automate the verification of citizenship/legal status required by postgraduate offices for entry into residency. Third-party verification simplifies the process for applicants and programs. All applicants who do not receive third-party citizenship verification will be required to upload and assign an acceptable proof of citizenship document. Please see additional information here.
Maximum number accepted: 3
Three letters of reference required and should be from a staff physician/attending MD or faculty member. If possible one or more letters from a faculty member in Psychiatry is helpful but not required.
Please give some thought before selecting a referee. Letters of reference that do not comment on interest in psychiatry or skills that would be relevant to psychiatry may not be weighted as heavily. A good choice would be a referee who has sufficient and recent knowledge of you to enable them to:
- Comment on your interest in Psychiatry
- Comment on your clinical skills and ability to interact with other members of the health care team, and be able to compare your performance to the expected standard for your level training.
Please provide a letter of interest (750 words maximum) to support your application to Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. We are interested to hear more about what draws you to considering psychiatry as a career and some of the experiences that have shaped your trajectory. Please use the questions below to guide your letter of interest.
Part One (300-350 words suggested)
- Please tell us about yourself and what experiences (e.g., personal, community, academic, etc.), skills, strengths, and/or perspectives you would bring to psychiatry.
- What patient care and/or other experiences have shaped your choosing psychiatry?
- What doubts do you have about your career choice?
Part Two (300-350 words suggested)
- Why would you like to train at the University of Toronto?
- What are your potential plans or aspirations in a future career as a psychiatrist?
Medical School Transcript
Your 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 December 2, 2023
Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened on December 2, 2023
Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on December 2, 2023
Application and Interview Day assessments are combined to assist the selection committee in candidate selection and CaRMS ranking.
Interviews
Dates:
- February 1, 2024
- February 2, 2024
Selection Criteria
Applicants invited for a virtual interview will have the opportunity to attend a full day 9:45am - 5:30pm EST with our program which will combine informational sessions about our program, opportunities to meet informally with residents and faculty, and structured interviews/assessments. All interviews and information sessions will take place virtually via Zoom.
The Interview/Information Day will be used to explore and assess a variety of skills and aptitudes needed for psychiatric training and practice, including communication skills, problem solving skills, reflective capacity and interest/aptitude for psychiatry practice and training.
Applicants will also have the opportunity to meet the Program Directors and speak with residents and faculty members. In particular, there will opportunities to learn more about our Clinician Scientist Program, Clinician Scholar Program, and Competence by Design.
PGY1s are selected based on examination of the written application submission and the interviews/assessments.
Program goals
The Department of Psychiatry at University of Toronto strives to provide the best care to today’s patients and to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illness and addiction for the patients of tomorrow. We are building the future of psychiatry: we collaborate with our hospital partners to create capacity and improve access to care; we ensure quality care; we promote brain health and social inclusion of people with mental illnesses and their families.
Our unique breadth and depth allow us to provide sound clinical care, create novel knowledge, translate research discoveries and train the future generations of psychiatry clinicians, educators and researchers
Selection process goals
The PGY1 Admissions Subcommittee recognizes that many applicants develop an interest in Psychiatry later in medical school training and/or have limited access to multiple electives; as such, we encourage ALL applicants with strong interest and aptitude for Psychiatry to apply, even if applicants have not had extensive Psychiatry elective experience.
The applicant's combined score on the application and interview day assessments will inform their position on the rank order list. The PGY1 Admission Subcommittee may, after thoughtful and thorough deliberation, decide to not rank a candidate, regardless of their score if the committee identifies a concern that brings into legitimate question the candidate's suitability for the specialty or readiness for the residency program.
File review process
Review team composition : Each file is reviewed by a faculty member and a resident.
