Subspecialty Training in Psychiatry

Welcome to the UBC Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Subspecialty Training Program

PROGRAM DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Welcome to the UBC Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Subspecialty Residency Training Program page. We are excited to tell you more about our CAP Program. We are a distributed site program with training locations in Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, and Prince George. Residents may choose their training sites and often residents will choose to train at two sites during their two years. Each training site has unique strengths with dedicated and enthusiastic supervisors who provide a wide variety of training opportunities. Our program administration is based in Vancouver at BC Children’s Hospital.

We pride ourselves on being a flexible program that responds to each resident’s career goals and individual needs while ensuring that every resident has a well-rounded and rich training. At UBC, we believe you have spent enough time in general training on meeting requirements; now is the time to sculpt your education in the way most relevant to you.

Specific strengths include a diverse range of clinical experiences and specialized training opportunities across BC:

• Training electives in all subspecialty areas of child psychiatry, including forensics
• Numerous training sites for exposure to different models of care
• Inpatient opportunities in child, adolescent, emergency, consult-liaison, eating disorders, and concurrent disorders
• Extensive psychotherapy experiences – including (but not limited to) family therapy, play therapy, CBT (for OCD, selective mutism and other), DBT (comprehensive and skills groups), IPT-A, psychodynamic therapy, parent-child relationship
• Extensive group therapy experiences – including (but not limited to) OCD (weekly and intensive summer camp), Mind Body Connection (somatization), Mindfulness, CBT for Generalized Anxiety and for Social Anxiety, Circle of Security, Seeking Safety, ADHD Parent Group, Parenting Neurodiverse Children, Parenting Strong-Willed Children, Connect Parent
• Intensive psychopharmacology training – many residents also pursue a 5-week selective with the BCCH clinical pharmacist providing consultation to inpatient wards and complex patients
• Subspecialty training in OCD, selective mutism, somatic symptom disorders, and eating disorders, among others
• Outreach, telehealth, and indirect consultation services for primary care providers across BC
• Community electives within the school system, for at-risk youth, and in mental health teams
• Multi-disciplinary training
• Research opportunities – while research is not mandatory, there is much support to start your own project or join existing teams in a wide variety of research types based out of the BC Children’s Research Institute (see http://www.bcchr.ca/our-research/brain-behaviour-development)
• Formal advocacy, education, research, and leadership experiences

Our curriculum runs in the PGY6 year with a full academic day on Thursdays covering DSM5 disorders, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, ethics, research, professionalism, advocacy and special areas. Academic days are attended by both psychiatry fellows and psychology residents, an inter-disciplinary experience that has been highly rated by all participants.

Our program offers a good work-life balance – residents work hard, but the hours of work are reasonable. We encourage residents to spend quality time with friends and family, and to take advantage of the beautiful province. BC provides activities for everyone, including urban attractions and all the outdoor activities one could want (skiing, kayaking, hiking, sports… the list goes on). Each training city (Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, and Prince George) has scenic geography with easy access to biking and transit. We also regularly organize social events such as orientation, resident socials, resident retreats, graduation and wellness events for residents to build camaraderie.

We will offer 8 positions for the 2024 entrance year and are delighted to accept applicants from across the country.

Please contact me at amiller5@cw.bc.ca for further questions. I am happy to discuss our program in more detail.

Dr. Ashley Miller
Program Director, UBC CAP Subspecialty Program

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UBC has an excellent clinical and academic program and a strong commitment to teaching. The Division and Department Heads work closely with the CAP Program Committee. Our enthusiastic faculty have a broad range of expertise in child psychiatric disorders, psychotherapy, and research.

The UBC Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program (CAP) is an RCSPC accredited program that follows the RCPSC training requirements in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. There are four distributed sites across BC. Clinical training occurs in hospitals and community settings in Vancouver, Surrey, Vancouver Island (Victoria), and Prince George.

