Program Contacts

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Important Information

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

 

Orientation

Applicants who match to Memorial University must attend PGME orientation during the last week of June. Details will be provided in March 2026.

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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 November 27, 2025

Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened  on  November 27, 2025

Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on November 27, 2025

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, 2026
• January 30, 2026

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. 
• An interest in rural generalist practice is considered an asset.

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. Collaboration and professionalim are 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.

The Central Stream has been designed to build on the success of the home program with a greater focus on psychiatry in a rural setting. It is based in Grand Falls-Windsor in Central Newfoundland.  As much as possible, effort will be made to meet competencies through longitudinal experiences. We have a strong relationship with other disciplines, especially family medicine, and collaborative care is a focus in the Central Stream. The use of virtual care will be taught, as it is a mainstay for community outreach to remote areas. Our rural communities are friendly and inviting, and faculty are highly engaged in ensuring learning opportunities balance with academic and personal goals. Connection to the home program is maintained virtually for academics, psychotherapy supervision, and effort is made to facilitate local socialization with residents of other disciplines and integration of the learner (and family) into our rural medical community.

About Grand Falls-Windsor:

The Central Stream takes place in Grand Falls-Windsor (GFW), Newfoundland and Labrador. GFW is a community of 13,853 people (from the 2021 Census), located in the centre of the province, approximately 4.5 hrs away from St. John's. Central Health reports its catchment area as 94,000 people across more than half the land mass of the island of Newfoundland.  We have an established Psychiatry service in Grand Falls-Windsor that provides coverage for the region. We are hoping with recruitment to the Gander site, there will be capacity for trainees at that site as well. Our psychiatrists are engaged and enthusiastic about teaching, currently providing rotations to residents from the St. John’s campus in shared care (PGY4), core rotations of general adult inpatient or outpatient training (PGY2), and rural psychiatry selectives (PGY5).  

GFW itself is a community founded as a "mill town" with a tradition of creating family locally after moving here that is still felt in the community today. The community is engaged in supporting families integrating into its network, with a variety of programs available to all age groups through the town. The town boasts multiple playgrounds, walking trails, and has recently completed renovations on a winter snowshoe trail system and sliding hill. GFW also is positioning itself as a site of excellence in mental health promotion, hosting annual mental health stakeholder's retreats, which bring together all members of the community involved in the provision of mental health care for a day of education, networking, and problem solving.

GFW is the largest MUN Medicine teaching site outside St. John's. Already an established site for the discipline of Family Medicine, there are multiple opportunities to connect with learners in peripheral communities through the Distributed Medical Education office, which is also located in Central Newfoundland. Our resident will be working closely with the family medicine residents as a peer group, and both programs are committed to fostering collaborative care "from the ground up". It is well documented in the literature that social and academic isolation are barriers to both training and practicing in the rural setting. Our medical community is welcoming and trainees as well as staff are encouraged to form connections across disciplines. Our faculty include practioners from the full range of practice, and boast a broad range of hobbies.  We promote fostering our trainees from learner to colleague through the course of residency.

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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.

 

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.

 

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 

1. Transition to Discipline (PGY 1 - first eight weeks)

The first eight weeks of training is spent in psychiatry in an acute care setting.  The first 2 weeks of TTD consists of a "MUN Psychiatry Boot Camp", some of which will be together with residents in the home program in St. John's. 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.  The following 6 weeks consists of introduction to the sites in which the resident will be practicing, along with community visits to allow an introduction to community supports and the mental health care needs of our population.

2. Foundations of Discipline Rotations (PGY 1 - remainder)

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:

2 blocks of addiction psychiatry.

3 blocks of inpatient, outpatient and ER psychiatry

Six blocks outside psychiatry:

2 blocks internal medicine/neurology

1 block emergency medicine

1 block pediatrics

1 block geriatric medicine or endocrinology

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

One or more block may be completed in St. John's, facilitated by the home program. We are committed to working with the resident to ensure preferences are met. 

