Program Contacts

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Important Information

This program is designed for surgeons who are in their final (PGY5) year of General Surgery postgraduate residency training and who are American Board or Royal College Examination eligible.

This is a 2-year General Thoracic Surgical Training experience leading to eligibility for accreditation in General Thoracic Surgery by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Electives are available to PGY3-5 General Surgery residents who are considering application to our program.

Received full Accreditation by the Royal College in 2019 (Next Regular Survey planned for 2027). 

Thoracic Surgery will start Competency by Design training framework on July 2025.

Strengths of the program: 

1. High clinical volume and wide catchment area (service a catchment area of 2.5 million people as a referral base for Thoracic Surgery).
2. All aspects of Thoracic Surgery (except for lung transplantation) are well covered
• Good balance of advanced endoscopy vs minimally invasive (including robotic) vs open surgical procedures conducted
• Uncommon procedures are covered in our Cadavers Lab
3. Dedicated faculty with high faculty to resident ratio (5:2-4)
4. Well organized educational system including academic half-days, faculty-led rounds including guest speakers, in situ simulation, cadavers lab curriculum, a robust academic curriculum, regular practice written and oral exams, non-medical expertise seminars, and many more learning events outside of clinical work.
5. Unique to our program is the ability for the resident to develop surgical autonomy, critical thinking in the outpatient clinic and control of patients flow in endoscopy early on during their residency.
6. Cancer centre in the same physical site (Victoria Hospital - London Health Sciences Centre)
7. Very close relationships with other disciplines, and allied health
8. Dedicated faculty, Program Director and Program Assistant who are committed to resident wellness and success.
9. Robust research program with dedicated research time available, a Research Director and funding to present work at meetings.
10. Close and collegial relationship of faculty and residents.
11. Cost of living is low in London, Ontario allowing more disposable income for trainees
12. London has access to several amenities of the bigger cities, while being more convenient to commute in and has access to a plethora of activities
13. All faculty have a strong interest in teaching (most of them are Clinician-Teachers)
14. All faculty have strong ties and occupy positions within important national organizations (Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons, and the Thoracic Surgery Specialty Committee at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada)
15. Emphasis is made to maintain a collegial and positive learning environment where wellness is prioritized
16. We have dedicated Physician Extenders (Physician Assistant, Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioners) assisting the resident in their workload, including for the more menial tasks
17. Our faculty are at different career stages, making them very complementary
18. We graduate Thoracic Surgeons into both Academic and Community careers
19. Our Program Administrator has a breadth of experience and has been with the program for over 20 years
20. Annual Resident Focus Group/Retreat to discuss the program
21. Plethora of free social activities (Thoracic Surgery Summer BBQ, Senior Resident BBQ, Department of Surgery Faculty and Wellness Event, Graduation Dinner, Christmas Dinner)
22. Possibility to do a 1-year MSc in Surgery (usually following completion of the 2-year Thoracic Surgery residency program)

Postgraduate Medical Education in conjunction with London Health Sciences Centre will hold an Orientation Day to be determined at a later date close to the beginning of the residency.

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Return of Service

There will be a Return of Service requirement for all International Medical Graduates.

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General Instructions

Program application language: Either English or French

Applicants can submit their applications in English or French (English preferred as all Faculty speak English, but an application in French will be considered).

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Supporting Documentation / Information

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Review Process

Applications submitted after file review has opened on August 20, 2024

Supporting documents that arrive after file review has opened  on  August 20, 2024

All applications will be reviewed by the program director and a faculty file reviewer. Candidates that meet the following criteria will be selected for an interview:

1. Submission of ALL MANDATORY DOCUMENTS; candidates with an incomplete file will NOT be offered an interview
2. Demonstration of an interest in Thoracic Surgery
3. Trainees who are enrolled in a 5-year General Surgery program

Our selection process for interviews is non-biased, objective and fair. All applications are reviewed by multiple assessors and interviews are granted based on application scores. We receive many applications each year and interview those that meet the cut off that has been established by the Resident Program Committee and the Resident Selection Committee.

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Interviews

Dates:

• September 14, 2024
• September 15, 2024
• September 16, 2024
• September 17, 2024
• September 18, 2024
• September 19, 2024
• September 20, 2024
• September 21, 2024
• September 22, 2024

Selection Criteria

Selection and ranking is based on a compilation of standardized scoring of both the application and interview. The Resident Selection Committee suggests a rank order list which is ratified by the entire Program. No preference is given to internal candidates or candidates who have completed electives at Western University.

Program goals

The aim of the Thoracic Surgery Training Program at Western University is to train safe and excellent surgeons whose clinical skills are based on a strong foundation of basic Thoracic Surgery knowledge, important surgical/procedural volume and wide breadth of pathologies that covers all the main aspects of Thoracic Surgery. The wealth of experience gained during this 2-year residency matures this knowledge base and develops into good technical skills and autonomy. The Thoracic Surgery resident will have the knowledge and skills to supervise all elements of care of the surgical patient from initial consultation until correction of the problem. A lifelong attitude of learning and adaptation to the changes of surgical practice will be obtained. We train fully competent and excellent general thoracic surgeons comfortable in managing anything a Thoracic Surgeon in Canada currently does. Unique to this program is the fact that we manage aspects of thoracic surgery including upper gastrointestinal area, mediastinal and airway disease, advanced endoscopic procedures, robotic surgery, trauma in addition to pulmonary disease with our very dedicated faculty and high faculty to resident ratio.