Training to become a child psychiatrist takes two years and occurs in the PGY5 and PGY6 year with entry into the CAP program at the start of the PGY5 year. Entry may occur in the PGY6 year if the Resident has already completed one year of child psychiatry training in a RCSPC accredited CAP program. Some residents choose to complete PGY5 rotations in the institution of their general psychiatry training.

CLINICAL AND ACADEMIC CURRICULUM

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) requires at least 18 months of clinical training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The program is transitioning to Competence by Design, which ensures mastery of core clinical skills while giving trainees considerable freedom and choice in rotations.

UBC CAP follows the RCPSC requirements for clinical training. In addition to these training requirements, UBC CAP residents usually complete a 3-month rotation in Consultation-Liaison in their PGY5 year. Psychotherapy training will include the opportunity for longitudinal therapy with children, adolescents, and families. A wide variety of training in individual and group therapy is available including mindfulness-bases therapies, CBT, DBT, IPT-A, play, psychodynamic, parent skill development, and family therapy.

An academic curriculum covering a range of topics including child development, child psychiatric disorders, special topics, psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy is provided during the PGY6 year.

All CAP residents complete a scholarly project which may include, but does not have to include, a research project. Prior CAP residents have done scholarly projects involving teaching and education, research, leadership, and clinical areas of interest. CAP residents meet with the research director regularly for journal club, seminars, and supervision of their scholarly project.

CLINICAL TRAINING SITES

There are four main training sites as described below. These sites offer inpatient and outpatient clinical services for children and adolescents with a broad range of psychiatric conditions (see below for more details). There are also a number of community-based clinical electives, including (but not limited to): child and youth mental health teams, school liaison service, residential programs, forensics consultations, and inner-city youth programs.

Please see the UBC CAP Clinical Rotations Catalog which is the CAP Program’s internal catalog to provide you with more comprehensive information about our rotations.

Vancouver – British Columbia Children’s Hospital (BCCH): There are a number of inpatient and outpatient clinics and services at BCCH. There are child, adolescent, crisis, and eating disorder inpatient units, as well as a consultation-liaison service. The outpatient clinic consists of the Teaching, Infant, Mood and Anxiety, ADHD, Neuropsychiatry, Reproductive Psychiatry, and Gender Clinics. There is a province-wide multi-disciplinary indirect consultation service at BCCH as well as telehealth. The psychotherapy program is very strong and runs a family therapy clinic as well as provides supervision for different psychotherapy modalities. There are a large number of group psychotherapies for children/youth and families at BCCH as well. Additionally, residents can rotate through the Carlile Youth Concurrent Disorders Centre in North Vancouver.

Surrey – Surrey Memorial Hospital: There are two inpatient psychiatric services that provide tertiary psychiatric assessments and treatment to children and adolescents throughout the Fraser Health Authority. The Outpatient Department consists of Teaching Clinic, Infant Clinic, Neuropsychiatric Clinic, Child and Youth Crisis Program, Family Therapy Clinic, and the Adolescent Day Treatment Program. The Outpatient Department has a number of experienced Child Psychiatrists providing direct supervision as well as teaching on a range of childhood disorders with provision of longer duration of follow up and therapy.

Prince George – University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC): In Prince George, inpatient services for child psychiatry include APAU, Pediatrics, and a few other medical units. APAU is for mental health assessments and treatment of adolescents for Prince George and the region. The outpatient mental health services include Childhood Development Center, Private Office, and Intersect Youth and Family Services.

Vancouver Island – Ledger/Anscomb and Victoria General Hospital: The inpatient child and adolescent facilities in Victoria are located at Victoria General Hospital for the acute management of patients presenting with psychiatric issues and Ledger for those patients who require more than several days of inpatient hospitalization. There are a variety of outpatient experiences that are continuing to evolve over time. The primary outpatient experiences are at Anscomb, Developmental Disability and Mental Health Team (DDMHT), the Youth Clinic at the Foundry, and the Child and Youth Mental Health Teams.

