Overview
Message from the Program Director
The goal of the child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty residency program at McMaster University is to train outstanding child and adolescent psychiatrists, while encouraging and supporting their development as clinicians with interest in research, education and academic careers. Our subspecialty program provides rich training experiences in a variety of settings including a 21-bed inpatient unit, emergency psychiatry and general psychiatry service and multidisciplinary outpatient program serving youth with complex needs and their families. McMaster Children’s Hospital and the Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre are central areas of training, where there is opportunity to collaborate with related pediatric disciplines and further hone skills in specialized areas, such as the child advocacy and assessment program or eating disorders program.
Our program offers a unique interdisciplinary curriculum, during the PGY-6 year, led by enthusiastic faculty with opportunities for rich case discussion around self-directed learning goals. We further support diverse psychotherapy experiences including our family therapy clinic, in addition to caregiver focused interventions such as the family check-up program and emotion focused family therapy.
McMaster has a proud tradition of collaboration, and pursuit of excellence. One of our greatest strengths in the child and adolescent division are our faculty and learners who create a sense of community, support mentorship and are invested in our residents’ learning goals.
Expandable List
The child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty residency program is an active, multidisciplinary group, led by Laura Rosato, program director. Division members provide state-of-the-art training in child and adolescent psychiatry to learners at various stages of training, including medical students, general psychiatry and pediatric residents and subspecialty residents. The program is a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada-accredited subspecialty residence program that provides clinical experiences in outpatient, inpatient, emergency/consultation-liaison and psychotherapy settings. The strength of the program is based upon the active participation of a broad range of faculty members including child psychiatrists, psychologists and other allied health professionals.
Hamilton is a waterfront city known for its diverse urban life supported by many restaurants, museums and galleries. As part of the forested Niagara Escarpment, city residents enjoy access to parks, conservation areas, waterfalls and the Bruce Trail.
After completion of the child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty residency program and Royal College examination, individuals will receive Royal College certification in child and adolescent psychiatry. They will also receive a certificate of completion from McMaster University’s Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) office.
Residents in their PGY4 year, please complete the application form and send along your supportive documents to the program administrator.
Supportive Documents
- Updated CV
- Letter of intent
- Letter of good standing from current residency program director
- Three reference letters with contact information
- Medical school transcript
PGY-5 applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis and if funding allows. Interested PGY-5 applicants should contact the program administrator and program director directly prior to the application deadline to inquire.
Application Deadline: September 3rd, 2024
Interviews: October 4th 2024
First Offer: Thursday, October 24th, 2024 @ 14:00 EST
Accept / Decline Deadline: Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 @ 12:00 EST
McMaster University’s Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) program provides an environment where learners can develop the skills to become expert physicians and leaders in health care. Visit the PGME website to learn more.
Education
Length of Training
The child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty program at McMaster University, consistent with the Royal College requirements, is a two-year program. The intention is for residents to enter this program in PGY-5 as an overlap year with their general psychiatry residency program and complete their child psychiatry training with a PGY-6 year solely in the child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty program.
Curriculum Highlights
The child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty program provides a rich and varied curriculum over the two years of residency. In collaboration with the psychology training program, PGY-5 residents are introduced to de-escalation and emotion coaching skills, in addition to exposure to different psychotherapy modalities such as dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT). PGY-5 residents also participate in the CAP National Seminar Series and are further engaged in wellness sessions, including our mentorship program, social events with faculty, such as the child psychiatry interest dinner and movie night, and in a resident-led consultation and reflection group.
During the PGY-6 year, our residents collaborate with the child psychology residents on a problem based learning curriculum, facilitated by interdisciplinary faculty. Additional wellness sessions based around self-compassion, suicide postvention and transition to practice seminars are also scheduled.
The program supports residents who wish to pursue unique experiences, such as research or education, as flexibility is built into our curriculum.
Research
Residents are expected to complete a scholarly project during their training and present at an appropriate venue such as the Department of Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences grand rounds, research day or Ron Joyce rounds.
Residents will have additional exposure to continuing quality improvement (CQI) and experience the application of CQI on clinical rotations, while identifying and providing an outline for a CQI initiative. Residents meet early on with the research coordinator to identify areas of interest and subsequently identify a faculty supervisor who can offer guidance. The Offord Centre, a multi-disciplinary research institute, provides additional research opportunities for residents to better understand children’s mental health problems and work towards improving lives of children and youth.
Clinical
The child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty residency program provides training at a 21-bed inpatient unit, emergency psychiatry and consultation-liaison service and multidisciplinary outpatient program serving youth with complex needs and their families.
Additional clinical opportunities are available in specialized areas, such as the eating disorder program, child advocacy and assessment program, Indigenous mental health and developmental pediatrics.
Hospital Sites
- McMaster Children’s Hospital
- Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre
Contact Us
We invite you to learn more about the child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialty residency program and the opportunities that are available at McMaster University. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.