The University of British Columbia offers a 2-year clinical training program in Complex General Surgical Oncology for one resident per year. The training program is accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and applicants can apply through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP).
Residents will have the privilege to work at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), the largest hospital in BC, and the major referral center for patients in BC and the Yukon (>5 million people). VGH is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Canada, with over 1000 in-patient beds. BC Cancer delivers oncology care to patients through six regional centers in Abbotsford, Kelowna, Prince George, Surrey, Victoria and Vancouver. The Vancouver Center alone evaluates 9300 new cancer patients per year and is involved in a number of clinical trials.
Clinical Rotations
The training will involve core rotations in General Surgical Oncology and Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Pathology and research. Rotations will include significant exposure to breast cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, peritoneal surface malignancies, hepatobiliary/pancreas (HPB), sarcoma, melanoma, and thyroid cancer.
Specialized elective rotations in community surgical oncology, HPB, head and neck surgery, community breast surgical oncology, academic colorectal cancer surgery, palliative care, and international elective rotations are available depending on the resident’s interest.
First Year
- General Surgical Oncology (6 blocks) – Vancouver General Hospital
- Medical Oncology (1 block) – BC Cancer
- Radiation Oncology (1 block) – BC Cancer
- Pathology (1 block) – Vancouver General Hospital
- Research/Electives (4 blocks)
Second Year
- General Surgical Oncology (6 blocks) – Vancouver General Hospital
- HPB (2-3 blocks) – Vancouver General Hospital
- Research/Electives (4 blocks)
- Examples of Elective Rotations:
- Breast Surgical Oncology – Mount St. Joseph’s Hospital
- Orthopedic Sarcoma – Vancouver General Hospital/BC Cancer
- General Surgical Oncology – Kelowna General Hospital
- Palliative Care – BC Cancer
- Colorectal Surgery – St. Paul’s Hospital
- Endocrine Surgery – St. Paul’s Hospital
Examples of International Elective Rotations
- Melanoma – New Zealand
- Sarcoma – Milan
- Gastric Cancer – Korea
Education
The education program includes a protected weekly lecture and seminar series covering various Surgical Oncology topics. The Journal club will be held every two months and attended by residents and staff. Regional and Provincial tumour conferences are held weekly at BC Cancer, with residents and staff regularly participating. All residents will be provided support to attend the SSO Annual Symposium.
Research
Research is an integral part of the training. Residents are responsible to complete one major research project during each year of training and submit to a National or International meeting as well as journal publication.
Residents will have access to BC Cancer Clinical Outcomes prospective databases and Vancouver Coastal pathologic databases for research projects.
For a list of publications from our group, please click here.
Eligibility
Candidates must have completed or expected a recognized General Surgery Residency program and demonstrate a significant commitment to Complex General Surgical Oncology.