Program Goals

The education of our residents is the main goal of the UBC General Surgery Residency Training Program. Faculty throughout the province participates in teaching and research. Residents rotate through many various hospitals in the province and have elective rotations. Residents are given graduated responsibilities throughout their residency to reach the ultimate goal of becoming a competent Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada General Surgeon.

The goal of our training program is to produce fully trained and competent General Surgeons who are able to:

• Successfully pass the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada specialty examination in General Surgery
• Able to practice at a consultant level in General Surgery
• Have a superior knowledge of General Surgery and other related disciplines
• Obtain exceptional clinical knowledge, operative and endoscopic skills
• Obtain proficiency in General Surgery procedures
• Become a medical expert and scholar. To act in a professional manner with excellent collaborator, health advocate and communicator skills
• Exhibit excellent leadership skills
• Have an excellent understanding of research methodology.

The first 2 years of the 5-year program, residents participate in the Surgical Foundations Program with all other surgical residents at UBC with monthly seminars, technical skills laboratory sessions, online case-based learning modules, Principles of Surgery examination review lectures and a series of formative assessments.

Clinical Rotations

The General Surgery Residency Program has access to busy and high acuity surgical services at hospitals across British Columbia. A truly distributed program, our residents have a province wide presence and must rotate through rotations around the province. All residents rotate on specialty services such as trauma, hepatobiliary, transplant, surgical oncology, and colorectal surgery as well as on busy surgical services at community hospitals across the length and breadth of British Columbia with a diverse and complex case mix. Additionally, the program has a formal endoscopy rotation to ensure residents are competent in endoscopic procedures. This training environment makes clinical and technical excellence a fundamental expectation of all of our surgical graduates.

Innovative Rotations and Longitudinal Experiences

In addition to high-volume and high acuity surgical rotations throughout all years of training, the program has also created a series of innovative rotations and longitudinal experiences which span the entire duration of training. The PGY1 begins with a clinical and administrative orientation to life as resident, followed by the Basic Surgical Techniques (BST) course, where new residents are taught anatomy, open and laparoscopic skills, in an interactive mix of classroom, simulation and lab sessions through the junior Academic Half Day Process. The PGY1 CRASH Course is a four-week rotation through the Surgical Foundations Program which brings mid first-year residents back to the classroom and skills lab to explore issues in trauma resuscitation, critical care, teaching, leadership, evidence-based practice, and technical skills. The course has been designed to equip junior residents with the knowledge, skill, and confidence to have a highly successful residency. PGY2s have a research block to write proposals and to prepare funding applications for research years, which is predominantly through the Clinical Investigator Program. PGY2s also get a special Innovation Week, where they are protected from clinical pressures to work on research and innovation in surgery.

In the final years of the program, residents participate in the Expert Series, an advanced surgical curriculum for senior residents, as well as in the definitive surgical trauma care DSTC course. The PGY4s participate in the RISE at the beginning of the year. They are protected from clinical duties to work on leadership and career mentorship in surgery. Many of the educational initiatives in the program, such as endoscopy and scholarly research work have a longitudinal component with specific expectations at each stage of training.

Training Sites

Lower Mainland Hospitals

• Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre
• BC Children’s & Women’s Hospital
• Burnaby Hospital
• Chilliwack General Hospital
• Langley Memorial Hospital
• Lions Gate Hospital
• Mount St. Joseph’s Hospital
• Richmond Hospital
• Royal Columbian Hospital
• St. Paul’s Hospital
• Surrey Memorial Hospital
• UBC Hospital
• Vancouver General Hospital

Provincial Hospitals

• Campbell River Hospital
• Cariboo Memorial Hospital – Williams Lake
• East Kootenay Regional Hospital – Cranbrook
• G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital – Quesnel
• Kelowna General Hospital
• Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital – Trail
• Mills Memorial Hospital – Terrace
• Nanaimo General Hospital
• Penticton Regional Hospital
• qathet General Hospital – Powell River
• Royal Inland Hospital – Kamloops
• Shuswap Lake General Hospital – Salmon Arm
• University Hospital of Northern BC (UHNBC) – Prince George
• Vernon Jubilee Hospital
• Victoria General Hospital