Selection process goals

Successful applicants will demonstrate: 

1. Commitment of Thoracic Surgery as a career
2. Strong interpersonal skills and leadership potential
3. Aptitude to engage in research
4. Honesty and integrity
5. Ability to communicate clearly with colleagues
6. Ability to work as a team player and is collegial
7. Ability to be flexible and calm under pressure
8. Display good work ethic, professionalism, empathy, health advocate
9. Ability to progress technically
10. Promotes wellness

File review process

Evaluation 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

1. High clinical volume and wide catchment area (service a catchment area of 2.5 million people as a referral base for Thoracic Surgery).
2. All aspects of Thoracic Surgery (except for lung transplantation) are well covered
• Good balance of advanced endoscopy vs minimally invasive (including robotic) vs open surgical procedures conducted
• Uncommon procedures are covered in our Cadavers Lab
3. Dedicated faculty with high faculty to resident ratio (5:2-4)
4. Well organized educational system including academic half-days, faculty-led rounds including guest speakers, in situ simulation, cadavers lab curriculum, a robust academic curriculum, regular practice written and oral exams, non-medical expertise seminars, and many more learning events outside of clinical work.
5. Unique to our program is the ability for the resident to develop surgical autonomy, critical thinking in the outpatient clinic and control of patients flow in endoscopy early on during their residency.
6. Cancer centre in the same physical site (Victoria Hospital - London Health Sciences Centre)
7. Very close relationships with other disciplines, and allied health
8. Dedicated faculty, Program Director and Program Assistant who are committed to resident wellness and success.
9. Robust research program with dedicated research time available, a Research Director and funding to present work at meetings.
10. Close and collegial relationship of faculty and residents.
11. Cost of living is low in London, Ontario allowing more disposable income for trainees
12. London has access to several amenities of the bigger cities, while being more convenient to commute in and has access to a plethora of activities
13. All faculty have a strong interest in teaching (most of them are Clinician-Teachers)
14. All faculty have strong ties and occupy positions within important national organizations (Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons, and the Thoracic Surgery Specialty Committee at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada)
15. Emphasis is made to maintain a collegial and positive learning environment where wellness is prioritized
16. We have dedicated Physician Extenders (Physician Assistant, Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioners) assisting the resident in their workload, including for the more menial tasks
17. Our faculty are at different career stages, making them very complementary
18. We graduate Thoracic Surgeons into both Academic and Community careers
19. Our Program Administrator has a breadth of experience and has been with the program for over 20 years
20. Annual Resident Focus Group/Retreat to discuss the program
21. Plethora of free social activities (Thoracic Surgery Summer BBQ, Senior Resident BBQ, Department of Surgery Faculty and Wellness Event, Graduation Dinner, Christmas Dinner)
22. Possibility to do a 1-year MSc in Surgery (usually following completion of the 2-year Thoracic Surgery residency program)

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Program Curriculum

This residency program is for 2 years.

Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.

We are transitioning out of a Time-based curriculum, where 26 blocks (4 weeks each) of training were required as follows:

• 20 Blocks of Thoracic Surgery Training
• 3 Blocks Cardiac Surgery
• 3 Blocks Elective

With the newer Competency by Design Curriculum starting in July 2025, the program as designed will provide residents with exceptional training in thoracic surgery with flexibility to obtain career goals based on independent needs.

Transition to Discipline (4-8 weeks)

Foundations to Discipline (approximately 3-6 months)

Core of Discipline (approximately 18 months)

Transition to Practice (up to 3 months)

Unique to our program is the ability for the resident to develop surgical autonomy, critical thinking in the outpatient clinic and control of patients flow in endoscopy early on during their residency.

Research

Most faculty conduct research. The trainee will meet with the Research Director in the first 2 months of residency to select a research project and discuss research objectives. Funding is provided for residents to conduct research (grants application), and to attend conferences where their research has been accepted for presentation. It is expected for the research to be at least presented in a National or International conference. 

Seminars

A series of seminars by Thoracic Surgery Faculty, Guest Speakers, and sometimes resident-led are held on Wednesday morning (0700 - 0900 am), with additional teaching provided during the weekly QA/QI discussion of current and recently discharged patients on service. 

In addition, an academic half-day per week is built in the weekly schedule. This weekly schedule is made by one of the Faculty to ensure fair distribution of clinical activities through the 2 years. 

In Situ Thoracic Surgery Crisis Simulations are held 4 times a year, either in the OR, on the inpatient ward, in the ICU, or in the trauma bay. 

Cadavers lab are held at the Anatomy Department at Western University at least once a year. A curriculum was developed to cover rare procedures or difficult surgical exposure. 

Regular practice written and oral exams are done. The written exams are marked and discussed with the residents. It helps benchmarking the residents to previous trainees at the same stage of training. 

 

 

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Training Sites

London Health Sciences Centre - Victoria Hospital (Main site, 90% of the time is spent in this hospital)

London Health Sciences Centre - University Hospital

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Additional Information