Program Contacts

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Important Information

Please review Memorial University's Provincial Criteria and admission requirements for postgraduate medical education. 

 

COVID-19:

Memorial University continues to follow the most up-to-date advice provided by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Canada on COVID-19 response. Please refer to the University's COVID-19 website for up-to-date information. 

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Return of Service

CMGs/USMGs:

No return of service (RoS) is required for CMG seats in the first iteration.

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

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Supporting Documentation / Information

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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

Applications are initially screened by the program director or their designate. Applications which are selected for interviews are reviewed by one resident, one faculty member and the program director.  A group meeting will be offered virtually involving the discipline chair, program director, and administrative resident (or their designates).  Individual interviews will be conducted with residents and faculty members virtually.  The interview format is semi-structured and 30-45 minutes in duration.

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Interviews

Dates:

• January 19, 2024
• January 29, 2024

Selection Criteria

• The candidate's academic record.
• The candidate's interest in psychiatry. Demonstration of this interest through psychiatric electives, selectives, or research would be helpful for consideration. Candidates who have developed a late interest in psychiatry as a career are encouraged to discuss this transition in the personal letter.
• Maturity, empathy and sensitivity.
• The demonstration of good interpersonal skills. 

Program goals

The mission of the discipline of psychiatry of Memorial University is to provide training for physicians and medical students in the specialty of psychiatry that faciliates achievement of a bio-psycho-social-spiritual understanding of the person in health and illness within the context of excellence in clinical service to the population of the province, teaching and research. 

The residency training program strives to train excellent general psychiatrists who can provide recovery-oriented care to patients across the life-spectrum.  It is also vital that residents have the capacity to recognize determinants of health and advocate for their patients locally and across healthcare systems. Moreover, our trainees learn to recognize quality issues affecting patient care and formulate professional and appropriate responses.  Training is multifaceted and includes clinical work and a comprehensive academic curriculum, in a collegial environment that fosters coaching and mentorship.

With a small program size, our program emphasizes the facilitation of individual career interests, whether it be clinical, administrative, educational or research-oriented. 

Selection process goals

The discipline of psychiatry at Memorial University endeavours to recruit residents with a genuine interest in psychiatry who have demonstrated skills and attitudes that are important for our discipline. Academic records and reference letters are therefore reviewed closely. Professionalim is highly valued in our program and all records are reviewed for any signs of concern in that area and for reported excellence in this role. Ideally, successful applicants would have an appreciation for the healthcare needs of our communities and an interest in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

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
Other : Unsolicited information from social media.

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

The psychiatry training program at Memorial University offers a broad and solid foundation in general psychiatry. We are large enough as a program to offer a diverse range of clinical experiences, but small enough to allow for easy communication and collaboration amongst faculty and residents. PGY 1 residents in our program are engaged with their 'home' program from the commencement of residency.  Our academic curriculum has been tailored to meet the requirements of Competence by Design. There are also opportunities for longitudinal experiences in research, medical education, and administrative psychiatry for residents who have an interest in pursuing these roles.

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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.

Length of Training Program: 5 Years 

Curriculum

The psychiatry program at Memorial University strives to provide a broad and comprehensive clinical and academic curriculum that enables residents to attain competencies in all CanMEDS roles using a Competence by Design framework as outlined by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. We have designed a training program that promotes success at the Royal College qualifying exams, while enhancing a sense of social accountability and the ability to maintain a career of continuing professional development and wellness.  Our clinical rotations are continuously evaluated to maximize the training benefit to our residents, and our curriculum committee actively engages with the resident group to offer a high-quality, developmental and faculty-guided academic curriculum throughout the program.

Rotations 

Transition to Discipline (TTD)

The first eight weeks of training is spent in psychiatry in an acute care setting.  Formal teaching is focused on fundamental skills in emergency psychiatry and therapeutic crisis intervention to prepare residents for longitudinal call requirements, as well as other important TTD topics.  Community visits allow an introduction to community supports and the mental health care needs of our population.

