Program Contacts

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Important Information

NOSM University is one psychiatry program, distributed across three main sites: North Bay, Sault Ste Marie, and Thunder Bay. We excel at training future psychiatrists who are competent to work in underserviced, rural and remote regions; we work with some of the most vulnerable populations with complex, acute addictions and mental health needs.

For CaRMS 2024, there will be a total of four available positions: one residency position in each of North Bay and Sault Ste Marie, and two positions in Thunder Bay (one CMG and one IMG). 

Applicants who successfully match to the NOSM U Psychiatry Program will be matched to either North Bay, Sault Ste Marie, or Thunder Bay. To be matched for a particular site, applicants must apply to the site specifically (e.g., the application to Thunder Bay site does not automatically transfer to Sault Ste Marie site). Applicants are encouraged to apply to all three sites.  Residents are required to establish a home-base in their primary community (site) where they have matched. Core and elective rotations may occur in their primary (home) site, and at the other training sites.

COVID-19 vaccination policy

Please be aware the Ministry of Health has mandated all hospital and health care employers establish, implement and ensure compliance with a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. The Ministry directive can be reviewed here. Residents matched to any Ontario residency program must ensure they are able to comply with the Ministry directive in order to start training July 1, 2024.   

It is important to understand this is an evolving issue. You are required to review Provincial, Hospital, University and Program information to ensure you are in continued compliance with directives.  

 

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

Applications will only be accepted through the CaRMS R-1 Match application process.

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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

Each application is reviewed and scored independently by at least two faculty members and a resident using standard assessment rubric. The rubric is based on CanMED roles and NOSM University values.

File review scores will be averaged for each applicant and the program will offer interviews to approximately the top 30 candidates based on their average file review score. We will continue to include community members in the independent scoring of file reviews.

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Interviews

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be selected for an interview based on:

Demonstrated interest in Psychiatry; academic record; strength of references; strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills; self-directed learning; and a desire to provide service in a variety of health care settings.

An interest in future Northern urban, rural or remote practice will be a key consideration.

 

Program goals

The NOSM University Psychiatry residency program  delivers a comprehensive clinical curriculum which includes core rotations in psychiatry and subspecialty rotations selected to incorporate depth and diversity of experience and proficiency in specialty areas integral to community-based practice.

Our program prepares our residents with the necessary skills/competencies to become well-rounded, general psychiatrists who are trained to deliver excellent, culturally respectful health care to all patients in a wide variety of settings, such as emergency, inpatient, outpatient, and community settings, including northern urban, rural, and remote communities.

With one-on-one preceptor support, we aim to provide our residents with ongoing support to meet the program training objectives, as well as their own individual learning/career goals. Upon completion of training, our residents will be prepared to begin their careers as general psychiatrists in any setting, and/or be well-positioned to pursue subspecialty training.

Selection process goals

Through our selection process, our program identifies candidates who have a strong academic history with demonstrated competence and interest in psychiatry (e.g. psychiatry rotations, electives, scholarly activities, conference involvement and other related work or life experiences). We are seeking candidates who possess superior clinical communication skills and have the ability to relate to patients, their families, and caregivers with compassion, empathy, sensitivity and humility.

We are looking for candidates who have the ability and willingness to work collaboratively (within and across professional domains) in a team to secure optimal patient outcomes, while exemplifying the highest standards of professional behavior -- inclusive of responsibility, respect, and self-awareness.

As a medical school with social accountability as our cornerstone, accountability to the needs of the diverse populations of Northern Ontario, candidates best suited to the NOSM U Psychiatry Program are those with an interest in future northern urban, rural, or remote practice, who can adapt and thrive in a hands-on, distributed northern residency program that requires flexibility and some travel away from their primary location of residence. 

Candidates who are resilient, can prioritize their personal well-being, and are also committed to self-reflective learning, continuing professional development, and quality improvement, are well-suited to our program. Through our selection process we identify and successfully match candidates who possess these attributes.

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 : In keeping with the CanMEDs roles, please note that throughout the entire application and interview process, your interactions with NOSM U personnel may be taken into consideration by the program in their selection process and ranking decisions.

