Program Contacts

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Important Information

Please note that the University of Calgary will have one position for Canadian Medical Graduates for the 2026 match.

Join an interactive session with faculty and residents from Medical Genetics programs across Canada. Learn about our patient populations, practice models, future career opportunities, and training routes to become a medical geneticist.

 

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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 March 17, 2026

Supporting documents (excluding letters of reference) that arrive after file review has opened  on  March 17, 2026

Letters of reference that arrive after the unmasking date on March 17, 2026

Applications and the supporting documents will be reviewed by the CaRMS Selection Committee. Short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.

 

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Interviews

Dates:

• April 1, 2026

Selection Criteria

All selection to the program is through the Canadian Resident Matching Service.  Preferred candidates will have a B.Sc or graduate degree with a emphasis on genetics. Additional work experience or elective in a related field is desirable. However, all applicants with a genuine interest in Medical Genetics and Genomics will be considered. In addition to academic standing, the candidate should have good communication skills which are confirmed in his/her references.

Program goals

The overarching goal of Medical Genetics and Genomics is to serve the needs of patients and families with rare genetic diseases, through diagnosis, treatment, research and advocacy. We aim for graduates of our residency program to be prepared for practice across the broad scope of Medical Genetics, or to be ready for entry into a clinical or research fellowship of their choice.

1. Environment: We aim to provide a safe, supportive, collaborative teaching and learning environment and to support the health and well-being of our residents, preceptors and program staff.

2. Residents: We endeavor to recruit high quality medical students and to fill the available residency training position(s) on the first iteration of the CaRMS match.

3. Teaching: Our goal is to support preceptors and faculty who are effective teachers and strong clinicians, in order to provide high quality teaching, supervision and mentoring to residents.

4. Curriculum: We strive to provide an effective, consistent and integrated curriculum in line with the future role of medical geneticists.

5. Administration: We aim to provide effective and efficient administrative processes to support all aspects of our program.

6. Learning: Our goal is to graduate competent medical geneticists capable of working in a variety of settings.

7. Accreditation: We endeavor to maintain full accreditation by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

8. Social accountability: Our goal is to produce graduates who can deliver clinical care and conduct research in Medical Genetics and Genomics in an ethical manner, and to play their role in meeting local and national health care needs.

9. Assessment and evaluation: We strive to use rigorous, transparent and constructive methods of resident assessment, faculty evaluation and feedback. Our goal is for all residents to pass the RCPSC certifying examination. We aim to undertake regular, consistent and effective program evaluation. 

Selection process goals

Given the overarching goal of Medical Genetics and Genomics and our program goals (as outlined above), we endeavor to select residents with the necessary skills and attributes to meet these goals. Successful applicants to our program must have excellent clinical reasoning and communication skills. They should demonstrate intellectual curiosity, an enthusiasm for learning, and academic potential. They should be empathetic and compassionate. A high degree of integrity and professionalism are important. Personal resilience, perseverence, and responsiveness to feedback are valued attributes.              

File review process

Evaluation criteria :

Elective 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

The Calgary Medical Genetics and Genomics program provides comprehensive training in all areas of Medical Genetics, with an excellent balance between teaching and clinical service.  Starting in the third year, our residents typically participate in monthly outreach genetics clinics in smaller cites (Lethbridge and Medicine Hat) which provides exposure to community based genetics practice.

Starting in the third year, there is a monthly resident clinic featuring classic syndromes/genetic conditions selected specifically for this clinic to ensure that residents gain experience working through important diagnoses and clinical approaches.  This clinic also allows residents to gain experience in longitudinal patient care and managing an outpatient clinic.

Our centre has an active training program in the clinical diagnostic laboratories. The Canadian College of Medical Geneticists (CCMG) laboratory trainees regularly interact with the genetics residents at teaching and seminars, which provides a mutually enriching learning environment.

Our residency program organizes one or two clinical genetics symposia per year with invited external speakers who are experts in the field.  Time is allocated for residents to interact with the speakers, typically including a dinner.  Recent topics have included emerging therapy for genetic diseases, prenatal genetics, neurogenetics, genodermatoses, embryology, cardiovascular genetics, skeletal dysplasias, pediatric cancer genetics, newborn screening, neurodevelopmental disorders, inherited ophthalmologic disorders and somatic mosaicism.

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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.

