About the Program

Our Department is hosting virtual information sessions. Dr. Michele Farrugia, Residency Program Director, other faculty members and residents will be available to answer questions and provide information about our Program.

Dates and Times:

• Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at 5:30 PM EST
• Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 5:30 PM EST

To register for one or both sessions, please provide your contact details at the link here. Closer to the date of each event, Zoom login details will be provided directly to registrants.

*NEW* Information Session — Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) Stream

• Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 5:30PM EST.
• To register, please contact Ms. Brooke Snow, NOSM Administrator at brsnow@nosm.ca.

There will be an opportunity to speak with residents during our CaRMS InfoNights; however, if you would like to connect with a resident one-on-one to find out more about their experience in the program, we would be happy to put you in touch with a current trainee. Please contact pg.obgyn@utoronto.ca.

Additional links for more information on applying to residency:

• Post-Graduate Medical Education For Applicants (Includes information on the different applicant streams)
• CaRMS R-1 Residency Match (Includes information for both Canadian Medical Graduates and International Medical Graduates; updated at the beginning of September each year)
• Internationally Sponsored Trainees (See International Resident Applicants section)
• CANPREPP Canadian residency program information hub

Our program provides comprehensive training in Obstetrics & Gynaecology leading to Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons certification. Strengths of our program include:

• An innovative and successful curriculum. Our RCPSC Competence-by-Design (CBD) Curriculum will welcome our 6th cohort in July 2024. Our faculty have developed expertise and experience in the delivery of this curriculum.
• Integration with the RCPSC Surgical Foundations Program including a dedicated Surgical Skills Prep Camp, focus on Quality Improvement, a year-long seminar series, and preparation for the RCPSC Surgical Foundations exam in PGY2.
• A Surgical Skills curriculum designed for the acquisition of basic and advanced technical skills in obstetrics and gynaecology using bench models, trainers and simulation.
• A weekly Academic-Half Day (AHD) curriculum that includes review of essential topics led by both faculty and residents.
• Clinical Epidemiology sessions throughout the year.
• A supportive and nurturing learning environment that includes a robust Resident Wellbeing program embedded in all aspects of the residency program.
• A Longitudinal Ambulatory Rotation (LAR) in the first year and final year of residency that allows for clinical continuity and mentorship.
• A diverse patient population and multiple training sites, providing a range of clinical situations and practice settings.
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• For those accepted into the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) Stream, half of the five-year training will take place in Thunder Bay, Sudbury and other sites affiliated with NOSM U, with preceptor support from physicians committed to practicing in Northern Ontario.
• A focus on scholarly activity including mentorship, peer feedback through regular research proposal sessions, and opportunities to conduct projects with a variety of faculty exploring novel and ground-breaking topics in basic or clinical research, QIPS, Education or Advocacy.
• A well-established QIPS program that welcomes resident involvement.
• The Clinician Investigator Program (CIP), a fully funded two-year program (resident must apply and be accepted, usually during PGY2) leading to a Master’s degree or a PhD, which is normally undertaken between PGY3 and PGY5. There are also opportunities to fund residents who wish to pursue a master’s or PhD outside of the CIP program.
• Many opportunities for residents to initiate and lead advocacy projects.
• A strong Global Health program, with opportunities to pursue Global Health courses and Global Health opportunities.
• Numerous opportunities to develop skills in medical education, with opportunities to take teaching courses, teach undergraduate medical students and conduct research.

The Obstetrics and Gynaecology Residency Program at the University of Toronto (U of T) is committed to providing our residents with the best possible training experience to ensure their development into outstanding physicians who will contribute to society and the medical community as future leaders, advocates, scholars and educators. Our aim is to nurture a community of obstetricians and gynaecologists that reflects the wide diversity of our home in the Greater Toronto Area and transform women’s health locally, nationally and around the world.

We are committed to providing equal opportunities to all candidates who are interested in becoming leaders in our field. We welcome applications from people of all communities, including but not limited to racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, and others who contribute to the diversification of ideas and perspectives.

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.

Competency By Design (CBD)

In 2019, the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology launched a Competency by Design (CBD) curriculum, under the direction and guidance of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. More information about this curriculum is available here: Competence by Design (CBD). CBD 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. The residency programs is broken down into four training stages, and each stage requires the successful achievement of Entrusted Professional Activities (EPA’s) based upon required competencies.

All programs implementing CBD continue to undergo the same rigorous accreditation processes and continue to lead to Royal College approved certification. Certification for trainees will include the completion of a Royal College examination.

For more information, contact cbd@royalcollege.ca.

Stages of Training

The four stages of Obstetrics & Gynaecology are (with number of blocks*):

• Transition to Discipline (3 blocks)
• Foundations of Discipline (23 blocks)
• Core of Discipline (30 blocks)
• Transition to Practice. (9 blocks)

Legend: For the following section, please note that each block is (4)-four weeks in length. For reasons of legibility, we have included site abbreviations; the full name of each hospital as well as a link are provided in the Training Sites section below.

PGY1 & PGY2

During PGY1, residents will complete Transition-to-Discipline (TTD) and the first ten blocks of Foundations-of-Discipline (FOD). The remaining FOD rotations will be completed in PGY2. Residents will be assigned a base hospital in PGY1, where they will complete the majority of their rotations; this is to encourage a greater sense of community as they rotate through their off-service rotation requirements.