Average number of applications received by our program in the last five years : 201 - 400
Average percentage of applicants offered interviews : 51 - 75 %
| File component | Criteria |
|---|---|
| CV | All components considered. |
| Electives | We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted candidates’ opportunities to arrange and complete electives and would like to reassure you that a lack of elective activity will not negatively impact your application to our program. |
| Examinations | All components considered. |
| Extra-curricular | All components considered. |
| Leadership skills | All components considered. |
| MSPRs | All components considered. |
| Personal letters | All components considered. |
| Reference documents | All components considered. |
| Research/Publications | All components considered. |
| Transcripts | All components considered. |
Elective criteria
Interview process
Interview format :
We do not re-schedule interviews for applicants after we have completed the scheduling process.
| Interview components | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Collaboration skills | All components are considered. |
| Collegiality | All components are considered. |
| Communication skills | All components are considered. |
| Health advocacy | All components are considered. |
| Interest in the discipline | All components are considered. |
| Interest in the program | All components are considered. |
| Leadership skills | All components are considered. |
| Professionalism | All components are considered. |
| Scholarly activities | All components are considered. |
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
Program strengths identified at our recent Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) accreditation visit in November 2020 include:
1. Breadth of clinical care opportunities.
2. Plethora of resources, both academically and administratively.
3. Engaged and highly respected faculty known for excellence in the general quality of 1:1 supervision and teaching.
4. Program Director who is approachable, engaged and knowledgeable about the program, eager to engage in education scholarship.
5. Large cadre of leaders with educational expertise, willing to embark upon a major innovative change despite the size of the program, and who have developed a theoretically sound medical education program.
6. Stellar Program Administrative staff who work cohesively as a team.
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.
Ratio of Faculty to Residents 950:200
Elective Time Away: Maximum 6 months during residency training (out of province or international electives)
As of the 2020-21 academic year, all Canadian psychiatry residency programs have transitioned to Competence by Design (CBD). Traditionally residents’ developmental stages were referred to by Postgraduate Year (PGY) – and whilst this convention still exists, with CBD, residents’ developmental trajectory is also described by developmental stage:
- Transition to Discipline (TTD)
- Foundations of Discipline (FOD)
- Core of Discipline (COD)
- Transition to Practice (TTP)
PGY1 (TTD and FOD)
PGY1 year consists of an initial transition to discipline (TTD) curriculum called Ground School. This is intended to provide all trainees with a strong foundation in medical and psychiatric skills before they advance to their clinical rotations. Each trainee works directly with a coach throughout residency training to review and refine their learning goals. The rest of PGY1 consists of 12 four-week rotations/blocks in a variety of disciplines.
Clinical rotations
- 5 blocks psychiatry
- 2 blocks general internal medicine
- 1 block each of cognitive neurology, emergency medicine, palliative care, neurology, and one week of neuroimaging.
- 1 block of family medicine or pediatrics
- Half-day Outpatient Psychiatry Experience – a highly rated outpatient rotation
- Half-day per week for Academic Half-Day (AHD)
PGCorEd
All University of Toronto Residents entering PGY1 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 non-Medical Expert/intrinsic CanMEDs roles for the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons of Canada Specialty Programs and the 4-Principles for The College of Family Physicians of Canada Family Medicine program. These modules must be completed before the end of the PGY2 year.
For PGY2-5 rotation structure, please see information on our website (Department of Psychiatry > Education > Postgraduate Education > Current Residents > Rotation Structure). Throughout residency training, core rotation-based teaching offered via a variety of instructional methods is also provided by award-winning teachers and educators.
Opportunity for Subspecialty, Fellowship, and Area of Focused Competence training
Towards the end of the general psychiatry residency program, residents may apply for subspecialty training in any of the three Royal College subspecialty programs: Child & Adolescent, Geriatric, or Forensic Psychiatry. In addition, numerous post-residency fellowships are available for advanced training. There are also opportunities to train in Royal College approved Areas of Focused Competence (AFC) in Addiction Medicine with two AFC's in development: C-L Psychiatry, and Sleep Disorders Medicine.
Psychotherapy Training
PGY2 through PGY5 residents will obtain extensive psychotherapy training through supervision and seminars in: long- term and short-term psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy, and multi-person therapies including couple, family and group therapy. Training experiences are also available in MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy).
Research
Clinician Scientist Program
The Department has a large Clinician Scientist Program, comprised of mentorship, a seminar series, protected research time, and other research activities. The CSP includes a general stream for psychiatry residents in PGY3-4 who are interested in a research career, and a graduate stream for psychiatry residents in PGY-5, and potentially PGY-6 if in sub-specialty residency training, who have a substantial interest in research and wish to pursue graduate school. Graduate-stream CSP Residents are encouraged to register in the Royal College Clinician Investigator Program. There are also many opportunities for more limited engagement in research projects, such as through research electives.