Foundations of Discipline Rotations (PGY 1)

Foundations training is designed to provide recent medical graduates with introductory resident-level training in psychiatry, addictions and additional experiences in the broad field of medicine as a whole. The PGY 1 Foundations rotations are as follows:

Six blocks outside psychiatry:

            1 block internal medicine

            1 block neurology

            1 block emergency medicine

            1 block pediatric emergency medicine

            1 block geriatric medicine or endocrinology

            1 block selective (family medicine, medical subspecialty, research)

            2 blocks of addiction medicine

            1 block of addiction psychiatry in Grand Falls Windsor (this community is approximately 4.5 hours away from St. John’s with an active rural psychiatry service which incorporates virtual care).

            1 block of addiction medicine in St. John’s at our regional medical detox, and outpatient addiction services including harm reduction services and outreach clinics in local shelters. 

Residents will also be assigned to attend some primary care clinics in underserviced settings in collaboration with the discipline of family medicine during one block of psychiatry in PGY 1.

 

Foundations of Discipline Rotations (PGY 2)

Residents will spend six months doing primarily inpatient general psychiatry and six months of outpatient general psychiatry with some longitudinal outpatient follow-up throughout the year. Our program offers a similar clinical exposure to all residents who rotate between two general hospitals (Health Sciences Centre and St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital) and the provincial psychiatric hospital (Waterford Hospital).

Residents who are interested in working in smaller centres have the option of working with Memorial University faculty in Grand Falls-Windsor or Dalhousie-affiliated faculty in Saint John, NB, for part of PGY 2.

Core of Discipline Rotations (PGY 3)

Six months of child psychiatry which includes a mix of inpatient, outpatient, consultation liaison and emergency psychiatry, as well as regular core teaching topics and case conference activities.

Six months of geriatric psychiatry which includes three months of inpatient geriatric psychiatry at Waterford Hospital and three months of outpatient and consultation liaison psychiatry, as well as regular core teaching topics and case conference activities.

Core of Discipline Rotations (PGY 4)

Rotations focused on consultation liaison psychiatry, the care of severe and persistent mental illness, including an assertive community treatment (ACT) team, and senior emergency psychiatry rotation focused on leadership and collaborator skills. We have maintained a requirement to complete shared care psychiatry through either a two block rotation in Grand Falls-Windsor or longitudinally in St. John's. Residents are able to work with the program director to determine what best suits their career goals and preferences in establishing this schedule.

 

Transition to Practice (TTP) (PGY 5)

Twelve months of elective and selective rotations oriented to the resident’s career interests and attaining important competencies around practice management and scholarship.

Academic Program

The academic program consists of one half day per week of didactic teaching which is protected time for all residents in psychiatry from PGY 1 - PGY 5.  Additionally, there are Friday academic activities, including Psychiatry Grand Rounds, Critical Appraisal sessions, Emergency Psychiatry Rounds and periodic lectures by visiting speakers. The program's curriculum committee meets regularly and includes representation from junior and senior residents, thus our program is constantly evaluated to ensure we are meeting educational goals established by the Royal College, as well as the healthcare needs of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The didactic teaching program is organized to meet the formal learning objectives outlined by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada within a Competence by Design framework; therefore, the Transition to Discipline, Foundations of Psychiatry, and Core Psychiatry each have concurrent curriculum delivered by staff psychiatrists and inter-professional team members such as the School of Pharmacy. Additionally, junior residents have weekly interviewing skills where they learn the skills required to interview and understand a broad range of psychiatric presentations, in addition to giving feedback to their colleagues. The interviewing skills course is organized developmentally such that residents transition to an “advanced” interviewing skills where the competencies expected are higher and patient presentations more complex. The senior resident teaching program focuses on the care of severe and persistent mental illness, comprehensive training in the theory of psychotherapy as well as more advanced training in interview skills. A PGY 4 level course is designed specifically to assist residents in preparing for the clinical Royal College qualifying examination, while enhancing their consultation and practice management skills.

University Grand Rounds are conducted by residents for the the discipline of psychiatry and allied health professionals. Each resident presents three discipline Grand Rounds presentations during PGY 2, PGY 3 and PGY 5.

Patient-centered teaching is done by faculty and staff in the course of daily work in both inpatient and outpatient settings. A number of faculty also present seminars in a variety of topics during core rotations as requested by the residents. Residents are also expected to teach their junior residents, interns, and clinical clerks as part of their training as future teachers. The Medical Education Scholarship Centre offers a mandatory, longitudinal course to all residents at Memorial University which focuses on enhancing clinical teaching skills.