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 following represent the highlights of our program:

• A comprehensive understanding of the cultural, geographic and socioeconomic determinants of mental and addiction disorders in a Northern urban, rural or remote clinical setting.
• A core value and focus on social accountability.
• An unique and challenging learning experience.
• Unparalleled preceptor support from physicians committed to practicing in Northern Ontario.
• Early integration as a key member of a health care team dedicated to professionalism, high quality and accessible patient care.
• Commitment to excellence in medical education and Resident learning.
• Self-directed, learner-centered training to meet your career goals.
• Exposure to the culture and social fabric of Francophone and Indigenous communities.
• Financial support from NOSM U for Resident travel to and from core clinical placements away from the primary site and all mandatory educational activities at non home site locations.
• Housing support from NOSM U for core rotations away from primary residence.
• Opportunity to participate in research under expert guidance.
• Funding available from NOSM U for research, professional development and conferences.
• Access to advanced technology and informatics in residency training.
• 24/7 access to electronic search engines, electronic indexes as well as an extensive collection of electronic medical/health journals and textbooks.
• Exceptional lifestyle balance with a wide variety of outstanding Northern Ontario recreational opportunities.

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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.

NOSM University Psychiatry Program is 5 years. 

The program includes core rotations in Psychiatry and subspecialty rotations selected to incorporate a diversity of experience and proficiency in subspecialty areas integral to Northern Ontario based practices.

All rotations may be completed in distributed Northern sites, including Thunder Bay, North Bay, and Sault Ste. Marie. Based on the resident’s personal learning plan, the content, sequence of training and schedule of movement between teaching sites may vary. 

Rotations are supervised (often 1:1) by highly experienced and committed clinical faculty and the resident will have an opportunity to be involved in the care and management of patients in a wide variety of clinical areas.

Starting 1 July 2020, incoming cohorts of successfully matched applicants to NOSM U Psychiatry program will be entering into a Competence by Design (CBD) based residency program. 

CBD will use time as a framework rather than the basis for progression, and it is not anticipated that the duration of training will change for the majority of trainees. Residency programs will be broken down into stages (Transition to Discipline, Foundations, Core, and Transition to Practice). Each stage will have a series of milestones based on required competencies. These milestones will create more targeted learning outcomes and involve more frequent, formative assessments within the clinical workplace to ensure residents are developing and receiving feedback on the skills they need. 

Key components of this CBD include; competency-based assessment, high volume work-place based assessment with frequent, authentic feedback, and competency based promotion.

As we are in the fourth year of CBD implementation, we want your feedback as we move along this journey together to help us build an even better program for you and those who will follow in your footsteps.

Residents in this program will have a number of opportunities unique to Northern Ontario. While the majority of the training takes place in your home base (Thunder Bay, North Bay or Sault Ste. Marie), there is opportunity to have clinical experiences in various centers across the North. From small rural hospitals to other major centers, our program provides a unique chance to understand how Psychiatry is provided outside the major teaching center, and exposure to potential career opportunities. 

The small size of the program allows for close mentorship between the faculty and the residents. This has been identified as a strength of our program and enables a rapid progression to independent activities for individual residents. 

As a growing program, resident feedback is an integral part of shaping this program for the future. Our program is extremely responsive to resident input throughout their training.  Regular meetings with our Site Directors and meetings twice a year with our Program Director, gives our residents a formal arena to offer feedback.

At present, our current clinical curriculum is structured as listed below. NOSM U rotation schedule works in blocks. There are 13 blocks in an academic year, with 4 weeks in each block.

 Transition to Discipline (first 3 blocks PGY1)

• combination of Psychiatry Inpatient/Outpatient

 Foundations I (last 10 blocks of PGY1)

• 1 Block of Addictions
• 1 Block of Emergency Medicine
• 1 Block of Internal Medicine
• 1 Block of Neurology
• 1 Block of Family Medicine
• 1 Block of Emergency Psychiatry
• 4 Blocks of Selectives/Elective

 Foundations II(aka PGY2)

• 1 Block of Personalized Learning in Psychiatry
• 6 Blocks of Inpatient Psychiatry
• 6 Blocks of Outpatient Psychiatry

 Core of Discipline (aka PGY3-4)

