• Fully Accredited Program with the next regular survey by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2028.
• Our Program follows a distributed model with equivalent learning opportunities at each site.
• Learners have opportunities to complete rural, outreach, or out-of-province/country electives during their residency, if interested.
• Our Program has a dedicated Research track for those who’d like to pursue Research. Research track residents have protected time to work on their Research Project(s).
• All residents have one protected day every week (except for the PGY1’s who have one day per month) for a Full Academic Day.
• Our program offers a significantly increased number of mock OSCE’s throughout PGY5 to help prepare our residents for the oral component of the Royal College Exam.
• For the last two years, all our PGY5’s have passed their Royal College Exam.

To learn more about our Program, you are encouraged to visit the Postgraduate Training Program site, or refer to the 2021 CaRMS Applicant Information Package.

Please also check out the Mental Health Resources website that was developed by our residents, Dr. Lingsa Jia and Dr. Raman Srivastava. The website acts a central resource repository centre for learners, clinicians and patients to look up helpful information around Psychiatry.

We welcome applicants to contact the following people if they want to learn more about the Program:

Irfan Khanbhai, Interim Program Director: Irfan.khanbhai@ubc.ca

Residents from CaRMS Welcome Committee: ubc.psych.residents@gmail.com

Linda Chang, Education Coordinator: linda.chang@ubc.ca

WHAT DO OUR RESIDENTS THINK ABOUT OUR PROGRAM?

Learn all about life and training in the UBC Psychiatry Postgraduate Program from those who know it best: our residents!

MEHAR KANG, MD PGY1, Fraser Track   Find out what Dr. Kang has to say about our program! Read more →

CHRISTINE KENNEDY, MD PGY3, Prince George Track   Find out what Dr. Kennedy has to say about our program! Read more →

DANIEL LU, MD PGY1, Vancouver Track   Find out what Dr. Lu has to say about our program! Read more →

ROBERT NATHAN, MD PGY2, Vancouver Island Track   Find out what Dr. Nathan has to say about our program! Read more →

VALERIE NICHOLLS, MD PGY5, Vancouver Island Track   Find out what Dr. Nicholls has to say about our program! Read more →

KAIWEN SONG, MD PGY1, Fraser Track   Find out what Dr. Song has to say about our program! Read more →

COMPETENCE BY DESIGN (CBD) IN PSYCHIATRY EDUCATION

As of July 1, 2020, all Psychiatry Residency Programs in Canada have launched Competence Based Medical Education. The Royal College's CBD Residents Guide is designed to help the medical students understand what CBD in Postgraduate Education is all about.

Below is a summary of what residency will look like at UBC for all incoming cohorts. Note that all changes were made to satisfy the new Royal College requirements.

WHAT WILL RESIDENCY FOR THE CBD COHORT LOOK LIKE?

There are four stages of the residency program each with designated numbers of Entrustable Professional Activities that must be met.  An Entrustable Professional Activity (EPA) is a task in the clinical setting that may be delegated to a resident by their supervisor once sufficient competence has been demonstrated. The number of EPAs for each stage is listed below.

Transition to Discipline (PGY1) (2 EPAs)

• • • One month of Psychiatry, including a new didactic Psychiatry “Bootcamp" to bring all residents to the same level of competency.

Foundations of Discipline (PGY1 + PGY2) (5 EPAs)

• • • Medical & Psychiatry rotations in PGY1
    • Inpatient & Outpatient Psychiatry in PGY2

Core of Discipline (PGY3 + PGY4) (10 EPAs)

• • • Child & Geriatric Psychiatry in PGY3
    • Chronic Care, Addictions, Emergency, Consult-Liaison, Electives in PGY4

➔ ROYAL COLLEGE EXAM

Transition to Practice (PGY5) (3 EPAs)

• • • Electives/Selectives

WHAT’S STAYING THE SAME?

• • Academic Full Days
  • Mock OSCEs
  • Psychotherapy (timing may change, but core training experiences remain the same)

WHAT’S CHANGING?

• • First Month: The first month of training will be in psychiatry for all new residents to complete initial two EPA’s.
  • Psychiatry Bootcamp: During the first month of training, the entire cohort, including residents from distributed sites, will be attending a four- to five-day Psychiatry “Bootcamp” in Vancouver to bring all residents to the same level of knowledge competency. This will include orientation to CBD, orientation to the basics of psychiatry, psychiatric interviewing and management, documentation, risk assessment and the legal aspects of psychiatry.
  • Royal College Exams: Have been decoupled such that they are separated by a few months, and passing the written exam is required in order to challenge the OSCE exam. The exams have also been moved to the end of Core (Spring of PGY4).
  • EPAs: Moving to competency-based learning rather than time-based.
  • PGY1: Less Internal Medicine, more Psychiatry, adding Addictions.
  • PGY4: Emergency Psychiatry instead of Shared Care.