Program Highlights

The General Surgery Residency Program recognizes that all of its incoming residents bring outstanding experiences and skills, and unique perspectives to their training. Our goal is to ensure that these unique experiences and perspectives remain at the core of surgical training and form the basis of successful surgical careers. The highlight and most important factor in the success of our program is the talent and enthusiasm of our residents. The training program and established curricula strive to maximize the potential of our surgical residents. We strive to maximize resident involvement at all levels including Town Hall meetings, an annual Resident Retreat and Resident Research Day, and involvement in various committees such as:

• Residency Program Committee
• Competence Committee
• Curriculum Committee
• Wellness and Social Committee
• Selection Committee

The Surgical Foundations Program is a longitudinal series of seminars and workshops that take place in the first two years of residency training. It provides PGY1-2 residents from Cardiac Surgery, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Otolaryngology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Plastic Surgery, Urology and Vascular Surgery with the knowledge and skills to excel as a senior surgical resident and continue to learn and adapt in new environments as well as in the ever-changing field of surgery.

The Surgical Foundations exam is a Royal College examination that takes place in the fall of PGY2. Passing this exam is a pre-requisite for all surgical residents to take the final specialty training exam.

Mini-CRASH and CRASH (Competencies in Resuscitation and Stabilization of Hospital Patients) Courses

Acquisition of the required knowledge and skill set occurs through experience on clinical rotations (including critical care and trauma), seminars, technical skills labs and the mini-CRASH and CRASH courses.

The mini-CRASH course occurs over 3 half days in July. The CRASH course occurs in block 4 of the PGY1. CRASH is an intensive 4 weeks which includes ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support), FCCS (Fundamental of Critical Care Support), training in Surgical Residents as Teachers as well as seminars covering research and evidence-based medicine. PGY2 residents participate in selected aspects of CRASH as well as have the opportunity to assist the PGY1 residents in skills labs.

Canadian Medical Graduates

Canadian medical school graduates must apply through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Details on how to apply through CaRMS can be found on the CaRMS website.

Internationally Sponsored Trainees

Each academic year the General Surgery Residency Program offers 1-3 residency positions for internationally sponsored trainees. The Residency Program is 5 years and starts on July 1^st. The program receives the application packages from UBC Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Office. An internationally-sponsored medical trainee is a physician who is not a Canadian citizen or a Canadian permanent resident and whose tuition and salary are funded by a sponsoring agency in their home country. A postgraduate training agreement must be in place between UBC and the international sponsoring agency before PGME can process an application. Details on how to apply can be found on the PGME website.

Academic Half Day

The academic half day, which is the foundation of our curriculum, is based on a two-year cycle of subject blocks. Within each block residents will participate in small and large group case-based sessions, scientific sessions, and a simulation program which will closely parallel the sequence of clinical topics covered in the half days. All residents have simulator access at the VGH Simulation Centre/Jack Bell Lab and all academic blocks incorporate low and high-fidelity simulator training to promote development of specific technical and decision-making skills.

PGY1-2

An independent academic half day curriculum has been designed for the junior residents. This curriculum focuses on completion of a major surgical textbook and mastery of fundamental open and laparoscopic skills, and includes time for research and professional development.

PGY3-5

Academic symposium curriculum has been designed for the senior residents. This curriculum includes:

• Eight core areas (12-week block per area) as per the RCPSC educational objectives
• Weekly readings (expert chapters, key journal articles, web videos, etc.), assignments and quizzes from SCORE online resources
• Weekly protected AHD time
• Full day academic symposium for each core area

The General Surgery Residency Program recognizes that the applicants come to the program with strong track records of achievement in a diversity of fields and a strong commitment to a diversity of ideals. Residents have a longstanding history of academic productivity, including regular presentations at national and international meetings, publications in prestigious journals, major research awards and even success at peer-reviewed grant competitions. Program is rapidly moving forward with its most comprehensive research agenda to date.

