Admission | Psychiatry | School of Medicine

Admission to the residency program is coordinated through the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS). Please refer to the CaRMS website for complete information regarding the Residency Match and the most current admission requirements.

All learners, staff, and faculty involved in admissions related activities for Psychiatry complete the Unpacking Normalized Bias in Admissions Training. The Queen’s Human Rights and Equity Module, which takes up to 30 minutes to complete, defines key characteristics of unconscious bias and strategies to detect and minimize bias.

Please review the PGME Applicant Selection web page for more about the resident selection process.

Positions Available

Approximate Quota: 6
Approximate IMG Quota: 3

Selection Criteria

An academic record which demonstrates special proficiency in medicine
Evidence to support the student's interest in the mental health field (personal statement, electives in psychiatry, related work experience).
Interest/experience in scientific or clinical research
We are looking for and rewarding applicants who have completed a broad range of electives which include our specialty
We do not require applicants to do on site electives to be considered for selection

Supporting Documentation

CV
Medical School Transcript - Order from your Registrar
Medical Student Performance Record - Order from your Dean's Office
Three reference letters
A personal letter must be submitted (approximately 750 words). It should communicate your reasons for pursuing psychiatry as a career in general, and more specifically, a residency at Queen's University. Personal strengths and accomplishments that make you suitable to the practice of psychiatry should be highlighted.

International Medical Graduates

The Queens University, Department of Psychiatry Residency Training Program encourages applications from IMGs. We are looking for candidates who are bright, have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, good clinical judgment, and high ethical and professional standards and a real interest in psychiatry. We strongly advise IMGs to enter assessment through the CEHPEA Assessment Program or other Provincial IMG Assessment Programs (e.g. IMG-Nova Scotia). Please be advised that the Ontario Government expects a return to service commitment from all successful IMG candidates. More information regarding this can be found on the CEHPEA website.

Supporting Documentation

CV
Medical School Transcript - Notarized copy acceptable
Reference Letters (3). Please give some thought before selecting a referee. A good choice would be a referee who has sufficient knowledge of you to enable them to:
- comment on your interest in Psychiatry
- comment on your clinical skills and ability to interact with other members of the health care team
- be able to compare your performance to the expected standard for your level of other students they have worked with
- references from Canadian referees are encouraged (if available)
- references should be recent (within the past two years)
A personal letter must be submitted (approximately 750 words).
A personal letter should communicate your reasons for pursuing psychiatry as a career in general, and more specifically, a residency at Queen's University. Personal strengths and accomplishments that make you suitable to the practice of psychiatry should be highlighted.
Proof of citizenship status
Preference will be given to applicants that have passed their MCCEE exams in the last two years.
Language Proficiency Forms will not be accepted from the candidate or a third party. At least one of the documents listed below must be submitted:
TSE: Minimum score 50
TOEFL: Minimum score 237, or minimum score 580 for paper-based test.
TOEFL-Ibt: Passing score is 93 including a minimum score of 24 on the speaking section.
A minimum score of 5.0 on the essay section of TOEFL is required or a score of 22 on the writing section of TOEFL-Ibt.
Photocopies of notarized/certified documents are acceptable. Language Proficiency Forms and/or results will not be accepted by fax or email.
Detailed Outline of previous medical practice and/or Documentation of prior postgraduate training in the country of origin and/or Canada (if applicable). This also applies for previous Psychiatry Residency Training (i.e. notarized copies acceptable) if applicable.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity and Accessibility Statements

Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

Queen’s University is situated on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory. To acknowledge this traditional territory is to recognize its longer history, one predating the establishment of the earliest European colonies. It is also to acknowledge this territory’s significance for the Indigenous peoples who lived, and continue to live, upon it – people whose practices and spiritualities were tied to the land and continue to develop in relationship to the territory and its other inhabitants today.

The Kingston Indigenous community continues to reflect the area’s Anishnaabek and Haudenosaunee roots. There is also a significant Métis community and there are First Peoples from other Nations across Turtle Island present here today.

Anti-Discrimination Statement

Queen’s Health Sciences has a long-standing history of implementing discriminatory and oppressive policies including the expulsion of women from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Kingston, in 1883, and the ban of Black medical learners in 1918. While Queen’s Health Sciences (QHS) has issued public apologies to address some of these historical wrongdoings, we still have much work ahead to appropriately address and redress the many forms of institutional racism, discrimination, and oppression that not only existed historically, but continue to permeate our classrooms, offices, meeting rooms, research labs, and clinics.

To openly embrace decolonization and anti-oppression in all forms, we must first confront our own systemic patterns of injustice and profound privilege in QHS. A cultural shift towards a more just, equitable, and inclusive QHS will require us to acknowledge and tackle our own histories of oppression and sit in that discomfort. It will necessitate a process of self-reflection, unlearning and learning, listening to and valuing diverse voices among learners, staff, and faculty and a deep-seated commitment to change. We must be a leading example of the positive change our communities and the world deserve.

QHS disavows any form of oppression and discrimination, and stands against dehumanizing acts here at Queen’s, within the Kingston area, across Canada and around the world. We stand in solidarity with Indigenous and Black communities who continue to confront a systemic cycle of brutality and trauma. We recognize the need to dismantle institutional practices and policies that sustain and fuel acts of racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, xenophobia and other forms of marginalization and oppression.

Inclusion Statement

QHS is committed to fostering excellence and innovation in education, research, and clinical services by integrating equitable, inclusive, and just policies and practices that empower learners, staff, and faculty with diverse lived experiences to thrive at Queens University. We strive to create a sense of belonging amongst all individuals embodying an intersectionality of perspectives, backgrounds, and identities (including, but not limited to any aspect of a person’s physical appearance, ethnic or cultural background, sexual orientation, gender identity, nation of origin, language, socio-economic status, disability status, immigration status, religion and creed, age, or family status, amongst others). Our responsibility is to serve diverse communities and society with humility, compassion, and empathy by educating health care professionals, conducting equitable and inclusive research, and practicing clinical care grounded in cultural safety and justice. We are responsible for building a more just, equitable, and inclusive healthcare system that dismantles barriers and builds bridges.

Through the collective development of the QHS EDIIA Action Plan, we strive to undergo a cultural transformation that promotes inclusive leadership and accountability by building and implementing equitable, inclusive, and reconciliatory practices.

Statement of Social Accountability

QHS is accountable to its learners, faculty, staff, and alumni. We are also accountable to the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington community and more broadly, to the national and global community where QHS can play a role in improving health and health equity. QHS has an obligation to take action to respond to the education and health needs of our communities in an equitable and inclusive manner. It is the responsibility of QHS to develop education, research, and clinical activities that prioritize “health for all” and which support health equity, accessible health care and population health. QHS is also accountable to the many commitments our University and Faculty have already made such as those to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action and the Scarborough Charter as well as to human rights declarations and to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our current and future health professionals, scientists, educators, and communicators must advocate for community members and patients disenfranchised by power structures and social conditions negatively impacting their health. We commit to these multiple layers of social accountability and to regularly assessing and enhancing our social accountability mandate.

To review a list of the Queen’s Health Sciences EDIIA initiatives, click here.