INTERVIEW DATES

All interviews for the UBC Postgraduate Psychiatry Program will now be done virtually and are scheduled on the following dates:

• Wednesday, March 2, 2022
• Tuesday, March 8, 2022
• Wednesday, March 9, 2022

PROCESS

The UBC Psychiatry Education Office will notify all applicants through CaRMS Online whether an interview has been granted. Those who are short-listed for a virtual interview will be contacted by e-mail. Applicants must respond to our invitation for an interview within three business days of being contacted in order to be scheduled. Telephone interviews are not an option unless there is a connection issue during the virtual interview. The interview process, which takes place over one full day, is as follows:

• Interviews will be conducted via Zoom.
• Morning virtual program orientation meeting with PGE Program Director and Resident Reps from each track (1 hour group meeting).
• Interview process will consist of:
  • 10-minute Program Director Interview;
  • 15-minute Mini Interview assessing communication, organization, collaboration and professionalism skills with two to three members of the Selections Committee, and;
  • 15-minute Panel Interview with two to three members of the Selections Committee.
• If applicable, 15-minute Prince George Associate Program Director Interview.
• If applicable, Research Track Interviews:
  • 30-minute meeting with the Research Track Associate Program Director and;
  • 45-minute panel interview with the Research Track Committee
• Only applicable to IMG candidates: 20-minute IMG Oversight Director Interview
• Virtual Meet and Greet with Faculty and Resident Reps (1 hour): Candidates will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from different aspects of the programs (Addiction Psychiatry, General and ER Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, etc.) and Resident Representatives from different tracks.

CAN RESEARCH TRACK APPLICANTS CHOOSE A SITE OTHER THAN VANCOUVER FOR THEIR TRAINING?

The Research track program is based in Vancouver.  If a candidate wants to join the Research track and also be trained at other sites, we suggest that the candidate apply to other tracks rather than the Research track.  Candidates can request to be transferred to the Research track after they are matched in CaRMS.

DO I NEED TO SUBMIT A DIFFERENT APPLICATION FOR EACH TRACK THAT I WANT TO APPLY TO?

Yes, if you are planning to apply to multiple tracks, please submit an application for each track.

DO I NEED TO SUBMIT A PERSONALIZED LETTER FOR EACH TRACK THAT I’VE APPLIED TO?

Applicants are encouraged to write a different targeted personal letter for each track they want to apply to, especially for the applicants who want to apply to the Vancouver Island and Prince George tracks. This will help the Program understand the reasons for applying to specific tracks.

IS A CV OR CUSTOM RESUME REQUIRED FOR THE CARMS APPLICATION?

CVs or resumes are optional as the CaRMS application forms include all necessary fields that would be present on a CV (e.g. work experience, research experience, interest, etc.).

CAN I SUBMIT MORE THAN THREE REFERENCE LETTERS THAT WERE OUTLINED IN THE CARMS DESCRIPTION?

Our Selections Committee will only review the first three reference letters that you submit due to time constraints.

I AM CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING A DUAL DEGREE (MD/MSC). DO I NEED TO UPLOAD A COPY OF MY MASTERS TRANSCRIPT?

Yes, please upload a copy your Masters transcript to your CaRMS application.  Our reviewers will take this into account when reviewing your file.

WILL YOUR PROGRAM GIVE PREFERENCE TO GRADUATES OF UBC?

We do not give preference to students who are graduates of UBC when creating our rank lists. Every applicant will be scored in a standardized fashion.

I HAVE APPLIED TO MULTIPLE TRACKS. DOES THIS MEAN THAT I WILL HAVE AN INTERVIEW FOR EACH TRACK FOR WHICH I’M SHORTLISTED?

Candidates who are shortlisted for the Vancouver, Fraser, and/or Vancouver Island tracks will have one set of standard interviews (Program Director Interview, Mini Interview, and Panel Interview). When interviewing and ranking the candidates, our Selections Committee will keep in mind the tracks to which they have applied.

Candidates who are shortlisted for the Research and/or Prince George tracks, will have an additional interview for each track.

DO THE PRINCE GEORGE & RESEARCH TRACK SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES HAVE ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS ON TOP OF THE REGULAR INTERVIEWS (PROGRAM DIRECTOR, MINI, AND PANEL INTERVIEWS)? IF SO, ARE THESE INTERVIEWS ON THE SAME DAY?

Candidates who are shortlisted for the Prince George and/or Research track will have an additional interview in addition to the standard interviews.

Candidates who are shortlisted for the Prince George track will have an additional interview with the Prince George Associate Program Director. Candidates who are shortlisted for the Research track will have an additional interview with the Research Track Associate Program Director, as well as a panel interview with the Research Track Selections Committee.

All of the interviews, including the additional interviews one may have for the Prince George and/or Research track, will happen on the same day.

AFTER SPEAKING WITH RESIDENTS AND FACULTY DURING THE INTERVIEW DAY, I MIGHT DECIDE THAT I ALSO WANT TO APPLY TO OTHER TRACKS. IS THIS POSSIBLE? WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR THIS?

Yes, candidates are able to apply for additional tracks (except for Prince George and Research tracks) after your interview date, and up to at least 1 to 1.5 weeks before the ranking list submission deadline.