Medical Residents Training Program

Medical Genetics Residency Program (RCPS, CMQ)

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Medical Genetics Residency Program at McGill.

Medical Genetics

The Department of Human Genetics offers a training program that meets the requirements of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Collège des médecins du Québec, the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists (CCMG), and the American Board of Medical Genetics (ABMG) for training in Medical Genetics. Each of these certifying bodies have their specific requirements for training and it is imperative that the candidate is aware of and meets the requirements of the specific certifying body.

Candidates enter the 5-year Royal College and Collège des médecins-approved training program directly from medical school and Canadian applicants apply through the CaRMS match. Medical Genetics is therefore considered a primary specialty. This program involves 2 years of core training including Pediatrics and Internal Medicine followed by 3 years in Medical Genetics. The three years in Medical Genetics include at least eighteen months in clinical genetics (genetic counselling, dysmorphology, teratology, inherited metabolic disease, cancer genetics, neurogenetics and prenatal diagnosis) and six months of clinical laboratory exposure (biochemical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics). The final year allows for increased training in any of the above areas.

Foreign Applicants: If you are applying for the Medical Genetics Residency Program, you would need to apply through our Faculty of Medicine, information on the www.mcgill.ca/medicine, click on Medical Education - Postgraduate Medical Education and then on to Admissions to Postgraduate. And follow the information for eligibility, etc. All documents should go to the Faculty. Your application will be forwarded to our department if it meets the requirements of the Faculty and at that time I will send to our committee for their comments.

All other candidates must have completed 3 years in an accredited specialty program in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics, or Pathology. To meet CCMG requirements, 2 years in Medical Genetics are required. Such candidates will not be eligible to write the examinations of the Royal College or the Collège des médecins in Medical Genetics and should be certified in their primary specialty. They will be able to write the CCMG and ABMG examinations.

The Medical Genetics training program includes rotations through the clinical services of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC): Montreal Children's, Montreal General and Royal Victoria sites, and Jewish General Hospital. Elective rotations are possible at the MUHC Montreal Neurological site and the Shriner's Hospital for Children.

The MUHC Montreal Children's Hospital site offers rotations in Clinical and Biochemical Genetics and exposes the trainee to the areas of dysmorphology, teratology, inborn errors of metabolism, and prenatal diagnosis.

The Division of Medical Genetics in the Department of Medicine operates at the MUHC Montreal General and Royal Victoria sites, and at the Jewish General Hospitals. There are specialized services in cancer genetics and neurogenetics at the adult MUHC sites. The Division at the Jewish General is involved in prenatal diagnosis and cancer genetics.

The Shriner's Hospital has a particular expertise in hereditary bone disease and collagen disorders. The MUHC Montreal Neurological Hospital site has particular expertise in neurogenetics, the genetics of epilepsy, and mitochondria disorders.

There is adequate time for exposure to laboratories with specialization in biochemical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, and somatic cell genetics. Residents and fellows in Medical Genetics are expected to become involved in clinical and basic research.

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Laura Russell, MD, FACMG
Program Director, McGill Genetics Residency Program
Montreal Children's Hospital - Room A04.3140.2,
1001 boul. Decarie, Montreal, QC  H4A 3J1

laura.russell [at] mcgill.ca (E-mail)

 

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