Residency | Department of Medicine | School of Medicine

Train at Queen's. Care anywhere.

Palliative Medicine Residency at Queen’s.

The Palliative Medicine Residency Program at Queen’s offers broad clinical exposure, strong mentorship, and training across diverse care settings. Residents learn alongside experienced faculty and interdisciplinary teams while building expertise in symptom management, communication, and patient-centred care.

Diverse learning and care environments: Train across the full spectrum of palliative care through hospital, outpatient, and community-based experiences.

Supportive and collegial training culture: Learn in a collaborative, mentorship-driven environment alongside experienced faculty and interdisciplinary teams.

Strong clinical and academic foundation: Build expertise in complex care while training in a program that values teaching, scholarship, and thoughtful practice.

Based in Kingston, Ontario, our location offers a vibrant lifestyle and scenic surroundings, with strong clinical partnerships at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Providence Care Hospital.

Kingston & the Thousand Islands

Historic and hip.
Kingston has it all.

Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC)

Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital

Providence Care Hospital

Rehabilitation, complex medical care, palliative care & mental health.

Queen's Palliative Medicine runs up to 3 concurrent residency programs:

A 1-year "enhanced skills" program through family medicine, leading to a Certificate of Added Competency (CAC) from the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
A 2-year subspecialty program, entered through internal medicine, neurology, or anaesthesia, leading to a subspecialty designation from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
A Sponsored Visa Trainee program when educational and clinical capacity allows.

“The palliative care program at Queen’s has given me strong, hands-on experience across the full spectrum of care—from hospital consults to community and outpatient settings. Learning alongside such supportive and skilled clinicians has made it an exceptional place to grow as a palliative care physician.”
— Michael V, Resident

Explore the residency training pathways to learn more about each program.

All programs share a joint administrative structure, supported by Program Assistant Ruili Fang, Assistant Program Director Majid Iqbal and Program Director Dr. Craig Goldie.

Clinical Training Experience

Where You’ll Train

Our palliative medicine program provides clinical care in the following settings:

Inpatient and Consulting Care at Kingston General Hospital - KGH)

Inpatient palliative care at KGH is a combination of most responsible physician (MRP) care as well as a consult-based service. KGH is a tertiary care teaching hospital with 570 inpatient beds. We provide MRP care predominantly on the Kidd 9 (Oncology/Palliative) floor as well as other units for approximately 10 patients on average that are admitted with either complex symptom management or comfort-focused end-of-life care. We provide consultation services for all other services including medicine, critical care, oncology, surgery, neurology, and others. We have weekly interprofessional rounds with social work and spiritual care providers.

Inpatient Palliative Care Unit (PCU) at Providence Care Hospital (PCH)

Our PCU consists of a 10-bed unit at PCH with predominantly comfort-focused goals of care and prognosis < 3 months. Our PCU physicians also provide consultation services to the rest of the Providence Care Hospital which includes complex care, rehabilitation inpatients, and psychiatric patients. We have weekly interprofessional rounds with social work and spiritual care providers.

A.B. Smith Homestead House (Residential Hospice)

Our hospice consists of a 10-bed unit (currently funded for 9 patients) in a newly built (2025) residential hospice in a residential area of Kingston. We provide MRP services for all the beds with admission criteria of comfort-focused goals of care and prognosis < 1 month and care needs that can be managed in a home-like setting. We have weekly interprofessional rounds with nursing and a bereavement coordinator.

Community Palliative Care Outreach Team

Our community palliative care team provides home visits to residential homes, retirement homes and long-term care facilities to support palliative care needs at home. We also provide visits at the Transitional Care Unit (TCU) affiliated with KGH and the Providence Transitional Care Centre (PTCC) affiliated with PCH. The model is flexible with respect to a consultative model, shared-care, or MRP care assumed from their family physician. Our case load is approximately 100 patients.

Outpatient Cancer Clinics (CCSEO and Belleville)

We provide 5 full-day clinics in the Cancer Center of Southeastern Ontario (CCSEO) for patients with cancer and significant palliative care needs. It is predominantly a consultation with ongoing care model but can be shared-care or consultation only with family physician involvement.
We also attend Belleville Cancer Clinic for a full-day clinic once weekly for patients receiving cancer care based in Belleville.

