McGill University - Geriatric Psychiatry - Montreal
2025 Medicine Subspecialty Match - first iteration
Particular Stream for All
Last approved on July 19, 2024
Summary of changesAccreditation status : Accredited
Provincial Criteria
1033 Pine Ave West
Room 105
Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1A1
Program Contacts
Important Information
French language functionality is strongly recommended for applicants.
General Instructions
Program application language: Either English or French
We welcome applications in French or English. Applications including a mix of French and English documents are also welcome (i.e. no need to translate any documents or ask your referees to prepare documents in a specific language).
Supporting Documentation / Information
• Canadian Birth Certificate or Act of Birth
• Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
• Canadian Permanent Resident Card (both sides of card)
PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP must be submitted with each application.
EITHER:
- A copy of Canadian Birth Certificate;
OR
- A copy of Permanent Resident Card (copy of both sides of the card) OR a copy of an IMM 5292, IMM 1000, IMM 5688;
NB: the Permanent Resident card can be expired.
OR
- A copy of Citizenship Card (copy of both sides of the card)
Program director letter: Letter should indicate that the resident is on track in the development of their competencies and is expected to complete their core competency EPAs by the end of the PGY-4 year.
Topics to be included: why considering Critical Care; why considering the McGill program.
Custom Résumé / CV Rotation Evaluations / In Training Evaluation Report (ITER)PDF copies of In-Training Evaluations for your core Internal Medicine Rotations
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
Selection Criteria
Please see Program Goals, Highlights and Curriculum sections for description of the program.
Program goals
McGill’s Geriatric Psychiatry Residency Program grew from an historically strong geriatric psychiatry residency program. The goal of the Geriatric Psychiatry residency program is to provide and ensure high-quality training in Geriatric Psychiatry for senior residents who have already completed their general Psychiatry training. This training will prepare residents for certification and practice as independent consultants in Geriatric Psychiatry. The residents will advance in the level of their fulfillment of all CanMEDS roles, in order to be able to provide excellent and comprehensive direct psychiatric care for the most complex geriatric patients and their families/caregivers, as well as support, education, and consultation for their psychiatric, medical, allied health, and community colleagues. They will attain, and be prepared to maintain and perfect, a sophisticated and profound understanding of diagnostic and therapeutic issues pertaining to geriatric psychiatry, grounded in a nuanced approach to issues of gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, culture, ethnicity, and ethics. They will be prepared to advance knowledge and improve service delivery in this field, while upholding a high standard of professionalism.
Residents in the Geriatric Psychiatry program will attain advanced level knowledge of normal and abnormal aspects of aging, systems of care and resources available for the elderly, psychotherapeutic constructs, psychopharmacology and somatic therapies, mental health legislation and regulations, principles of capacity and consent, caregiver issues, elder abuse, end-of life issues, anxiety disorders, behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, dementia and its common subtypes, delirium, mood disorders, primary and secondary movement disorders, psychiatric disorders secondary to medical conditions, psychiatric complications of medical and neurological illnesses, and schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. They will also attain knowledge of adjustment disorders, alcohol and other substance use disorders, developmental disabilities, personality disorders, sleep disorders, and somatoform disorders.
Selection process goals
Successful applicants will have demonstrated dedication to and aptitude for Geriatric Psychiatry subspecialty training. Their clinical and academic skills are such that they are likely to succeed in training to provide direct and indirect clinical care and to advance the field of geriatric psychiatry through advocacy, research or leadership roles. They will have demonstrated autonomy and independence in their learning.
File review process
Review team composition : Program director, selection committee including site training directors and a resident representative.