• Longitudinal Psychotherapy training will occur on a weekly basis during the entirety of Core.
• 6 Blocks of Geriatric Psychiatry (scheduled during first 12 blocks of Core)
• 6 Blocks of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (scheduled during first 12 blocks of Core)
• 6 blocks of SPMI training (3 blocks inpatient and 3 blocks community/outpatient)
• 2-3 blocks of Addictions medicine/psychiatry (this may be scheduled as psychiatry for 1-1.5 days a week with the remaining days of the week spent in an FM/RAAM clinic)
• 3-4 blocks of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry
• 2 blocks of Collaborative/shared care

There is opportunity to arrange for longitudinal experiences in addictions medicine, consultation liaison, and collaborative/shared care based on educational needs and availability of clinical services. The resident will need to work with their site director and academic advisor to arrange and ensure EPAs/objectives can be met with their alternative plan.

 Transition to Practice (aka PGY5)

• Personalized learning year in Psychiatry. Suggested clinical experiences include:
  Addictions Psychiatry
  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Consultation Liaison
  • Development Disabilities
  • Forensic
  • Geriatric Psychiatry
  • Inpatient Psychiatry
  • Outpatient Psychiatry
  • Psychotherapies
  • Research
  • Rural and Remote Psychiatry
  • SPMI

The above noted list is not exhaustive, you will work with a faculty lead to determine the best course of training for your needs. 

 

Psychotherapy Training

 

Residents will be provided with training in CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy), Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Supportive Psychotherapy, Crisis Intervention, Family Therapy, Dialectic Behaviour Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Group Therapy. You will meet regularly with Psychotherapy Coordinator (faculty member) who will guide you through the psychotherapy milestones.

 

Academics

 

Academic half-days occur weekly throughout the year during protected time from clinical duties in the PGY1 year and full day in PGY2-4 years. Academics in PGY5 year will be structured for transition to practice. Residents will also have the opportunity to participate in local community educational rounds, presentations, journal clubs and rounds.

 

 

Research

 

Residents are expected to complete a research project or a scholarly activity during their residency. There is opportunity to present yearly at the annual Resident Research Day. The supports available to you include: the Program’s Research Coordinator (faculty member), Research Milestones and research curriculum that is woven through the Academics days.

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Training Sites

Applicants who match to the North Bay site will be required to select this community as their home-base/location of primary residence.

The NOSM U Psychiatry program is one Psychiatry Program, currently offered at three main sites: North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and Thunder Bay.

Our Program is a distributed model, and all Residents may spend up to 18 months at Program sites (which is not their primary site) to complete core or elective rotations. 

North Bay

North Bay is conveniently located in the Nipissing District, in northeastern Ontario, with a population of 70,000. North Bay is a short 1.5-hour drive to Sudbury.

Comprehensive medical services in North Bay are provided by a fully-accredited medical hospital, the North Bay Regional Health Centre, which is a 401-bed facility that offers numerous outpatient and outreach services in North Bay and throughout the northeast region. It provides acute care services to North Bay and its surrounding communities, and it is the district referral centre, providing specialist services for smaller communities in the area, and it is the specialized mental health service provider serving northeast Ontario. 

Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay is situated on Lake Superior, in northwestern Ontario. The city has a population of approximately 121,000 and serves as a regional referral centre for northwestern Ontario and many rural and remote Indigenous communities.

The high volume tertiary care hospital, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), is a 395-bed tertiary care academic & research centre offering a comprehensive range of services in state-of-the-art healthcare facilities.

A second major teaching hospital in Thunder Bay is St Joseph’s Care Group (SJCG). SJCG has over 2400 staff is the long-term care facility, providing services in Addictions & Mental Health, Rehabilitative Care and Senior’s Health.

Sault Ste. Marie

Sault Ste. Marie (also known as the Sault or the Soo) is a city located on the St. Mary’s River in Ontario, in the Algoma District. With a population of approximately 78,000, Sault Ste. Marie is the third largest city in Northern Ontario.

Sault Area Hospital (SAH) is a 291 bed state-of-the-art facility that opened in March 2011. SAH provides emergency, primary, secondary, selected tertiary and long-term care healthcare services to the city and the District of Algoma with a catchment population of approximately 120,000.

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Additional Information

For additional community information, visit the NOSM U website: 

https://www.nosm.ca/our-community/wider-campus-of-the-northern-ontario-school-of-medicine/