Department of Supportive Care

Psychiatry Residency

Program Director: Dr. Christian Schulz-Quach

Affiliated with the University of Toronto, the Department of Psychosocial Oncology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre provides residents with a rich clinical experience, an opportunity for education leadership and supervision of junior trainees, as well as an opportunity to participate in research.

Residents will be exposed to adults with all cancer types and disease stages, and will learn about the psychiatric and psychosocial aspects of cancer for patients and families at diagnosis, during active treatment, in the event of recurrence, after completing treatment, through survivorship and during palliation and end-of-life care. Residents will have the opportunity to observe and perform psychiatric assessments with supervisors to aid in developing diagnostic and formulation skills, and gain an understanding of biopsychosocial determinants of disease and management in cancer patients. Weekly seminars and teaching rounds are an ongoing part of the educational experience, and collaboration and liaison with the Oncology team is a significant component of the rotation.

Education Coordinator:
Janithaa Sathiyaseelan
Email: Janithaa.Sathiyaseelan@uhn.ca

About the Psychiatry Residency Program

The psychiatry program at the University of Toronto is one of the largest and most successful of its kind in North America. Exposure to Psychosocial Oncology can occur during a 1-month elective rotation in post-graduate year (PGY)-1, a half-day per week as a selective PGY-2 through PGY-5, a 3-month core rotation in Consultation Liaison (PGY-4), or a 3- to 12-month senior selective in PGY-4 and PGY-5.

More information is available at Psychiatry at University of Toronto »

Palliative Care Residency

Program Director: Dr. Wilson Kwong

Affiliated with the University of Toronto, Palliative Care at Princess Margaret provides residents with an outstanding clinical experience. A wide range of elective and clinical placements are offered within the department’s research and clinical programs, making Palliative Care a major contributor to the success of the residency program.

In the Department of Palliative Care, residents will gain experience in addressing common questions and concerns from people coping with advanced cancer, as well as in care of the dying patient, pain and symptom management and individualizing care based on patient and family preferences.

Education Coordinator:
Sherene Tay
Email: Sherene.Tay​@uhn.ca

Royal College Palliative Medicine Residency Program Academic Palliative Care Enhanced Skills (12 Month Program)

Program Director: Dr. ​Ebru Kaya

The Palliative Medicine residency program is a Postgraduate Year Four (PGY-4) entry residency training program offered by the Department of Medicine, and accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).

The mission of the Palliative Medicine Subspecialty Residency Program at the University of Toronto is to train outstanding palliative care subspecialists who will use clinical, academic and scholarly skills throughout their future careers to improve the quality of death and dying for patients and family members.

Education Coordinator:
Brianna Flockhart
Email: Palliative.Med@utoronto.ca

Learn more about the Royal College Palliative Medicine Residency Program »

Enhanced Skills Palliative Care Program

Program Director: Dr. Sarah Kawaguchi

The Enhanced Skills Palliative Care Program is offered through the Department of Family and Community Medicine at U of T. Applicants can select from a 12-month academic program or a 6-month clinical program.

Program Administrator Email:
Email: FamMed.Enhanced@utoronto.ca

Learn more about the Enhanced Skills Palliative Care Program »

Palliative Care Elective Programs​

Toronto Western Hospital

The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) Palliative Care Clinical Rotation includes 3 weeks on the TWH Consult Service and 1 week at Kensington Hospice. ​Our program serves patients and their families living with both malignant and non-malignant serious illness with particular emphasis on consultation to internal medicine, neurology/stroke and neurosurgical services, providing care in the following ways:

• inpatient consult service
• Most Responsible Physician (MRP)​ beds
• outpatient neurology clinic

Our team provides expert symptom management, palliative planning, navigation of goals of care, and end of life management. The most common referring diagnoses are: dementia, stroke, brain cancer and frailty with chronic end-organ disease or cancer.

The Kensington Hospice is a 10-bed (expanding to 19 beds in 2022) residential hospice that cares for patients with serious illness and their families who are in their last 3 months of life. The hospice provides physical, emotional, social and spiritual support for patients and their loved ones in a home-like setting. You will provide MRP care while working alongside an interprofessional team. Opportunities to follow patients from TWH into Kensington Hospice exist.

Toronto General Hospital

The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) Palliative Care Clinical Rotation includes a 4-week rotation on the inpatient palliative care consult service.

The palliative care team works alongside primary teams in the hospital to provide expert symptom management, palliative planning, navigation of goals of care, and end of life management to those with serious illness.

The program serves patients and families living with a diversity of advanced illnesses, encompassing both malignant and non-malignant diagnoses. Recognized worldwide, the Toronto General Hospital provides care to a multitude of medical and surgical patient populations, including highly subspecialized populations such as multi-organ transplants, and complex cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. We are affiliated with Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the largest cancer centres in the world, and thus also collaborate to care for patients receiving quaternary cancer care.

Education Coordinator:
Sherene Tay
Email: Sherene.Tay@uhn.ca

Cancer Rehabilitation Residency

Affiliated with the University of Toronto, the Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (through the Department of Medicine) offers a 1-month Cancer Rehabilitation rotation that will provide the candidate with comprehensive exposure to cancer impairments and rehabilitation management, exercise and lifestyle interventions in the cancer population.

Program Director:
Dr. Eugene Chang
Email: Eugene.Chang@uhn.ca

Learn more about the University of Toronto's Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program »