Please note that leased accommodations may be available for residents on mandatory distributed rotations. Specifically, PGME mandated housing is only available for offsite rotations, for residents located away from their home base. Leased accommodations are only technically available when residents go to rotations outside of their main residency site, not to help residents set up their own regular housing. Residents applying for leased accommodations should inform the Education Coordinator by early March.

PROCESS FOR APPLICATION

Important Dates | 2024

• September 3^st, 2024 – Application Deadline
• September 17^th, 2024 – Interview Invitations Extended to Applicants
• October 1^st, 2024 and possibly October 2^nd, 2024 morning – Interviews
• October 24^th, 2024, 11am PST (2pm EST) – Offer letters mailed to selected applicants
• October 29^th, 2024, 9am PST (12pm EST) – Selected applicants to confirm acceptance to the program

Eligibility for Residency Program in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP)

At this time, the UBC Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) ONLY accepts residents through our Selections process. CAP Program is a 2 year accredited subspecialty training program. Please see below criteria for eligibility.

Criteria:

1. Canadians or Permanent Residents who are in their PGY4 year of training in a Canadian University Psychiatry Core Program. Only residents in a RCPSC-approved training program are eligible to apply. All applicants must be eligible to write the Royal College General Psychiatry exam at the end of their PGY4 year. All candidates must be eligible for an educational license with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.  The only exception is if the candidate has their non-Canadian Psychiatry training assessed by the Royal College, and is deemed eligible for writing the RCPSC General Psychiatry Exam.
2. The program may be able to accept CAP subspecialty residents in good standing in transfer from other Canadian programs, depending on capacity. Please inquire directly with Dr. Ashley Miller, Program Director
3. Internationally trained visa trainees are NOT eligible
4. Clinical fellows are NOT eligible. However, BC Children’s Hospital does offer a 1 year Fellowship for Postgraduate Trainees having completed their General Psychiatry Training outside of Canada. If interested, please reach out directly to Dr. Kaveh Darabian, the Postgraduate Education Director for Fellowships at BCCH at kaveh.darabian@cw.bc.ca
5. For further information, please contact Dr. Ashley Miller, Program Director, at amiller5@cw.bc.ca

The candidate’s application package will include:

1. A completed UBC Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Subspecialty Application Form
2. A personal statement speaking to the following:
   • Interest in Child Psychiatry
   • The nature of development of their interest in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
   • Their interest in the UBC program specifically
   • Possible career interests or directions after successful training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
3. A CV outlining educational background and experiences, scholarly and other accomplishments.
4. Letter of Good Standing from the Program Director, Postgraduate Education
5. Three Reference Forms
6. Three Reference Letters

Reference letters must follow specific guidelines. To review the guidelines, please click on the link below:

Applicants should submit their completed application to the email address below:

Subject Line: CAP Subspecialty Application.
Education Coordinator
Email: edu-prog.assistant@ubc.ca

SELECTION OF CANDIDATES 

We are looking for the following qualities from applicants:

• Clinical and communication skills
• Sense of responsibility and maturity
• Self-appraisal and Psychological mindedness
• Interpersonal relatedness
• Adaptability and open-mindedness
• Social mindedness and awareness
• Motivation to enter child psychiatry
• Diversity of experience
• Notable personal achievements
• Research, Teaching, Advocacy and Leadership
• Interest in serving the population of British Columbia

Interview invitations are extended following an initial application screening by the Program Director and/or Selection Committee. During interviews, applicants will meet with several members on the Selection Committee including both staff and residents. Interviews include predetermined questions and scenarios to assess the qualities listed above, evaluate the applicant’s command of English and their ability to communicate effectively with patients and faculty.