The expectations are that residents would be able to take a project from conception through to its completion. This would entail developing a hypothesis, designing a project around the hypothesis including background information, accumulation and analysis of data, and formulating conclusions. These are the minimum expectations:

• Four Resident Research Day presentations, including the initial proposal as a poster presentation/completed project in PGY1
• Two oral presentations where data from ongoing research are presented. A presentation at the Department of Surgery WB & MH Chung Research Day would count towards one of these presentations.

Clinical Investigator Program

The UBC Clinician Investigator Program (CIP) is an opportunity for UBC residents to pursue Master, PhD or postgraduate studies through a RCPSC accredited program. CIP is a fully funded two-year program that allows UBC residents the unique opportunity to gain research experience in world-class research facilities both locally and internationally. Residents at all stages of their residency training can apply to the program by the November 1^st deadline each year. For more information about the program and application process, visit the UBC CIP website.

The General Surgery Residency Program is a community of learners, faculty and staff who share responsibility for creating and maintaining a positive, inclusive, learning and work environment where all participants are valued and treated with respect. There is a Resident Wellness Office committed to ensuring resident wellbeing as well as resources to report Learner Mistreatment. 

Resources

• Inclusivity in the Learning Environment
• Gender Bias in the Learning Environment
• Student Mistreatment Video
• Building Safe and Supportive Learning Environments

PGME Policies, Procedures, Systems and Resources

• PGME Policies & Procedures
• Resident Resources
• Resident Insider
• Resident as Teachers
• Transition into Practice Program
• Resident Management System
• Competency Based Medical Education
• Entrada

Program Policies & Guidelines

• General Surgery Resident Safety Policy
• General Surgery Supervision Policy
• General Surgery Adopted PGME Resident Wellness Policy

UBC Reticulum
The UBC Reticulum website is an innovative hub for general surgeons, residents and fellows. Its objective is to provide a network of research, clinical communication, mentorship and education for surgical trainees to retirees in BC. Explore Reticulum tools for surgical excellence in British Columbia.

Surgical Foundations Exam – PGY2

General Surgery Mock Oral Exam – Biannual PGY1-5

Canadian Association of General Surgeons Practice Exam – Annual PGY1-5

General Surgery Royal College Exam – PGY5

Co-Creating Mutual Goals

Direct Observation and Feedback in a Clinical Setting

Probing Clinical Reasoning through Collaborative Questioning

Reflection and Feedback Conversations

Competency by Design (CBD): Resident Training & Assessment

Direct Observation Videos for AssessmentBuilding Safe and Supportive Learning Environments

Out of Province Residents

All postgraduate electives arranged for any training location within the province of British Columbia by Out of Province Medical Residents must be processed through the UBC PGME Dean’s Office.

Eligibility

• Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents currently enrolled in a recognized Family Practice or Specialty (Royal College) training program in Canada, OR
• Canadian Citizens currently enrolled in a recognized Family Practice or Specialty training program in the USA.

Process and Application

• Applicants must arrange their own postgraduate resident electives directly with an individual faculty member. Please check the General Surgery Division faculty list.
• Once the elective dates have been confirmed by faculty, applicants will need to work with the PGME Dean’s Office on the application and licensing. Please check Postgraduate Visiting Electives for information on application process and timeline, and required documents and administrative fee.

International Postgraduate Trainees

Currently, postgraduate electives by International Postgraduate Trainees are offered only to the potential applicants to the program under the Internationally Sponsored Trainee stream. All requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Eligibility

• Citizens of other countries enrolled in a recognized Family Practice or Specialty training who are pursuing further clinical or research training in their own specialty, but who have not yet completed sufficient training that would allow them to be listed (registered) as a specialist in their home country.

Process and Application Please check International Postgraduate Trainee for information on process and timeline, administrative fee, credentials verification, English language proficiency requirements, immigration/work permit documentation and more.