Name:	Dr. Joye St. Onge
Title:	Program Director
E-mail:	stongej@mcmaster.ca
Phone:	(905) 540-6529
Name:	Elizabeth A. Gnoinski
Title:	Administrative Assistant
E-mail:	egnoinsk@stjoes.ca
Phone:	(905) 522-1155 ext. 34209

Residents can be considered for training in Geriatrics at McMaster University if they have completed at least three years of training in an approved Internal Medicine Residency Training Program. All applicants must meet the published requirements for eligibility available on the McMaster University Overview and Provincial Eligibility page. Information regarding licensure requirements are available at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario website: http://www.cpso.on.ca/

If you are NOT a Canadian PGY-3 resident-in-training and would like to be considered for a position at McMaster you will first need to have your training assessed for eligibility. Contact the Postgraduate Medical Education Office for guidance; www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/postgrad Further information is available on the McMaster University Overview and Provincial Eligibility page. Information regarding licensure requirements are available at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario CPSO website http://www.cpso.on.ca/

Document	Mandatory	Optional
Medical school transcript	X
Reference letter Number of letters: 3 At least 3 reference letters are required. One of these letters must be from the resident’s Internal Medicine Program Director. Letters from other residents will not be accepted.	X
Personal letter One personal letter explaining your interest in Geriatric Medicine.	X
Proof of Citizenship MUST be submitted with each application since only Canadian Citizens, Permanent residents or Landed Immigrants can apply to CaRMS positions in Ontario. One of the following documents must be submitted: Permanent Resident card (both sides of the card) Record of Landing, clearly showing the date of landing Passport page showing Canadian citizenship	X
Curriculum Vitae	X
International Medical Graduates should also submit proof of citizenship status, documentation of prior postgraduate training and medical practice experience, and score reports from the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination/Qualifying Examination.	X

Applications submitted after the file review has opened on August 24, 2011 :

- will be considered

References and other supporting documents which arrive after the file review has opened on August 24, 2011

- will be considered

Date(s) of Interviews: Tuesday, October 4^th, 2011

Invitation/ Notification Information: The program will notify all applicants and negotiate a mutually convenient date through e-mail.

Details regarding Interview: All applications will be reviewed and suitable candidates will be offered interviews. Scheduling will be flexible to facilitate coordination of travel plans/other interviews. Interviews will be conducted by 2 faculty members and will last approximately 30-40 minutes. There will also be an opportunity to separately meet with a senior resident or recent graduate of the program. Overall, the interview experience provides opportunities for candidates to assess their personal and professional fit with the program.

Applicants will be selected based on their demonstrated interest in Geriatric Medicine; academic record; the strength of their references; collegiality and ability to work well on teams.

Overview:

The Geriatric Medicine Residency Program at McMaster University is designed to develop well-rounded expert clinicians in geriatric medicine. In addition to the core rotations that support this fundamental goal, we offer a wide range of elective experiences to accommodate the diverse career interests of trainees.

The PGY-4 year allows the resident to develop clinical expertise in a variety of geriatric medicine services. Introductory rotations include inpatient geriatric assessment and rehabilitation, hospital-based consultation, and outpatient clinics. Experiences in geriatric day hospitals, community and outreach settings, and geriatric psychiatry are also completed early in the program, to provide broad exposure to the variety of practice models possible in geriatric medicine.

The PGY-5 year is flexible, individualized based on career interests, and designed to foster graduated responsibility. There is a longitudinal chief’s clinic that prepares residents for independent practice in the ambulatory setting. Residents return to rotations in inpatient consults and inpatient geriatric assessment and rehabilitation, this time in the role of "junior attending". This role requires greater independence in clinical management, increased responsibility, and more teaching of juniors. Those interested in an academic career path have opportunities to focus on development of teaching skills or research.

We are a mid-size program, with enough clinical activity to provide a breadth and depth of experiences, within an environment that is very supportive, resident-centered, and friendly. We have approximately 15 faculty geriatricians who contribute actively to residency education, and are very accessible to trainees. Each year, over 100 residents and medical students from outside of geriatrics rotate through our core teaching sites, and our division is a frequent recipient of teaching awards. These factors have helped us to build a rich, collegial and excellent training program.

Teaching

Residents are encouraged to develop teaching skills via courses offered through the office for Faculty Development, and practice those skills during the junior attending rotations of the second year. Members of the division of geriatric medicine at McMaster are very actively involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate education, and there are many opportunities for mentorship and engagement in educational committees, and program development.

Research

Three months, which may be taken in block or staggered form, are protected for a research project. A residency research director meets with each resident early in the program to assist in this activity. There is an annual Tri-city research day that rotates between Hamilton, Toronto and London, where residents present their projects. Through the postgraduate office and division of geriatric medicine, research funding and awards are available to residents on a competitive basis. Those interested in a research career would have an opportunity to structure the PGY-5 year with a focus on research.

Clinical Rotations

PGY-4

Rotation	Duration	Notes
Geriatric Assessment and Rehabilitation Unit (GARU)	2 months	Inpatient Ward providing interdisciplinary rehab post-acute care, and assessment of complex patients admitted directly from the community.
Inpatient Geriatric Consultations	2 months	Consultation to other inpatient services
Ambulatory Geriatric Medicine	3 months	Outpatient geriatrics clinics and geriatric day hospital
Geriatric Psychiatry	2 months	Inpatient, outpatient, outreach, family health team experiences available
Research	3 months	May be taken in block or staggered form, and timing is flexible throughout the program

PGY-5

Rotation	Duration	Notes
GARU – junior attending	1 month
Inpatient Consults – junior attending	1 months
Block Selectives	3 months	e.g. Community Geriatrics, Palliative Care, Rehabilitation,
Horizontal Selectives	3 months	Examples: Subspecialty clinics: neurology, movement disorders, stroke, rheumatology, osteoporosis, urology, urogynecology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopedic surgery, chronic disease management (diabetes, heart failure, chronic lung disease) Other: geriatrics home visits, integrated long-term care experience, administration / program development.
Electives	4 months	May be more if resident has an area of special interest that they wish to pursue
Chief’s clinic	integrated	1 half day per week for 6-12 months

On Call Responsibilities

Residents will participate in home call for coverage of the 18 bed GARU, at an average frequency of 1 in 7. Since the focus for these patients is on rehabilitation, call is usually light (e.g. it would be unusual to need to come in at night).

Academic Curriculum

There is a weekly academic half-day which includes a seminar series of core geriatrics topics, a quarterly academic journal club, and additional topics of interest as directed by residents of the program.. Residents from the Family Medicine Enhanced Skills Care of the Elderly program also attend these sessions.

There is a collaborative CanMEDS workshop series held jointly with other medical subspecialty programs and we also have shared sessions with palliative care, geriatric psychiatry and neurology residents.

The program places a high priority on supporting residents to attend major geriatrics conferences. Each resident is funded to attend one major American Geriatrics Conference or Review course during their training and is also supported to attend the major national conferences: Annual Meeting of the Canadian Geriatrics Society and Canadian Conference on Dementia.

Juravinski Hospital
Hamilton General Hospital
St. Peter’s Hospital
St. Joseph’s Hospital
St. Joseph’s Centre for Ambulatory Health Services
St. Joseph’s Centre for Mountain Health Services

Additional training sites for selectives and electives:
Brantford
Guelph
Cambridge
Kitchener-Waterloo
Oakville
Mississauga