Residency | Department of Medicine | School of Medicine

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The Hematology program at Queen's University is a rigorous two-year residency program focusing on the nature, function, and diseases of the blood. It is an intellectually stimulating specialty offering an ideal combination of clinical medicine, pathology, and the use of sophisticated technology to make specific diagnoses and treat illness.

Program Highlights

The Queen’s Residency Training Program in Adult Hematology is accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and is fully transitioned to a competency based medical education framework. The expected duration of training for each resident is 2 years. Training is divided into stages and each stage features a series of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) which are based on the competencies that a resident must achieve in order to progress into the next stage. A new assessment system has accompanied this change and features a wide variety of competency based assessment tools used more frequently and based on direct observation.

In the first year of the program, residents split their time between clinical hematology (clinics, ward, and consults) and hematopathology. Mandatory rotations in Community Hematology and Red Blood Cell Disorders are usually completed in the PGY4 year. A research block is also provided. The second year includes rotations in allogeneic stem cell transplantation and junior attending wards and consults rotations. There is ample elective time in the PGY5 year. A particular strength of the Queen's Hematology program is our flexibility to individual training needs; we can really tailor the program to suit any career goals! We typically accept 2 residents per year and we presently have 4 residents in the program.

The Resident Clinic is a weekly half-day clinic that runs continuously across the two years, concurrent with other rotations. Each resident will have assigned new patients who she/he will follow longitudinally. It also serves as a follow-up clinic for discharged inpatients seen by residents on the Consult or Ward service. Attendance by each resident is continuous, except when away for out-of-town rotations.

Please note: The order of rotations may vary.

Admission

Admission to postgraduate residency programs in Canada is coordinated through the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS). For detailed information on eligibility and selection criteria, required supporting documentation, and interviews, please review the Queen's Hematology entry within the Medicine Subspecialty Match (MSM) section on the CaRMS website.

Curriculum and Educational Activities

All residents attend weekly academic half-days. These include clinical and pathology presentations by both faculty members and residents (who present approximately once a month). There is also weekly morphology teaching in partnership with the University of Toronto. Weekly Journal Club also provides an opportunity for articles to be presented, critiqued, and discussed.

Other educational activities include weekly Hematology, Hematopathology, and multidisciplinary case conferences; monthly Thrombosis rounds; Transfusion 101 - Camp with the Bank +/- monthly Transfusion rounds hosted by the University of Toronto; and local, national, and international formative examinations.

Additionally, there are numerous optional courses available during residency training based on interest such as Queen's Faculty Development Teaching days, which are highly regarded sessions to improve clinical teaching and formal presentation skills, the CCTG CTG young investigator course and medical leadership series through the Faculty Development office.

Educational Activities

Hematology Conference/Rounds
A weekly noon round where trainees present cases and topics. Bring your lunch.

Hematology Journal Club
Yes, critical appraisal can be both educational and entertaining! Every other week journal articles are presented, critiqued, and discussed by a rotation of attendings and trainees. You never know what the attendings are going to say at Journal Club.

Hematology Academic Half Day
Weekly, including a Pathology and a Clinical presentation, and Morphology teaching in partnership with the University of Toronto. We provide lunch!

Multidisciplinary Case Conference
Attended by Hematology, Radiation Oncology, Hematopathology and Radiology

Hematopathology Slide Conference
When the lights go down, be prepared to be quizzed. This is a weekly presentation of hematological morphology from current cases, with clinical correlation and discussion. Flame retardant clothing NOT provided.

Practice Exams
A number of formative exams occur throughout the year, including the annual National Hematology Retreat written, morphology, and oral examinations; the ASH in-training exam; and local morphology examinations.

U of T Monthly Transfusion Rounds
By video conference, with a great list of speakers.

ASH conference
Trainees are strongly encouraged to attend the ASH meeting each year. Funding is provided.

Transfusion 101 - Camp with the Bank
Led by UHN but provided in Kingston via videoconference and with local, on site faculty to lead seminars.

Other
Medical oncology academic half-day (the relevant sessions), Medical Grand Rounds, Medical Mortality conference, Oncology Grand rounds, Genetics lecture mini-series

Visa Trainees

Click here for more information on Visa Trainees

Research

Research is a major strength of our program and we recognize that scholarly activity is an important means for residents to advance their career goals. Residents are provided with a protected research block in their first year, and may use additional elective blocks in their second year for research purposes. After meeting with both the Research Director and Program Director, residents will initiate a research project and will be expected to present at a local, national, or international research forum. Regular teaching sessions in research methodology, epidemiology, and biostatistics are provided, and residents may also apply for admission to the RCPSC-accredited Clinician Investigator Program at Queen’s.

The Division of Hematology at Queen’s is a leading centre for hemostasis research. The Molecular Hemostasis Laboratory utilizes a variety of experimental approaches to understand the molecular basis of blood coagulation and develops strategies to translate this knowledge into clinical benefits. Its Principal Investigators were winners of the National Hemophillia Foundation’s ‘Researchers of the Year Award of Excellence’ in 2011.

Additionally Kingston is the home of the CCTG Clinical Trials Group, Canada's premiere cooperative oncology group, which carries out clinical trials in cancer therapy, supportive care and prevention with internationally recognized clinical trialists based in Kingston. There is much opportunity for involvement in research focused on hematologic malignancy.

Training Sites

The Division of Hematology is based at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) with sites at Kingston General Hospital (KGH) and Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH), southeastern Ontario’s leading centre for complex-acute and specialty care and home to the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario. KHSC serves almost 500,000 people through its Kingston facility and 24 regional affiliate and satellite sites. KGH was ranked in 2011 as one of Canada’s Top 40 Research Hospitals by Research Infosource.

In addition to their Kingston experience, residents complete mandatory rotations in different centres. A two-block rotation in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation occurs at either Ottawa General Hospital or The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. Residents also complete a Community Hematology rotation in Kitchener (or another appropriate community site), providing them with a unique opportunity to manage acute myeloid leukemia in a community hospital and further developing resident hematology consultancy skills.

A new mandatory Red Blood Cell Disorders rotation may be completed at Ottawa General Hospital, Toronto General Hospital, or McMaster University.

Policies

Postgraduate Policies

Program specific policies may be found on our MS Teams account.

Life in Kingston

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