Clinician Scholar Program
The Clinician Scholar Program provides enhanced training for residents interested in pursuing education scholarship, quality improvement, and other creative professional activities (including the social sciences and humanities). Residents apply to the program with a specific project and supervisor, and receive additional training, mentorship and protected time in PGY3 and PGY4. The Clinician Scholar Program also supports senior residents in pursuing graduate studies and further training in these areas, including doctoral and masters degrees. Outside of the program, there are many opportunities for residents to engage in scholarship throughout their training.
Training Streams:
New for 2024 - the University of Toronto will be piloting two new streams - Indigenous and Clinician Scientist/Scholar. Please see program description for further details. Applicants interested in training streams will have additional interview processes and information sessions alongside participating in standard CaRMS interview process.
Seminars
In PGY1 one half day each week is devoted to core curriculum seminars covering the topics of psychiatry required by the Royal College and University of Toronto. In PGY2-4, residents will continue to receive teaching in a variety of ways – through seminars, activities and online interactive modules. Starting the 2023-24 academic year, residents will write their Royal College exams in PGY4 and will receive support in doing so from the residency program. In PGY5, residents participate in a Transition to Practice (TTP) Curriculum. In addition, each teaching hospital has an active teaching program consisting of didactic seminars, grand rounds, journal clubs, and interview courses.
Training Sites
Several hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are affiliated with the University of Toronto and together they are members of the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN). In general, core rotations for psychiatry training occur at fully affiliated hospitals. There is also elective time integrated into the residency program to explore training experiences at a variety of hospitals across the GTA. For further information about specific clinical programs/training sites, please refer to information on the Department of Psychiatry website > Divisions and Programs > Education (for each division).
Travel to training sites
Most core training sites are easily accessible by public transportation or pedestrian/cycling transportation, depending on where trainees choose to live in the GTA. Some training site options are more easily accessible by car. The training program’s internal rotation match system does allow for residents to be placed at sites up to 60 km away from downtown core. Under those circumstances, a car may be desirable but is not mandatory.
Additional Information
- 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 of Colleges and Universities
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Strengths of the program include:
- Leveraging size to offer breadth and depth of educational experiences whilst also fostering sense of community (e.g. through PRAT, Chief Residents at hospital sites, departmental events such as Don Wasylenki Education Day and Annual Department Research Day)
- Focus on learner experience and professional development
- Wellness and learning environment are a core part of residency program’s mission
- Inclusion of resident representation in core residency program activities (e.g. Residency Program Committee)
- Coaching and Mentorship Program to support career development
- Choice of rotations informed by trainee preference/ranking
- Time for career exploration embedded throughout residency (through elective time or PLEX – personalized learning experiences)
- Protected time for annual wellness retreats and career development events
- Opportunities for subsequent advanced training in subspecialties and areas of focused competence (AFCs)
- Opportunities for research through the Clinician Scientist and Scholar Programs
- Opportunities for rural, out of province, and international training experiences
- Exam Preparation
- Exam preparation curriculum
- Protected time to attend review courses
- Transition to Practice
- Curriculum to support transition to unsupervised/independent practice
- Personalized learning plan for trainees with coaching and mentorship
FAQ
Is the program holding any information sessions for potential CaRMS candidates this year?
Join us for an informative presentation about the U of T psychiatry program followed by a question-and-answer period. Our Program Director, Dr. Adrienne Tan, will also be making a guest appearance at this session. This is a chance to meet some of the U of T residents, learn more about the program structure and culture, and get your questions answered. We look forward to seeing you there!
Session 1: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 from 8PM to 930PM (EST)
https://canprepp.ca/events/university-of-toronto-psychiatry-virtual-information-session-3/
Session 2: Thursday, December 14, 2023 from 12PM to 130PM (EST)
https://canprepp.ca/events/university-of-toronto-psychiatry-virtual-information-session-4/
Summary of changes
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