Program Outline

The first two years of the program involve training in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Obstetric/Maternal Fetal Medicine, and crisis counseling. The third year is focused on Clinical Metabolics and laboratory experience with rotations in Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, and Biochemical Genetics.  Clinical genetics exposure also starts in the third year, including monthly resident clinics. 

The core Clinical Genetics training during the fourth and fifth years of training is largely based at the Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH), with consultation services also provided to the four other acute care sites in Calgary. Dedicated rotations in Adult Genetics occur at a separate adult genetics out-patient clinic. Adult and pediatric in-patients and out-patients with a wide range of conditions are seen, including malformation syndromes and inherited metabolic disorders. The Hereditary Cancer Program provides counselling and testing for adults with personal and/or family histories of cancer. Other specialty clinics include Neurogenetics, Connective Tissue Disorders, Cardiovascular Genetics, and Ophthalmic Genetics. In addition, the Prenatal Genetics Clinic is nearby and closely affiliated with the Maternal Fetal Medicine service. Senior residents also attend outreach clinics in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. 

PGY-1

General and subspecialty Pediatrics rotations.

PGY-2

General and subspecialty Internal Medicine, crisis counseling, Maternal Fetal Medicine rotations, and fertility clinic.

PGY-3

Cytogenetics, Biochemical Genetics, Molecular Genetics, Clinical Metabolics, and Clinical Genetics.

PGY-4

Clinical Genetics, with the possibility of research and electives.

PGY-5

Clinical Genetics, research and/or electives.

Research

Completion of a scholarly project is expected.  Many of the Medical Genetics faculty are actively involved in research.  Guidance for the development of a research project is provided early in training by a research mentor as well as by Genetics faculty. Most genetics residents participate in a one-month research course, coordinated for residents of various programs, during their first or second year and this can help establish a research project. Residents can receive funding to attend at least one conference per year, if they have submitted an abstract. 

Seminars & Rounds

Educational opportunities include Medical Genetics Grand Rounds/Seminar series, weekly Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy Rounds, monthly Cytogenetics abnormal case reviews, monthly Molecular Genetics Review, monthly Biochemical Genetics abnormal case reviews, bi-weekly Dysmorphology case reviews, monthly Metabolics teaching, monthly Exome Rounds and monthly Journal Club.  The bulk of the core curriculum is covered in Core Month, which involves one month of protected teaching per year, in each of the five years.  Additional teaching time is protected for senior residents.

Teaching is provided by the faculty in the Department of Medical Genetics and Genomics.  Their areas of expertise encompass all general and subspecialty aspects of Clinical Genetics, Biochemical Genetics, Molecular Genetics, Cytogenetics, Population Genetics, Teratology, among other topics.  In addition, teaching is also provided by colleagues from other specialties whose skills and qualifications are complimentary and relevant to Genetics. 

Courses

The residency program provides funding to the NAMA course, once during training. 

Our residents participate in an advanced cytogenetics and molecular genetics University course in second or third year.

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Training Sites

Most of the five-year Medical Genetics and Genomics residency is spent at the Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH), except for those rotations in Internal Medicine at other adult health care sites. The Prenatal Genetics Clinic is situated adjacent to Maternal Fetal Medicine, which is off-site. The Hereditary Cancer Clinic and Adult Genetics Clinic is located off site. The three diagnostic laboratories are located in the same location at the ACH, which enhances collaborative teaching.  There is dedicated workspace for residents, including computer access, at all the Genetics Clinics and Laboratory spaces.

There is a library in the Genetics Clinic which contains an extensive collection of up-to-date textbooks in all areas of genetics as well as other areas in medicine. 

Our program supports and encourages attendance at national and international courses and conferences, and local meetings and retreats, both in person (when possible) or virtual. There is a regular discussion with the program director about opportunities and funding options.

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Additional Information

The Medical Genetics and Genomics Residency Training Program at the University of Calgary transitioned to competency-based medical education (CBME) in July 2022 with all trainees entering the program after this date affiliated with Competence by Design (CBD), which aims to enhance patient care by aligning medical education and lifelong learning with evolving patient needs and empowering learners to more fully engage in their education process.

CBD uses time as a framework for competency assessment rather than the basis for progression. It is not anticipated that the duration of training will change for the majority of trainees. Residency training is broken down into stages, and each stage will have a series of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) and milestones based on the required competencies. These EPAs and milestones improve learning outcomes and will involve more frequent, formative assessments within the clinical workplace to ensure residents are developing and receiving feedback on the skills they need.

For more information, please contact cbd@royalcollege.ca.