Lung Diagnostic and Assessment Program (LDAP)

We attend the multidisciplinary LDAP clinic at Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH) twice weekly, alongside respirology, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and Thoracic Surgery for consultations of patients newly diagnosed or suspected of having lung cancer.

Palliative Procedure Clinic (CCSEO)

We have weekly ultrasound-guided therapeutic paracentesis clinic slots at CCSEO on Fridays.

Other Palliative Chronic Pain and Non-Malignant Clinics

We currently attend the PCH Neuromuscular Disease Clinic (3rd Tuesday each month).

We are in the process of opening chronic palliative pain clinics at HDH (alongside anaesthesiologists with chronic pain expertise).

We are also in the process of opening a non-malignant palliative clinic at PCH – to start with end-stage heart failure, ILD, and COPD.

We run a weekly conservative renal clinic (run by dual-trained nephrologist and palliative medicine physician) at KGH.

Training Pathways

Enhanced Skills Program

Enhanced Skills 1-year program includes 13 blocks:

5 blocks of inpatient care at KGH
2 blocks of PCU / Hospice
2 blocks of Community
3 elective blocks
1 block of medical oncology and radiation oncology (combined)

The enhanced skills fellow have longitudinal exposure to our outpatient clinics at CCSEO, one full day every 2 weeks, to allow for ongoing follow-up and continuity of care for cancer clinic patients throughout the year.

Subspecialty Medicine Program

The subspecialty medicine program includes 2 years (26 blocks):

12 blocks of palliative care
- 6 inpatient
- 4 PCU/community
- 2 outpatient cancer clinics
1 block of medical oncology
1 block of radiation oncology
6 blocks of medicine within: Cardiology, Critical Care, Gastroenterology, Geriatrics, ID, Nephrology, Neurology, Respirology
1 pediatric palliative care at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa
2 blocks of scholarly activity
3 blocks of selectives

Admission

Queen's Palliative Medicine Residency programs have the funding typically to accept 2 Enhanced Skills PGY3 residents per year and 1 Subspecialty resident per year.

We also accept applications from current PGY2 family medicine residents for 3-6 month ‘Category 2’ training (non-accredited) based on expected patient needs. We are also open to applications from practicing family physicians for the re-entry training process run through the Ontario Ministry of Health.

We also participate in the Sponsored Visa Trainee program with partnered countries – applications are done through the Queen’s Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) office

These numbers are based on funding, as well as educational capacity, so are subject to change.

Enhanced Skills PGY3 (1-year certificate of added competency)

Admission to the Enhanced Skills Category 1 (full year of accredited training) program is currently done through Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Details on application information and dates can be found on the PGY3 Enhanced Skills Program website through the Department of Family Medicine. Applications are typically open in August and due by early September. Interviews are in the fall. Match day is usually early December.

Enhanced Skills PGY3 (Category 2 – shorter-term training)

Applications for Enhanced Skills category 2 training is also opened in August and due by early September. Interviews are in the fall. Offers are sent out following the CaRMS match – typically mid-December.

Subspecialty Medicine (2-year Royal College program)

Admission to the Adult Palliative Medicine program at Queen's University is through the Medicine Subspecialty Match, coordinated by the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS).

Re-entry Program (for practicing CFPC family physicians)

Re-entry applications are for practicing family physicians who have been in full-time practice in Canada for a minimum of 12 months at the time of application. The re-entry program is to access our Enhanced Skills Category 1 (full year of accredited training) program. Applications are submitted through the Ontario Ministry of Health usually in January with interviews and offers in March, subject to PGME funding availability. It includes a 2-year Ontario Return of Service (no geographic restrictions) obligation.

Sponsored Visa Trainees

Admission to a sponsored Visa trainee is done in conjunction between the Postgraduate Medical Education office at Queen's and our program, based on capacity. More information can be found on the PGME website.

Selection Criteria

The goals of the palliative medicine programs are to develop specialist or consultant physicians in palliative medicine that can provide exceptional palliative care for all patients in all clinical settings, as well as build capacity in palliative care within a defined population or region.

