The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Queen's University is proud to offer one of Canada's leading residency programs. Fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, our five-year residency program provides residents with an outstanding educational experience. Upon completion of their training, our residents are fully prepared to practice general obstetrics and gynaecology as highly competent, responsible, and ethical physicians.
Why Queen's OB/GYN?
Welcome from the Program Director
As the Residency Program Director for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Queen's University, I join Dr. Graeme Smith, our Department Head, in welcoming you to our Home Page!
The Postgraduate Residency Training Program in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Queen's University spans five years. Our overall goal is to train highly competent, responsible, and ethical physicians for the practice of general Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Our residents are uniformly of the highest caliber, dedicated and committed to excellence. They are, in fact, the greatest strength of our training program at Queen's. The size of the residency program enables an individualized approach to training, with the possibility of mentoring from several staff. The commitment of our Department to resident education is reflected through activities including a weekly Academic Half Day (fully protected for the residents by rotating staff person coverage), a monthly Journal Club, and an annual practice OSCE exam. We have many faculty with a graduate degree in medical education. The Department comprises a large complement of subspecialists to maximize resident exposure across the specialty. Our faculty is recognized nationally and is on the leading edge of Competency By Design, having been the first university to adopt Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) in academic year 2017-2018.
The program is organized to provide early clinical and operative exposure to junior residents, allowing more senior residents to consolidate their skills across the five years of training, and also affording senior residents the opportunity to teach, supervise and mentor the junior residents. Furthermore, residents experience primary surgical experience in all subspecialties: MFM, oncology, MIS, Urogynaecology, and Paeds Gynaecology.
The Department is particularly proud of the success of our residents in research, due to dedicated work by our residents and excellent mentorship by our academic faculty, many of who have research-related masters or PhD degrees. Many of our residents have presented at national meetings, published original research in peer-reviewed journals, and/or received highly prestigious awards for research merit.
To date, our Queen's fully trained residents have been uniformly successful in passing the Royal College examination in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. More than half of our graduates have gone on to fellowship training, and later to successful academic careers.
The residency program received FULL APPROVAL from the Royal College after our last External Accreditation Review in October 2017.
Please have a look at all that we have to offer.
Sincerely,
Marisa Horniachek, MD
Postgraduate Program Director
Marie-Andrée Harvey, MD, MSc
Assistant Postgraduate Program Director
PGY1A stage covering broad-based competencies that every trainee must acquire before moving on to more advanced, discipline-specific competencies |
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Transition to Discipline |
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Transition to Discipline (2 blocks)
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TTD emphasizes the orientation and assessment of new trainees arriving from different medical schools. During TTD (2 blocks) the resident will attend the Surgical Foundations Bootcamp while spending time in 3 weeks each of Obstetrics, Clinics and the Operating room. |
Foundations of Discipline |
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| Junior Obstetrics (4 blocks) | For this rotation you will be paired with a Senior OB Resident. You will learn basic obstetric ultrasound skills and the principles of management of normal and abnormal labour. You will manage antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum inpatients and perform spontaneous vaginal deliveries, instrument assisted deliveries and Caesarean sections. The expectation is that by the end of this rotation you will be able to do a C-section as primary surgeon with a skilled assistant. |
| OBGYN Clinics (1 block) | The Clinics rotation gives residents exposure to a wide variety of outpatient obstetrics (both low risk and high risk pregnancies) and general gynaecology. |
| Off-Service Rotations in: Anaesthesiology (1 block) Neonatology (1 block) Internal Medicine (1 block) Emergency Medicine (1 block) General Surgery (1 block) Critical Care -ICU (1 block) |
These "off service" rotations provide broad general experience in preparation for obtaining the qualification of Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC). |
PGY 2 |
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Foundations of Discipline Continued |
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| Junior Gynaecology (4-5 blocks) | For this rotation you will be paired with the Head Gynaecology Resident who functions in both a teaching and mentoring role. You will work in the operating room, wards, clinics and the ER. The expectation is that by the end of this rotation you will be able to do a TAH & BSO as primary surgeon with a skilled assistant. |
| Junior Gynaecologic Oncology (3 blocks) |
For this rotation you will be paired with the Senior Gynaecologic Oncology Resident and will gain early experience in the surgical and inpatient care of women with gynaecologic malignancy. You will work in the OR, in the Regional Cancer Clinic, and provide care, including chemotherapy and palliative care, to patients. |
| Community OBGYN (3 blocks) | TThe junior community rotation is at the Brockville General Hospital, a primary care community hospital located 45 minutes from Kingston. Here the residents have their first opportunity to develop clinical and surgical skills outside a teaching centre. Lodging is provided. |
| Women's clinic/gynaecology clinics (1 block) | The resident will be exposed to counselling of women seeking 1st trimester terminations, both medical and surgical, will perform surgical terminations and will spend time in general gynaecology clinics when not in the Women's Clinic. |
| Research (1 block) | This protected research block enables the resident to formulate a research question and begin development and implementation of a research project early in residency. |
PGY3You will gain intermediate level exposure to subspecialty practice. This stage will provide broad experience and help in career planning. |
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Core of Discipline |
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| Maternal Fetal Medicine (4 blocks) |
During the MFM rotation, the resident learns advanced skills in ultrasound and is exposed to high-risk pregnancies. |
| Urogynaecology (4 blocks) | While on the Urogyne service, the resident learns the interpretation of urodynamics (including videourodynamics) and performs various anti-incontinence procedures and abdominal and vaginal reconstructive procedures for pelvic organ prolapse. |
| Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (4 blocks) | While on the REI service, the resident participates in the Ovulation Induction/Intrauterine Insemination Program and performs intrauterine inseminations. There is also a satellite IVF program in Kingston. Operative laparoscopy and hysteroscopy are learned and performed by the resident. |
PGY4 |
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Core of Discipline Continued |
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| Senior Obstetrics (4 blocks) | This rotation provides consolidated OB experience at the senior level. You will also have a teaching and mentoring role for your Junior resident (PGY1). |
| Community OBGYN (4 blocks) | These blocks are spent at a community location of the resident's choosing. |
| Gynaecologic Oncology (4 blocks) | In this rotation you will gain experience in surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and palliation for gynaecologic oncology patients. You will participate in complicated inpatient care and you will also have a teaching and mentoring role for your Junior resident (PGY2). |
PGY5 |
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Transition to Practice |
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| Head Gynaecology (4 blocks) | This rotation provides consolidated gynaecologic experience at the senior level. The Head is responsible for managing gynaecologic inpatients, triaging in-hospital consults and patients in the Emergency Room, and performing (or assisting the junior resident in) all general gynaecologic operative procedures. You are in charge of the Head Gynaecology practice. You will also have teaching, mentoring and administrative roles. |
| Electives (4-5 Blocks) | Electives in PGY-5 allow for late flexibility, as well as an opportunity for new or reinforced experience, at a time where fellowship or practice planning is key. You will also have more time to study for upcoming exams. |
| OBGYN Clinics (4 blocks) | In the final year of residency the resident completes a 4 block rotation in ambulatory clinics. Attendance to general obstetrics and gynaecology clinics plus high risk OB, urogynaecology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility and colposcopy clinics is a great tool for residents as they prepare for the Royal College exams. |
Schedules (password required)
Available on the Elentra Post Graduate Medical Education (PGME) program website.
