Program Contacts

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Important Information

Public Health and Preventive Medicine has transitioned to RCPSC Competence by Design (CBD) effective July 1, 2025. All new residents will be accepted in the CBD stream of training. 

PGME Mandatory Orientation Day for new trainees will be held on Friday, June 26th, 2026. Public Health and Preventive Medicine Orientation will be held in July 2026.

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General Instructions

Program application language: English

You are required to fulfill ALL of the most current Provincial Criteria for Canadian Medical Graduates for Manitoba.

The criteria can be found at:  https://www.carms.ca/match/r-1-main-residency-match/eligibility-criteria/manitoba/

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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

Selection Criteria

The Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency Program at the University of Manitoba is committed to a fair, equitable, and transparent application process. We maintain the right to choose the applicants we feel are the best people for our residency training program. The following criteria will be used as a baseline to determine who will be considered for an interview. However, not all applicants whose files meet our minimum criteria will be offered interviews; only the top candidates will be offered an interview.

An interview is mandatory.

Specific criteria include:

• Must be a graduate of a Canadian medical school.
• Must either be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status
• Must have demonstrated interest and experience in community/population/public health.
• Reference letters must be dated no later than one year from time of receipt. Undated reference letters will not be accepted.
• Demonstrated ability to be organized as evidenced by a complete application that is in accordance with our stated expectations. 

Program goals

Residents in Public Health and Preventive Medicine must develop a comprehensive knowledge of the sciences of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and the skills to apply this knowledge to a broad range of community health issues in the socio-political and cultural contexts in which they occur. They must demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes relating to socio-economic status, gender, culture and ethnicity of the populations with which they work. In addition, all residents must demonstrate an ability to incorporate these factors in research methodology, data presentation and analysis.

During training, all residents will be expected to acquire a substantial knowledge of and necessary skills in: concepts of health and illness and their determinants, methods in community health, health services organizations, collaboration within and outside the health care system, program planning and evaluation, communication and advocacy. In addition, residents are encouraged to develop a higher level of expertise in an area of interest, including acquiring knowledge through course work or other special training.

The University of Manitoba is committed to the social justice principles of equity, access & participation and to promoting opportunities for systemically marginalized groups who have been excluded from full participation at the University and the larger community including Indigenous, Black, racially marginalized Peoples, persons with disabilities and those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, questioning, intersex, asexual and other diverse sexual identities) and women. 

 

Selection process goals

The successful applicant to our program will have displayed appropriate competency for level of training in all of the CanMEDS roles:

Medical Expert - ability to apply medical knowledge, clinical skills, and professional values in their provision of high-quality and safe patient-centred care.
Communicator - ability to communicate effectively to patients, families, and members of the healthcare team.
Collaborator - ability to work effectively with other health care professionals and individuals outside of the health care professions.
Leader - ability to engage with others to contribute to a vision and take responsibility for the delivery of excellent services. 
Health Advocate - ability to determine and understand needs, speak on behalf of others when required, and support the mobilization of resources to effect change.
Scholar - demonstrate a commitment to excellence in practice through continuous learning and by teaching others, evaluating evidence, and contributing to scholarship.
Professional - demonstrate commitment to ethical practice, high personal standards of behaviour, accountability to the profession and society, and maintenance of personal health

An inclusive, open and diverse community is essential to excellence and fosters voices that have been ignored or discouraged. To address the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences commitment to equity, access and participation, and in recognition of the underrepresentation of members of historically and currently excluded groups, our program has taken the following proactive measures as part of our selection process: 

• Implicit bias training for selection committee members
• Offering necessary accommodations during the interview process
• Second pass/review of applicants below interview and rank order list cut off to review for possible bias in scoring
• Orientation to all assessors to scoring rubrics
• File review completed by dedicated, trained group

We strive for diverse perspectives and cultural safety throughout the hiring process (resident selection committees, short-list of applicants, interviews). We ask all applicants to include an EDIA statement in their personal letter with evidence demonstrating their own commitment to EDIA in their work and training thus far.

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 University of Manitoba's Public Health and Preventive Medicine program's strengths include being embedded in the College of Community and Global Health with a diversity of expertise and opportunities, as well as well-established educational rotations with experienced medical officers of health that focus on urban, rural, northern and Indigenous populations. Elective time offers a diverse range of training opportunities based on residents' interests and needs.

Please see our informational video here:

Department of Community Health Sciences - University of Manitoba (youtube.com)

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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.

Residents will be enrolled in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) Competence by Design (CBD) stream of training for Public Health and Preventive Medicine. There are three main components to the curriculum: clinical, academic, and applied field training where the resident progresses through the four CBD stages of training (Transition to Discipline, Foundations of Discipline, Core of Discpline and Transition to Practice).