For questions and enquiries please contact:

Education Coordinator
Email: edu-prog.assistant@ubc.ca
Subject Line: CAP Subspecialty

Dr. Ashley Miller
Program Director, UBC CAP Subspecialty Program
Email: amiller5@cw.bc.ca

Welcome to the UBC Forensic Psychiatry Subspecialty Training Program

Program Director: Dr. Kulwant Riar, Associate Program Director: Dr. Barinder Singh

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The University of British Columbia offers a one-year PGY6 Forensic Psychiatry Training Program. The program is accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and meets their training requirements in Forensic Psychiatry. Psychiatrists who successfully complete the training program will be eligible to write the Royal College certification examination in Forensic Psychiatry. This PGY6 training position is funded through the University of British Columbia under the terms of the Collective Agreement for PAR-BC Professional Association of Residents of British Columbia.

Training Goals

The goal of the UBC PGY6 forensic psychiatry program is to train residents to achieve competency in applying the forensic psychiatric approach to assessment and treatment in criminal and civil legal contexts and adult and youth forensic and correctional settings.  In accordance with the Royal College’s requirements, the program provides six months of core training in criminal matters related to Forensic Psychiatry, followed by six months of rotations in civil forensic psychiatry, youth forensic psychiatry, and correctional psychiatry. Our training program provides exposure to all aspects of forensic psychiatry in inpatient, outpatient, and correctional settings, including the assessment of fitness to stand trial, criminal responsibility, disability and personal injury, and risk for violence.

Training includes the treatment and management of people who have been found Unfit to Stand Trial, Not Criminally Responsible on account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD), and youth and adult probationers and correctional inmates. Sexual behaviours and risk assessment training is incorporated longitudinally throughout the twelve months of training. Forensic research is available as a selective training option. Our program recognizes the value of training diversification and encourages residents to consider a selective training rotation at another Canadian forensic psychiatry training program as part of the training year. An academic curriculum covering a range of topics including expert witness work, criminal forensic psychiatry, violence risk assessment, youth forensic psychiatry, civil forensic psychiatry, correctional psychiatry, research, and special populations and topics is also provided throughout the twelve months of training.

Training Sites

The training sites are a mix of inpatient and outpatient settings located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. There are opportunities for training in other locations beyond the Lower Mainland throughout British Columbia.

The core training site for Criminal Forensic Psychiatry is the 190-bed Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam and the six regional forensic clinics. The Forensic Psychiatric Hospital is part of the BC Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission which is a service that provides forensic mental health care and specialized treatment throughout British Columbia. A network of regional forensic clinics provides outpatient care. The clinics are located in Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kamloops, and Prince George.

The Youth Forensic Psychiatry rotation is a mix of inpatient and outpatient settings. The main training site will be in Burnaby at the Inpatient Assessment Unit, outpatient clinic and Youth Custody Centre. These training sites are part of the BC Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services network that, like the adult forensic service, provides forensic mental health care and specialized treatment throughout British Columbia. There are eight regional youth forensic clinics located in Burnaby, Vancouver, Langley, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Kamloops, and Prince George.

The Civil Forensic Psychiatry rotation training sites are in private forensic practice offices.

The Correctional Psychiatry rotation training site is with the Correctional Service of Canada at the 192-bed Regional Treatment Centre at Pacific Institution in Abbotsford. Other possible correctional training sites include federal medium and maximum-security institutions, a federal women’s institution, provincial correctional facilities, and parole offices in the Lower Mainland.

Please note that leased accommodations are available for residents on mandatory distributed rotations. Specifically, PGME mandated housing is only available for offsite rotations, for residents located away from their home base. Leased accommodations are only technically available when residents go to rotations outside of their main residency site, not to help residents set up their own regular housing. Residents applying for leased accommodations should inform the Education Coordinator by early March.

Role of Clinical Faculty

The clinical faculty in the University of British Columbia Forensic Psychiatry Division are a diverse group. Trainees will have an opportunity to work with clinical faculty members with a broad range of forensic psychiatric practices. Some of our clinical faculty are forensic psychiatrists primarily engaged in forensic treatment and management work; others are in private practice doing a range of expert witness work; some engage in both forensic psychiatry and general psychiatry practice. The breadth of exposure to clinical faculty with different forensic practices is a principal ingredient in the residents’ development into generalists in forensic psychiatry.