Important attributes include compassion, excellent communication skills, strong foundational medical knowledge, and clear passion regarding palliative medicine as a specialty, as well as an important skill for all physicians and healthcare providers, and an interest in promoting primary and secondary-level palliative care and being a resource to those physicians.

File Review

Application files for the residency programs will be reviewed independently by a resident selection committee made up of members of the multidisciplinary Residency Program Committee (RPC). Interviews will be offered based on the scoring of the files.

Interview

Each selected candidate will undergo an interview process with a panel of 4 or more interviewers from the Residency Program Committee, including the Program Director and a current resident (either Enhanced Skills or Subspecialty). These are done virtually.

Candidates will have an opportunity to ask questions about the residency program at the end of the interview or to meet informally with current residents or other division members. Guided tours of the facilities may be possible but depend on availability of our residents or faculty.

Ranking

Ranks and matches of both programs are through the CaRMS process with more details on their website.

We are committed to advancing equitable and inclusive practices. Please refer to the PGME website for additional information / resources including QHS EDIIA Initiatives and EDIIA statements.

Educational Activities

Academic Half Days

Our residency programs share an academic half-day schedule for the Enhanced Skills residents and the first year of the Subspecialty Medicine residency. The second year of the Subspecialty residency includes more self-directed learning, teaching of the academic half-days, research time and several modules to complete independently, as well as the opportunity to attend any half-days that were missed in first year or the half-days of other subspecialty residency programs if relevant.

Academic Half-days are Monday afternoons from 1-4pm. All residents are expected to attend in person or by teleconference if out of town on elective. 4 national Academic Half-Days are arranged through the Canadian Society of Palliative Medicine.

Journal Club

We host quarterly palliative medicine journal clubs on Friday mornings, where each palliative medicine resident presents and critically appraises 2 articles per year.

Advanced Practice Palliative Medicine Rounds

Residents are expected to present 2 palliative medicine grand rounds with a thorough review on an advanced palliative care topics on Friday mornings.

Resident Reflection Rounds

Our spiritual care advisor, Tim De Jong, facilitates monthly resident reflection rounds for our rotating and palliative medicine residents, to discuss difficult cases, family dynamics, ethical concerns and any other challenges in dealing with palliative patients, death and dying on Friday mornings.

4-Day Course - Educating Family Physicians in Palliative Care

Our residents have an opportunity to take attend 4-day educational course for family physicians, run by our program, in the first half of their training (November), with the expectation that they will present at the course in the second half of their training (April).

Conference Funding

Our program provides some funding to subsidize resident's attendance at a palliative care conferences through an endowed trust.

Research

Scholarly Project

Residents are expected to complete an original Scholarly (Research or QI) Project during the year, supervised by a faculty member and with access to significant resources through Queen's including excellent librarians, a supportive and effective Research Ethics Board etc. The goal is to disseminate the findings of the project in some format (e.g. a conference presentation and/or publication in a palliative medicine journal). All residents present a summary of their scholarly work at a research rounds near the end of training.

Our residency program includes a Research Lead faculty member to assist with selection and development of scholarly projects.

Other research activities will be supported and encouraged by the program, in discussion with the Academic Advisor and Program Director, and with awareness of clinical and educational expectations.

Training Sites

The majority of training will occur at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) at the Kingston General Hospital (KGH) site and the Cancer Center of Southeastern Ontario (part of KGH) with another significant part of the training at Providence Care Hospital (PCH) and A.B. Smith Homestead House (residential hospice).

All of these sites are located within close proximity of one another and Queen's University in Kingston.

The Enhanced Skills program does not have mandatory out-of-town rotations. The Subspecialty Program has two mandatory rotations in Ottawa, Ontario: Pediatric Palliative Care at CHEO and Non-Malignant Palliative Care at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), as these academic rotations are not of sufficient in Kingston at this time.

Elective rotations can be done in any setting that the program and PGME office feel is suitable. Subspecialty program selective rotations can be taken at centres accredited by the RCPSC, or at international centres that offer a strong educational contribution. The latter will require discussion and review by the program and PGME office at Queen's University to ensure suitability.

Residents are required to arrange their own licensing and liability insurance when doing out-of-providence rotations; we will provide timely support for required documentation.