Program Curriculum

The residency program in radiation oncology is based at the McGill University Health Centre and the Jewish General Hospital and will involve 1 or more community rotations. The program is designed to ensure that at the completion of training, the resident will be capable of independent care of ambulatory and hospitalized patients with malignant disease, including and most especially the planning and the supervision of treatment with radiotherapy. The program provides vigorous clinical experience in the management of all types of cancers and offers several courses and tutorials in relevant clinical and basic sciences.

Program Requirements

Beginning July 1, 2019 all programs across Cananda transitioned to the competency-based medical education approach of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) called Competence by Design (CBD). CBD will break down specialist education into a series of integrated stages – starting at transition to discipline and moving through practice. The stages are below:
Trainees with obtain clinical experience, in both inpatient and outpatient settings in all of the following:

• Breast cancer
• Gastrointestinal cancers
• Genito-urinary cancers
• Gynecologic cancers
• Head and neck and thyroid cancers
• Lymphoma/hematologic cancers
• Central nervous system and eye cancers
• Soft tissue and bone cancers
• Skin cancers
• Thoracic cancers
• Pediatric radiation oncology
• Benign conditions treated with radiotherapy
• A minimum of one block in a community-based radiation oncology practice

Please see the Royal College National Standards for training AFTER 1 July 2019:

• Competencies
• Training experiences
• Program Content

The breadth and scope of the patient volume at McGill University provides an ideal environment for clinical training. Residents are assigned to site-specific clinical rotations practicing under the supervision of attending physicians. Although training occurs largely in a one-on-one, apprenticeship-like format, residents progressively acquire increasing responsibility while they refine their skills in evidence-based management and independent decision-making. In-patient exposure is obtained as a consultant when on call and on in-patient service.

In addition to the clinical exposure, residents actively participate in numerous quality assurance activities including patient management rounds, morbidity and mortality rounds, site-specific quality assurance meetings (peer review), and multidisciplinary tumour boards.

Education activities consist of highly protected regularly scheduled activities. The focus is on creating a stimulating, collaborative, and engaging environment for all trainees. These activities include radiation oncology half-day teaching sessions, Multidisciplinary Oncology Resident Education (MORE) sessions, journal clubs, applied physics sessions, clinical physics case reviews alongside medical physics residents, brachytherapy teaching sessions, quality improvement and radiobiology seminars. Formal courses in physics and radiobiology are integrated into the formal teaching curriculum. Frequently, residents are released from clinical duties to attend high profile, site-specific local conferences and Visiting Professor series which attract internationally renowned speakers to McGill.

Physician wellness has been prioritized by McGill and residents have full access to the Office Office of Medical Learner Affairs. As well, Radiation Oncology Ice Cream rounds are held regularly to discuss resident wellness topics in a safe and relaxing environment. Career counselling and wellness topics are discussed at a yearly residency program retreat.

The McGill Radiation Oncology Program is mainly distributed over two main sites: The Jewish General Hospital (JGH), and the Cedars Cancer Centre of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) – Glen Site. The latter is located at the brand new, state-of-the-art MUHC facility which consolidated 5 Montreal hospitals onto one colossal site in 2015. McGill Radiation Oncology Faculty at the JGH and MUHC have been world leaders in areas such as high-dose rate brachytherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, intraoperative radiation, and intensity-modulated treatment.

Training Sites

Resources

• Cedars Cancer Centre – MUHC Glen Site
• Montreal General Hospital
• Royal Victoria Hospital
• Jewish General Hospital
• Montreal Children’s Hospital
• Montreal Neurological Institute
• Centre hospitalier de Gatineau
• Others eg. University of Laval and/or University of Montreal teaching hospitals. Electives may be arranged at outside centers including, Cité de la Santé and Charles Lemoyne Hospital.

Additional Information

• Residents are encouraged to pursue electives in interprovincial or international academic sites.
• Residents may choose a rotation in a peripheral, non-affiliated radiation oncology centre upon approval of the Program Director.