Forensic Psychiatry Residency Education Faculty Newsletter | Issue 14 | February 7, 2025

PROCESS FOR APPLICATION

The UBC Forensic Psychiatry Subspecialty Program will be joining the nation-wide movement to complete the selections process through CaRMS. More information on this process, and important dates will be available in the coming months.

Eligibility for Residency Program in Forensic Psychiatry Subspecialty

At this time, the UBC Forensic Psychiatry Subspecialty Program ONLY accepts residents through the CaRMS Medicine Subspecialty Match into the Subspecialty Training Program.

Criteria: 

1. Canadians or Permanent Residents who have completed a period of 5 years of Postgraduate training in Psychiatry, have their Canadian FRCPC or have cleared their Royal College Psychiatry Specialty Exam by the end of their PGY5 year. All candidates must be eligible for an educational license with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC. Only residents in an approved training program are eligible to apply. The only exception is if the candidate has their non-Canadian Psychiatry training assessed by the Royal College, and has completed the RCPSC General Psychiatry Exam.
2. IMG Clinical Fellows are NOT eligible
3. Internationally Trained psychiatrists or residents currently in psychiatry training outside of Canada are NOT eligible
4. For further information, please consult the CaRMS website: https://www.carms.ca
5. For any clarifications please contact Dr Kulwant Riar, Program Director, at Kulwant.riar@gov.bc.ca

Candidates will submit their application through the CaRMS portal. The application may include, but is not limited to:

1. A personal statement speaking to the following:
   • The nature, or development of your interest in Forensic Psychiatry
   • Your interest in the UBC program specifically
   • Possible career interests or directions after successful training in Forensic Psychiatry
2. A current CV detailing educational background and experiences, scholarly and other accomplishments
3. An application support form, as a summary of the application material being sent in
4. Letter of good standing from the Program Director, Postgraduate Education
5. Three reference letters

SELECTION OF CANDIDATES

We are looking for the following qualities from applicants:

• Motivation to enter the field of Forensic Psychiatry
• Knowledge about Forensic Psychiatry as a career
• Clinical and communication skills
• Self-appraisal and Psychological mindedness
• Interpersonal relatedness, social mindedness and awareness
• Adaptability and open-mindedness
• Sense of responsibility and maturity
• Diversity of experience
• Notable personal achievements
• Research, Teaching Advocacy and Leadership

Interview invitations are extended following an initial application screening by the Program Director and Selection Committee. During interviews, applicants will meet with several members on the Selection Committee including both staff and residents. Interviews include predetermined questions and scenarios to assess the qualities listed above, evaluate the applicant’s command of English and their ability to communicate effectively with patients and faculty.

Please forward any questions or inquiries to:

Kyna Ng, Education Coordinator
Email:  kyna.ng@ubc.ca
Subject Line: Forensic Subspecialty

Welcome to the UBC Geriatric Psychiatry Subspecialty Training Program

Program Director: Dr. Ashok Krishnamoorthy

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

UBC was given official standing as a training site for Geriatric Psychiatry in 2012. This is a 24-month program to train residents in Geriatric Psychiatry to be able to write the Subspecialty Royal College Exam. Geriatric Psychiatry, a psychiatric subspecialty, focuses on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of complex mental disorders uniquely occurring in late life.

Geriatric Psychiatry is focused on providing care for intensive need patients and their caregivers at the end of the life cycle, a time when many complex physical and mental health issues coalesce. Geriatric Psychiatry organizes service delivery of psychiatric care to the elderly in multidisciplinary teams and in locations that best serve the needs of this elderly population. Geriatric Psychiatry is engaged in advocacy and development of health policy and planning related to late life mental illness and mental health, caregiver and care provider support, and systems of care.

Training Goals

The goals of the program include creating a resident who is expected to be a competent specialist in Geriatric Psychiatry and capable of assuming a consultant’s role in the subspecialty. The residents must also acquire a working knowledge of the theoretical basis of the specialty and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Requirements for Geriatric Psychiatry Training.

