Complex Family Planning (CAARE)

Updated: November 27, 2025

Program directors

Program Director
Julie Thorne, MD MPH FRCSC
Women’s College Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital

Program Deputy Director
Heather Millar, MD MIPH FRCSC
Women’s College Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital

NYGH Site Director
Lacey Harding, MD, FRCSC
North York General Hospital

NYGH Site Deputy Directors
Modupe Tunde-Byass, MD FRCSC & Pallavi Sriram, MD FRCSC
North York General Hospital

Sites: Women’s College Hospital, Sinai Health, North York General Hospital and collaborating sites

Application Deadline: Submit the Fellowship Application Form (PDF) by January 14, 2026. Send applications to obgyn@utoronto.ca with the subject line "CAARE Fellowship." (The program will be offered every two years.)

Prerequisites

Applicants must have fulfilled their FRCS(C) requirements and hold an independent medical license from the province of Ontario. We will consider exceptional candidates applying from outside Canada if they show potential and are self-funded. We will preferentially consider individuals who are planning an academic career after completion of the fellowship training program.

Length of Program: 2 years, with the concurrent completion of a master’s degree or equivalent (for those already holding a relevant master’s degree)

Program description

This is the first academic fellowship in Complex Family Planning in Toronto and one of only four in the country. We have a core faculty of nine obstetrician-gynaecologists with expertise in family planning, with close collaborative relationships in maternal-fetal medicine, family practice, midwifery, psychiatry and several medical subspecialties. This fellowship will emphasize not only best clinical practice in advanced procedural abortion care, complex contraception and management of early pregnancy complications but leadership and advocacy in our community, our country, and beyond. We serve a diverse and often medically complex and equity-deserving population that comes from all over the country for our care programs. 

Objectives

The objectives and experiences planned for this fellowship are aligned with the Complex Family Planning Fellowships administered through the Society for Family Planning (SFP). Successful fellows will be expected to be active members of the SFP and have access to their fellowship training resources, in addition to the clinical experiences and mentorship provided by University of Toronto.

The objectives include: 

1. To develop knowledge, skills, attitudes and experience in complex contraception and abortion care aligned with each of the CANMeds Framework roles
2. To coordinate the care and complete the medication or procedural abortion in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters for patients with varied medical, fetal, social, geographic and other considerations
3. To safely and expertly provide contraceptive counselling, provision (including procedural), and surveillance to patients, as well as contraceptive consultation to other health care providers, including for patients with complex medical comorbidities, complex anatomy, or social needs
4. To evaluate and manage early pregnancies, including miscarriage, pregnancies of unknown location, and gestational trophoblastic disease
5. To incorporate the principles of trauma-informed care into their clinical practice for patients seeking contraception and abortion care 
6. To advocate for patient health and to lead effectively within the clinical context with special consideration to the medical, social and political climate
7. To pursue scholarly activities and research furthering our knowledge and improving outcomes and access in Complex Family Planning

Research and advocacy are an important component of this fellowship. Fellows will be expected to complete a master’s, or equivalent, and present at least annually at meetings such as those hosted by the Society for Family Planning, SOGC, and/or Abortion Care Canada. There will be ample opportunity to participate in other provincial and national health systems related meetings and advocacy-oriented activities.