Average number of applications received by our program in the last five years : 0 - 50
0-5
Average percentage of applicants offered interviews : 76 - 100 %
| File component | Criteria |
|---|---|
| CV | Meeting requirements for entry to the program. |
| Electives | Interest for the field. |
| Examinations | Ability to successfully complete academic requirements. |
| Extra-curricular | Ability to multi-task and manage work-life balance. |
| Leadership skills | Aptitude for potential leadership roles as a future subspecialist. |
| MSPRs | We do not evaluate this file component |
| Personal letters | Interest and aptitude for the field, maturity, empathy, writing skills. |
| Reference documents | Aptitude for the field, interpersonal and academic abilities. |
| Research/Publications | Scholarly aptitude and productivity. |
| Transcripts | Ability to successfully complete academic requirements. |
Interview process
Interview format :
We may accommodate requests to re-schedule interviews for applicants due to weather, technology failure, or unforeseen circumstances.
| Interview components | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Collaboration skills | Interpersonal skills and flexibility. |
| Collegiality | Interpersonal skills including conflict management and navigating professional disagreements. |
| Communication skills | Ability to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, recognizing that the patient population served in geriatric psychiatry may have communication challenges. Verifying that applicant is functional in French and English. |
| Health advocacy | Recognition of the particular challenges requiring advocacy in the field of geriatric psychiatry. |
| Interest in the discipline | Clear dedication to the field of geriatric psychiatry |
| Interest in the program | Rationale for applying to the McGill residency program. |
| Leadership skills | Aptitude to take on formal and informal leadership roles as often required in subspecialty practice. |
| Professionalism | Ability to navigate ethical dilemmas specific to the field, e.g. complex capacity issues, MAID for anticipatory demands and mental illness, etc. |
| Scholarly activities | Aptitude to identify and plan a tailored academic project during residency. |
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 :Program Highlights
Strengths of the Program
- Collegial atmosphere oriented to the resident as an adult learner
- Small program, training a maximum of two residents per year, allowing flexibility and individualized tailoring of training to support the educational and career goals of each resident
- Fully Royal College-accredited and well-integrated with the general Psychiatry Residency Program and the Department of Psychiatry
- McGill’s Chief of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Dr. Simon Ducharme, is also the Associate Chair for Research of the Department of Psychiatry. He is available to mentor and supervise Geriatric Psychiatry residents for the academic project.
- For residents interested in completing an educational project in lieu of research, access to the McGill Institute of Health Sciences Education including their annual period-6 course “Foundations in Medical and Health Sciences Education”
- Funded access to the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry Online Review Course in PGY-6 as part of the formal curriculum to prepare residents for their certifying exam
- Access to specialized rotations including a behavioural dementia inpatient unit, BPSD outreach teams, a dedicated geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit, a psychiatric memory clinic, and neuropsychiatry
- No call duties during the PGY-6 year, though there are still opportunities to see geriatric psychiatry patients in the emergency room setting
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.
Academic Curriculum
A formal academic curriculum will support the attainment of the knowledge expected of a geriatric psychiatrist. The curriculum includes a national synchronous seminar series and self-directed learning via the CAGP Online Review Course, the Geriatric Psychiatry Learning Pathways interactive modules and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement modules. Our Curriculum chair also designs a McGill seminar series based on the identified learning needs of the residents. Residents will also participate in dedicated geriatric psychiatry journal clubs at each training site.
Structure and Content of Training
The Program is designed to meet the Royal College Specialty Training Experiences (TE), and will work with each individual resident to plan training that is tailored within those requirements to further his or her career goals. The Program is fully transitioned to CBME/CBD.
In summary, the TE includes:
- Transition to discipline stage: a brief inpatient or C-L rotation to ensure incoming residents are oriented to the program and the university and demonstrate the geriatric psychiatry skills expected of a general Psychiatry resident.
- Foundations stage: includes a geriatric medicine and a memory clinic rotation.
- Core stage: inpatient, outpatient, and outreach/long-term care geriatric psychiatry.
- Transition to practice: a return to a previous training site to practice and demonstrate the ability to run a service.
- Longitudinal academic project in research, education, quality assurance, or administration.
Training Sites
The primary training sites are:
Douglas Mental Health University Institute (6875 Lasalle Blvd, Montreal)
St. Mary's Hospital Centre (3830 Lacombe Ave., Montreal)
Jewish General Hospital (3755 Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal)
Summary of changes
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