Resident call schedules by block
- Staff call schedules (weekly)
- Rotation schedule
- Academic Half Day schedule
- Rounds & Conferences (weekly)
- Journal Club
Elentra Communities (password required)
Programs
Academic Half Days
- 4 hours per week of protected time every Thursday:
- Grand Rounds: 7:30-8:30am
- Core Teaching/Simulation: 9:00am - 12:00pm
Weekly Rounds
- Gynaecology Cases (1 hour every other week)
- Maternal Fetal Medicine (1 hour)
- Gynaecologic Oncology (1 hour)
Academic Activities
- Journal Club (monthly)
- James A. Low Research Day (annually)
- Introduction to Research Course (annually)
- Memorial Program (CME in Obstetrics & Gynaecology) (annually)
Exam Preparation
- Annual oral exam
- Annual Academic Council Multiple Choice (ACMC) Exam (formally APOG exam)
- Annual CREOG exam (MCQ's)
- Annual Practice OSCE exam
- PGY-5 weekly practice oral exam (January to May)
Updated: November 9, 2018
The practice of evidence-based medicine requires an awareness of the strengths and limitations of different research methodologies and the skills to critically appraise the research publications of others. Residents develop these skills through discussion of latest evidence during teaching sessions and in clinical scenarios such as clinic, labour and delivery and the operating room.
All residents attend an introductory course on research methodology and critical appraisal in first year. At this course a research road map is presented and residents receive guidance about on-line and local resources to facilitate their involvement in research. Each resident is expected to develop her or his personal skills through participation in journal clubs, presentation of cutting-edge or controversial data at rounds and by conducting one or more personal research project(s). The resident research coordinator meets regularly with residents to monitor their progress and to confirm that they are “on-track” to meet departmental expectations for resident involvement in scholarly work (eg. Q/A audits, book chapters, articles or reviews, and original research).
The Program offers strong research mentorship. Residents are paired with faculty members who oversee and facilitate research. Departmental resources including epidemiology expertise and funding are available to foster research and residents receive financial support to present their findings at regional and national meetings. For more information please visit the research section of the departmental website.
Innovation and creativity are the underpinnings of a culture within the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology that drive faculty and residents to pursue clinical “best practices” while looking to the future and, through research, trying continually to do better.
Maria P. Velez, MD, PhD
Resident Research Coordinator
Relatively small size
- 15 residents
- individual attention
- close, personal relationships
Solid core OB/GYN exposure
- long rotations
- early operating experience
- senior resident supervision, teaching and mentoring
- early selective experience
Excellent Subspecialties exposure
- long rotations
- early operating experience working as 1st assistant/primary surgeon, as there are no subspecialty fellows (MFM, REI, Urogynaecology, MIS)
Integrated one-hospital site
- labour and delivery ward
- operating rooms
- inpatient wards
- clinics and ultrasound unit
- attending staff offices
Clinical Liaisons
- Hotel Dieu Hospital (out-patient surgery and ambulatory pediatrics)
- Lennox & Adddington County General Hospital, Napanee (monthly operating room and ambulatory clinics)
- Belleville / Peterborough / Brockville / Oshawa
- Moose Factory
Royal College Accreditation Review
- status: full approval, October 2017
Why Queen's?
- solid, individual training with broad exposure
- cohesive program with an excellent reputation and track record
- one hospital site
- ample elective opportunity
- excellent research training / opportunity
- opportunity to obtain graduate degree (MSc, PhD) through the Clinical Investigator Program
Various resident wellness activities include:
- one Academic Half Day at the beginning of the year is devoted to a wellness session, including wellness activities (activities have been modified due to COVID-19 restrictions).
- one resident night off yearly
- our resident retreat includes a wellness component
We also support and promote PGME wellness endeavors
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Kingston General Hospital, Victory 4
76 Stuart Street
Kingston , Ontario, K7L 2V7
Office: (613) 549-6666, Ext. 4911
Fax: (613) 548-1330
Program Director: Dr. Marisa Horniachek
Email: marisa.horniachek@kingstonhsc.ca
Program Coordinator: Anna Couch
Email: anna.couch@queensu.ca