 1. Introduction to Public Health Practice & Clinical Training (PGY-1 & PGY-2)

Most residents opt to train in the Family Medicine (FM) residency program, leading to eligibility for certification in family medicine (CCFP).Residents entering the FM residency program are required to use their elective time to complete two blocks of introductory public health rotations (Transition to Discipline) and some relevant clinical training for public health practice. FM training fulfills one component of the Foundations of Discipline stage of training. Alternatively, residents can opt to do a basic clinical training program tailored for Public Health and Preventive Medicine residents. Core and elective clinical rotations are completed in a variety of clincial and public health settings over the first two years of the residency program to fulfill the Transition to Discipline and one component of the Foundations of Discipline stages. 

2. Postgraduate Academic Coursework (PGY-3)

One year full-time is spent on academic coursework in a Master of Public Health (MPH) or other related Masters program (e.g. Master of Science, Master of Clinical Epidemiology, etc) to complete the Foundations of Discipline stage of training.  Enrolment in a broad range of courses is encouraged, including but not limited to: applied epidemiology, advanced biostatistics, principles of occupational and environmental health, program planning and evaluation, economic evaluation of health care, and the epidemiology of cancer, chronic disease, and communicable disease. Residents may opt for completion of a MSc or MPH within the College of Community and Global Health at the University of Manitoba, where the costs are covered by the residency program. Alternately, enrolment in a Masters program at another university can be accommodated upon approval by the program director (reimbursement would be equivalent to the cost of a Masters program at the University of Manitoba).

3. Applied Public Health Training (PGY-4 & PGY-5)

The remaining training time is spent in public health rotations under the supervision of regional and provincial Medical Officers of Health. Residents take on a greater degree of responsibility over this period through progressing through the the Core of Discipline stage of CBD, assuming a high level of responsibility by the latter part of their senior year (Tranisiton to Practice stage).

Core rotations include: Urban Medical Officer of Health; Rural Medical Officer of Health; Northern Medical Officer of Health; Provincial Public Health Branch (includes Office of the Chief Provincial Public Health Officer); Leadership/Administration; Provincial Public Health Laboratory; and Occupational Health.

Elective rotations are developed individually based on resident interests.

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Other residency program activities and requirements include:

Academic Half Day

• 1- 4 pm on Fridays
• Includes teaching sessions by guest presenters (MOHs, College of Community and Global Health staff, and other individuals working in Public Health or a public health related field), as well as resident-led activities

Journal Club

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority hosts a monthly Public Health journal club (critical appraisal). Residents are expected to attend journal club in their senior years of residency, and to present at least once per year starting in the PGY-3 year.

Medical Student Teaching 

There is an expectation of involvement with teaching medical students during the residency training. This includes but is not limited to the following activities:

• Being a tutorial leader for various Med 1 and Med 2 sessions
• Delivering a lecture for medical students (optional)
• Co-facilitating a medical student workshop at Harvest Manitoba
• Co-supervising medical students on public health electives
• On invitation from the student-run Public Health Interest Group (PHIG), give a talk on the residency program or public health issues, depending on their request

Lead & Senior Resident

Every resident will have the opportunity to become Lead and Senior Resident during the residency program, for a variable period (usually 12-24 months) sometime during the senior years of residency (PGY-4 and PGY-5). Duration and timing of being Lead Resident is dependent on the number of residents, as well as their stages in training, and will be determined by the program director.

Responsibilities of the Lead / Senior Resident include, but are not limited to the following:

• Helping the Program Director to organize Academic Half Days
• Attending the Residency Program Committee (RPC) meetings quarterly, and providing a resident report
• Meet with medical students interested in information on the residency program
• Participate in the CaRMS process as an interviewer of residency candidates
• Providing guidance and information to junior residents

 

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Training Sites

Family Medicine training (PGY-1 & PGY-2) is typically based at Access River East in Winnipeg.

The academic year (PGY-3) is typically completed within the College of Community and Global Health: https://umanitoba.ca/medicine/department-community-health-sciences. Residents typically complete a Master of Public Health (MPH) program at University of Manitoba, but some residents have opted to complete a MPH or Master of Epidemiology program outside of Manitoba. Alternate sites for a resident’s academic year are available upon approval by the program director.

The applied training sites for PGY-4 & PGY-5 include:

• 5 months of urban MOH training at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA)
• 490 Hargrave St., Winnipeg, MB
• 6 months of provincial MOH training at Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care
• 300 Carlton St., Winnipeg, MB
• 3 months of rural MOH training in Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (IERHA)
• 589 3 Ave S, Stonewall, MB
• 3 months of northern MOH training with Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA)
• 300 Carlton St, Winnipeg, MB
• usually one trip to northern Manitoba
• 1 month of training in Leadership/Administration
• 650 Main St (Winnipeg Regional Health Authority)
• 1 month of training at Cadham Provincial Lab
• 750 William Ave, Winnipeg, MB
• 1 month of training in Occupational Health
• Based primarily at Workplace Safety & Health - 401 York Ave, Winnipeg, MB
• includes outings to workplaces