3. Foundations of Discipline Rotations (PGY 2)

Central Stream residents will spend PGY 2 in a longitudinal year combining inpatient and outpatient duties appropriate to level of training to create a schedule similar to how one may practice as a psychiatrist in a rural setting. Patients seen on call will be followed in hospital and as an outpatient upon discharge allowing for continuity of care and a perspective on the course of illness over time. 

4. Core of Discipline Rotations (PGY3-4)

Central Stream residents will continue with their practice started in PGY2, and gradually assume more responsibilities and complexity of cases. There will be a focus on caring for patients with severe and persistent mental illness.   There will be tracked exposure to patients across the lifespan with support from the Child/Adolescent and Geriatric subspecialty programs in St. John’s.  Residents in the Central Stream will be included virtually in academic activities through the Janeway Children's Hospital and Geriatric Program in St. John's. Collaborative care clinics with rural Pediatrics and Geriatrics programs and trainees from other disciplines in this area are intended to foster a thorough understanding of the role psychiatry can play in the rural setting. Consult Liaison Psychiatry will be a tracked longitudinal experience throughout residency, as this is part of on call responsibilities in this setting. Exposure to subspecialty training in child/adolescent, consultation/liaison and geriatric psychiatry may require up to 9 months of the Core stage of training to be spent in St. John's.  The program will endeavour to accommodate resident preferences in this regard.

5. Transition to Practice (TTP) (PGY 5)

PGY 5 will consist of twelve months of elective and selective rotations oriented to the resident’s career interests and attaining important competencies around practice management and scholarship.  At this point in the Central Stream, transition to practice competencies can be expanded through elective/selective options. Locally there is opportunity to work as junior attending, doing locum weekend call, getting involved with local education and administrative opportunities, with the aim to help the resident craft the type of practice they wish to pursue upon completion of the program. The resident will have had extensive exposure to all areas of psychiatry, as well as various models of practice delivery and compensation.

6. Academic Program (PGY 1- 5)

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.  

Most of the academic activities will be attended virtually by the Central Stream resident, unless in St. John's for rotation. There will be protected time for travel to retreats and program offerings that are unable to be accommodated virtually.

7. Psychotherapy Training and Supervision (PGY 1- 5)

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.

Central Stream residents will have protected time to virtually attend any psychotherapy academic sessions, as well as dedicated time to follow patients for psychotherapy in the various modalities covered in the home program.

8. Emergency Training in Psychiatry (PGY 1- 5)

 Central Stream residents will complete therapeutic crisis intervention with their cohort in St. John's during the first 2 weeks of residency. The on call experience averages 5 per month, under the supervision of the psychiatrist on call. During the Royal College exam year, there will be reduced call. The intensity of call is typical of a rural setting, with residents rarely being called in to the ER after midnight. In compliance with the home program's post call guidelines and the PARNL contract, post call starting at noon is generally protected if residents are required to work evenings, and if the resident is not called in at all, generally the afternoons are spent catching up on unit work or teaching/reading. In terms of the diversity of patients the resident will be exposed to, Psychiatry in GFW covers consultation from the ER and medical/surgical units of hospitals in its catchment area. Expectations on residents will be similar to what they can expect to perform as staff in a non-tertiary setting, with increasing responsibility as competencies are met.

9. Research (PGY 1- 5)

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 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.

10. Seminars (PGY 1- 5)

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

Central Newfoundland Hospital, Grand Falls-Windsor 

The Health Sciences Centre, St. John's

Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre, St. John's

St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's

The Waterford Hospital, St. John's

The L. A. Miller Centre, St. John's

Resident research rooms with computer internet access at each site.

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Additional Information

The Central Stream will endeavor to accommodate any requests for exposure to other rural/remote sites with connection to the home program. Rural residents may be required to complete part of their training in St. John's with their home program peers as outlined in the rotation descriptions above.

 

Please address any questions you may have regarding the psychiatry residency training program via e-mail to either the program director Andrew Latus at alatus@mun.ca, Central Stream lead Tara Snelgrove at tsnelgrove@mun.ca, or the program administrator Jackie Doran 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.