The UBC Program follows the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons training requirements in Geriatric Psychiatry.

The Royal College requirements include 24 months of approved residency follows the Royal College CBME model and residents progress through four stages of Competency based training:

• Transition to discipline
• Foundations of discipline
• Core of discipline
• Transition to practice

Training Sites

Training is delivered across three sites

• Vancouver Coastal Health Authority https://www.vch.ca
• Fraser Health Authority https://www.fraserhealth.ca
• Island Health (Vancouver  Island) https://www.islandhealth.ca
• Opportunities exist to do distributed site rotations at Kamloops and Prince George with availability of UBC faculty working in these sites

 Moonlighting is allowed following the UBC PGME Guidelines.

Please note that leased accommodations are available for residents on mandatory distributed rotations. Specifically, PGME mandated housing is only available for offsite rotations, for residents located away from their home base. Leased accommodations are only technically available when residents go to rotations outside of their main residency site, not to help residents set up their own regular housing. Residents applying for leased accommodations should inform the Education Coordinator by early March.

PROCESS FOR APPLICATION

The UBC Geriatric Psychiatry Subspecialty Program will be joining the nation-wide movement to complete the selections process through CaRMS. Please check the CaRMS website for more information.

Please note that the UBC Geriatric Psychiatry Subspecialty Program is participating in the CaRMS Second Iteration. Please check the CaRMS Second Iteration page for more information.  

Eligibility for Residency Program in Geriatric Psychiatry Subspecialty

At this time, the UBC Geriatric Psychiatry Subspecialty Program ONLY accepts residents through the CaRMS Medicine Subspecialty Match into the Subspecialty Training Program. We are not able to accept any IMG Clinical Fellows into the subspecialty residency training. 

Please apply to their program via the IMG Clinical Fellow web page. 

Criteria: 

1. Canadians or Permanent Residents who have completed a period of 4 years of Postgraduate training in Psychiatry, have their Canadian FRCPC or are eligible to write it at the end of their PGY4 year. They must be eligible for an educational license with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC. Only residents in an approved training program are eligible to apply. 
2. IMG Clinical Fellows are NOT eligible
3. Internationally Trained psychiatrists or residents currently in psychiatry training outside of Canada are NOT eligible. 
4. For further information, please consult the CaRMS website: https://www.carms.ca 
5. For any clarifications please contact ashok.krishnamoorthy@vch.ca  

Candidates will submit their application through the CaRMS portal. The application may include, but is not limited to:

1. A Personal Statement speaking to the following:
   • The nature of development of their interest in Geriatric Psychiatry
   • Their interest in the UBC program specifically
   • Possible career interests or directions after successful training in Geriatric Psychiatry
2. A CV outlining educational background and experiences, scholarly and other accomplishments
3. An application support form, as a summary of the application material being sent in
4. One letter of good standing from their current Program Director, Postgraduate Education
5. Three reference letters

Reference letters must follow specific guidelines. To review the guidelines, please click on the link below:

SELECTION OF CANDIDATES

We are looking for the following qualities from applicants:

• Motivation to enter the field of Geriatric Psychiatry
• Knowledge about Geriatric Psychiatry as a career
• Clinical and communication skills
• Self-appraisal and Psychological mindedness
• Interpersonal relatedness, social mindedness and awareness
• Adaptability and open-mindedness
• Sense of responsibility and maturity
• Diversity of experience
• Notable personal achievements
• Research, Teaching, Advocacy and Leadership

 

Interview invitations are extended following an initial application screening by the Program Director and Selection Committee. During interviews, applicants will meet with several members on the Selection Committee including both staff and residents. Interviews include predetermined questions and scenarios to assess the qualities listed above, evaluate the applicant’s command of English and their ability to communicate effectively with patients and faculty.

Please forward any questions or inquiries to:

Kyna Ng, Education Coordinator
Email:  kyna.ng@ubc.ca
Subject Line: Geriatric Subspecialty