Residents additionally have protected time to attend an annual resident retreat which is supported by the program as well as an annual faculty resident retreat.   

Psychotherapy Training and Supervision

Residents undergo extensive training and experience in the theory and practice of psychotherapy beginning in PGY 1 and continuing throughout the five years of their residency program. These experiences are coordinated by the psychotherapy director for our program, who meets longitudinally with residents over the course of their training to monitor progress and reflect on this component of training. Overall, the goal is to offer training in core psychotherapeutic techniques that can be offered as stand-alone treatments or integrated into general clinical practice.

PGY 1 includes academic half days focused on basic therapy skills and supportive techniques. Moreover, all residents complete a one day seminar in therapeutic crisis intervention, which is integral to on-call work. In PGY 2, residents attend seminars in cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy and are supervised in cognitive behavioral therapy. Residents participate in family therapy during the child and adolescent rotation. In PGY 3, they attend seminars in long-term dynamic psychotherapy and receive clinical supervision with a patient having psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Emergency Training in Psychiatry

Residents complete 12 weeks of introductory training and experience in emergency and crisis-oriented psychiatry as part of their early Foundations training.  A competency-based assessment program has been used for a number of years during this rotation to ensure that residents have demonstrated the necessary competencies during “buddy call” before progressing to “independent” call by PGY 2 while supervised by on-call staff.

Throughout their PGY 2 through PGY 5 years, residents are assigned to call responsibilities in either the Psychiatry Assessment Unit (PAU) at the Waterford Hospital or the Child and Adolescent Emergency Department at the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre. Call is under the supervision of the supervising psychiatrist.  Residents on-call in the Adult Emergency Department work with one or two interns/clinical clerks, the on-call general practitioner, and the emergency psychiatric nurses. Call varies in frequency but averages approximately one in seven to one in ten throughout the residency program. Call frequency is decreased during part of the PGY 4 examination year.

Research

Residents are required to complete one scholarly project during their residency and disseminate the results of this work. Projects can include original research, education or quality review. Residents are expected to present their work initiatives at the discipline’s Annual Psychiatry Scholarship Day. Residents are also required to submit their work to peer-review in one of two ways: they may prepare and submit a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal for publication; or they may prepare and present an academic poster at a peer-reviewed conference. Residents between PGY 2 - 5 are given the equivalent of four weeks of research time that can be divided on an individual basis to assist in fulfilling these research requirements. The program Research Advisor will be available to assist residents in this process.

The program recognizes excellence in psychiatric resident research, awarding the Janssen Award for Excellence in Psychiatric Resident Research at each Psychiatry Scholarship Day.

The program also offers a three - six month research elective. This research elective is intended for new research, in addition to the resident research requirement. Expansion of an existing project will also be considered.

Seminars 

There are weekly half-day seminars as outlined under "Academic Program" above. Discipline Grand Rounds occur alternate Fridays during the academic year. Critical Appraisal and Research Education sessions occur alternate weeks (opposite to discipline Grand Rounds). Emergency Psychiatry/Quality rounds are held every four weeks. A monthly Journal Club is organized and run by residents.

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Training Sites

Resources

The Health Sciences Centre

Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre

St. Clare's Mercy Hospital

The Waterford Hospital

The L. A. Miller Centre

Central Newfoundland Hospital, Grand Falls-Windsor 

Saint John Regional Hospital; Saint John, New Brunswick

Resident research rooms with computer internet access at each site.

NOTE:  We anticipate that residents will also train at the new (and as yet unnamed) psychiatric hospital slated to open in St. John's in the next 1-2 years.

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Additional Information

Residents may be required to complete a portion of their residency training in New Brunswick.

Please address any questions you may have regarding the psychiatry residency training program via e-mail to either the program director at alatus@mun.ca or the program administrator at pgme.psychiatry@mun.ca. Please expect a delay of up to three business days for us to reply.  

We look forward to meeting you!

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FAQ

Are the people in Newfoundland really that friendly?  Yes :-)

 

Will there be an opportunity to speak with residents about the program?  Yes, we will be hosting virtual information nights and a Facebook page for applicants, as well as a virtual social event.