Rotations include the following (site codes are explained in the Training Site section):

Transition to Discipline (TTD)

• Transition to Residency (1 block) (various downtown sites)
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology at a major teaching hospital site (1 block) (MSH, SHSC, SMH)
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology at a community hospital site (1 block) (NYGH, MGH, THP-CV, SJHC)

Foundations of Discipline (FOD)

• Emergency Medicine (1 block) (MGH, SHSC, UHN-TWH)
• General Surgery (1 block) (MGH, MSH)
• Gynaecologic Oncology (1 block) (UHN-PMH)
• Intensive Care Unit (Medical Surgical) (1 block) (MSH, SHSC, SMH)
• Internal Medicine (1 block Clinical Teaching Unit) (MSH, SHSC, SMH)
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology at a community hospital site (1 block) (NYGH, MGH, THP-CV)
• Ultrasound (1 block) (MSH, SHSC/NYGH, SMH)
• Longitudinal Ambulatory Rotation (LAR) (2 half-days per month from Sept to June) (MGH, MSH, NYGH, SHSC, SMH, WCH)
  • During LAR, the PGY1 trainee will work in an obstetrics and/or gynaecology ambulatory clinic two half-days per month from September to June, directly with a faculty member who acts as a preceptor and mentor. Although PGY1s benefit from a wide experience in many specialties during their first year of training, the LAR helps to ensure residents remain connected with their core interest and their colleagues.

The following FOD rotations may occur either in PGY1 or the first three blocks of PGY2:

• Obstetrics and Gynaecology at a major teaching-hospital site (3 blocks) (MSH, SHSC, SMH)
• Ambulatory Internal Medicine (1 block) (WCH)
• Ambulatory Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1 block) (MSH, SHSC, SMH)
• Family Planning (1 block) (WCH and various clinic sites)

During PGY2, residents will continue to complete the FOD stage of their training, spending the bulk of the year on the Core Obstetrics and Gynaecology services, as well as spending a short period of time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and 2 weeks planning a scholarly project.

PGY3, PGY4 & PGY5

Core of Discipline (COD)

The COD stage begins in PGY3 and continues until the Royal College (RC) written exam in the fall of PGY5. Training during this stage focusses on subspecialty disciplines and advanced training in core Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

The order of rotations will vary. All residents have exposure to community practice throughout the program. Our residents will pursue a course of training that includes:

• General Obstetrics and Gynaecology (at major teaching hospitals, community-hospital sites, and endoscopy centres) (4 blocks) (MGH, MSH, NYGH, SHSC, SJHC, SMH, THP-CV)
• Chief Residency period, focused upon leadership and administration in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (6 blocks total; some may occur in TTP) (MGH, MSH, NYGH, SHSC, SMH, THP-CV)
• Gynaecologic Oncology (4 blocks) (SHSC, UHN-PMH, THP-CV)
• Gynaecologic Reproductive Endocrinology, Infertility and Menopause (2 blocks) (MSH)
• Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology (1 block) (HSC)
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine (3-4 blocks) (MSH, SHSC)
• Urogynaecology (3-4 blocks) (MSH, SHSC)
• Focused time to work on a Scholarly Project (3 blocks) (site varies)

Transition to Practice (TTP)

TTP is the final stage of training in the residency program and will commence after the RC written exams in the fall of PGY5. This time will be spent consolidating skills in anticipation of independent practice or fellowship, culminating in the Royal College oral exams in the spring.

The remaining 13 blocks are set aside for residents to personalize their residency training during the COD and TTP stages, including up to (3)-three rotations outside of Ontario (includes global health electives). The program offers a number of pre-defined experiences in areas such as Lower Genital Tract Diseases; however, residents can opt to create their own rotation objectives with an approved faculty supervisor. 

Scholarly Project Requirement

During residency training, each resident completes a scholarly project in clinical or education research, Quality Improvement (QI) or basic science, under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. Residents are supported through every stage of the process to ensure they gain training and experience in research methodology, ethics, proposal writing, literature review, data work, writing a manuscript and presentation at the Department’s Annual Research Day. Satisfactory completion of residency training at the University of Toronto requires completion of a scholarly project.

The program encourages residents to attend and present their findings at conferences and meetings through an educational fund set up for each resident. Residents who come to the program with previous research training and/or experience will benefit from the University of Toronto’s extensive network of faculty and staff, as well as leadership and mentorship opportunities.

Residents who would like more focused time to complete scholarly work can choose to pause their clinical training and apply to the Clinician-Investigator Program or other post-graduate programs as approved by the Program Director. 

UofT OBGYN Residency Clinical Sites

The University of Toronto Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology provides all levels of care to the local community, and tertiary and quaternary care to the Province of Ontario. Together, all core teaching-hospital sites within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have over 35,000 deliveries a year and a large number/variety of gynaecologic operative cases. Our residents are privileged to have the opportunity to learn and work in many different hospitals. This great strength of our program allows the residents to develop strong relationships with many faculty members, meet patients from across Toronto, representing all the cultural diversity of this city, and to experience many different styles of practice.

Residency clinical teaching sites are as follows:

• Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH)
• St. Michael's Hospital (SMH)
• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC)
• North York General Hospital (NYGH)
• Hospital for Sick Children (HSC)
• Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH)/University Health Network (UHN)
• St. Joseph's Health Centre (SJHC)
• Trillium Health Partners - Credit Valley Hospital (THP)
• Michael Garron Hospital (MGH)
• Women’s College Hospital (WCH)
• Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM)

All residents can expect to rotate through several of these hospital sites during their training. All sites are accessible by public transportation.

Accessibility Services: http://www.accessibility.utoronto.ca/Home.htm  

Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME), Faculty of Medicine: http://www.pgme.utoronto.ca/  

Resident Wellness Resources, Postgrad Medical Education: https://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/current-trainees/while-youre-training/access-wellness-resources/