An initiative of
Dr. Jessica Trier
Program Director
Kaitlyn Cats
The Queen’s PM&R program offers a unique combination of comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation training, extensive EMG exposure, longitudinal clinics, and individualized coaching within a small, collegial residency program. Residents are trained to pursue a broad range of career paths including community practice, subspecialty rehabilitation, electrodiagnostic medicine, academic medicine, and research.
With only six residents currently in the program and one resident matched annually, trainees benefit from exceptional access to faculty mentors, individualized coaching, and graduated clinical responsibility throughout residency.
The Queen’s PM&R program offers junior rehabilitation rotations in the Foundations of Discipline stage, and longer senior rehabilitation rotations in the Core of Discipline stage. Although not required by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, this spiral curriculum allows graduated progression of responsibilities, as well as spaced repetition to consolidate rehabilitation knowledge.
The program includes a particular focus on EMG training, with adequate exposure to meet the six-month training requirement for CSCN EMG certification on completion of the program.
Longitudinal academic coaching is provided to all residents throughout residency training.
Funding is available to attend relevant national and international conferences.
Residents have opportunities to complete community rehabilitation electives in small- to medium-sized communities outside of Kingston, depending on their career goals. Our program is designed to support you in preparing for any type of PM&R practice, from community to academic practice.
Residents have first on call responsibilities Monday through Thursday each week, with the exception of statutory holidays. Hospitalist physicians are first on call on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and on statutory holidays.
This residency program is for 5 years.
The Queen’s University PM&R program is a fully accredited program, which meets the training requirements of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The program is structured with a mix of block and longitudinal components.
Educational Activities
While on PM&R rotations, the faculty are committed to providing one hour per week of one-on-one teaching on a topic chosen collaboratively with the resident.
The academic program is outlined below. All educational activities will be run in conjunction with the Queen’s NOSM stream PM&R program starting in 2027. A virtual connection is provided for residents outside of Kingston. The general curriculum outline includes the following:
Wednesday afternoon academic sessions
Approximately once per month between September and June:
Anatomy Summer Series
Scholarly Activities
All residents are required to complete a scholarly project from inception to completion as part of their residency training requirements. It is expected that the scholarly project will involve a new area of inquiry. The project can be performed in any scholarly domain relevant to the practice of physiatry, including but not limited to basic sciences, clinical or social sciences research, medical education, or quality improvement. The area of research selected should be discussed with the Departmental Research Director and/or Academic Coach. Once the area of research is defined, the resident should identify an appropriate research supervisor, either a faculty member in the Department with similar interests or the Departmental Research Director.
Residents are required to receive training in Quality Improvement (QI) and Patient Safety in health care as part of their PM&R residency program. This will occur specifically in the context of contributions to the improvement of health care delivery for persons with impairments/disabilities. Residents are required to complete a QI project during training.
Members of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Queen’s University, and NOSM University faculty are involved with and collaborate in various research and QI projects.
Program Overview
The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency (PM&R) postgraduate training program is five years in length. Residents complete their first two blocks in Transition to Discipline, learning “Rehab Basics.” Foundations of Discipline (FD) is primarily off-service, but residents will have rotations in core PM&R areas as well. In Core of Discipline (CD), residents have the opportunity to revisit these core rotations as a senior resident. Going through the rotations twice allows for graduated responsibility and independence, and consolidation of knowledge from other off-service rotations such as Rheumatology, Neurology and Orthopedic Surgery.
During PM&R rotations, residents will participate in longitudinal rehabilitation clinics, such as the Neuromuscular clinic and Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) clinic. Residents complete 1 block of Pediatric Rehabilitation and 1 block of P&O in Ottawa, and 1 block of Cardiac Rehab in either Kingston, Ottawa, or Toronto. Residents complete sufficient EMG training to afford the opportunity to meet the CSCN (EMG) examination requirements.
The Transition to Practice (TP) stage allows residents to focus on career planning and preparation for independent practice. Residents in the TP stage are given opportunities to function as a junior attending, with enhanced responsibilities equivalent to those of a consultant in PM&R.
Note: Rotation order may vary due to scheduling conflicts and rotation availability.
Funding is provided on an annual basis for residents to attend conferences and courses. Funding is also available by application to support resident research projects.
Training Sites
Kingston
Off-Service Rotations:
Inter-Institutional Affiliation Agreements
Community Rehabilitation rotation
Additional Information
As a smaller centre, here you are your name, not a student number. We treat each other with respect and dignity, and have very collegial relationships between residents and faculty. We are here to help you grow into the Physiatrist you’ve dreamed of!
Kingston has many advantages with regards to quality of life, cost of living, and ease of movement within the city.
Kingston is known for its many recreational opportunities including some of the best fresh water sailing in the world, wilderness parks, an active triathlon community, rowing, exceptional restaurants, and an active theatre and music scene, to name a few. For those with a family, it is an ideal environment to raise children with many excellent schools. Residents have found time to enjoy the richness of life outside of medicine that Kingston has to offer while completing their clinical training.
Ontario | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Effective July 1, 2025 | |||
PGY1 | $73,367.35 | ||
PGY2 | $79,669.97 | ||
PGY3 | $85,564.01 | ||
PGY4 | $92,700.65 | ||
PGY5 | $98,566.96 | ||
PGY6 | $104,167.39 | ||
PGY7 | $109,250.12 | ||
PGY8 | $115,826.24 | ||
PGY9 | $120,082.47 | ||
Professional Leave | 7 working days/year Additional time off provided for writing any CND or US certification exam, leave includes the exam date and reasonable travel time to and from the exam site. Additional RCPSC & CFPC Certification Examination Prep Time
|
Annual Vacation | 4 weeks |
Meal Allowance | No |
Frequency of Calls | 1 in 4 In-hospital, 1 in 3 home |
Pregnancy Leave | 17 weeks |
Parental Leave | 35 weeks, 37 weeks if resident did not take pregnancy leave |
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Plan | Top-up to 84% 27 weeks for women who take pregnancy and parental leave; 12 weeks for parents on stand-alone parental leave. |
Provincial Health Insurance | Yes |
Extended Health Insurance | Yes |
Provincial Dues (% of salary) | 1.3% |
Dental Plan | 85% paid for eligible expenses |
CMPA Dues Paid | Under current arrangements, residents are rebated by Ministry of Health and Long Term Care for dues in excess of $300. |
Long-Term Disability Insurance | Yes – 70% of salary, non-taxable. |
Statutory and Floating Holidays | 2 weeks leave with full pay and benefits; 10 stat days plus 1 personal floater. Residents are entitled to at least 5 consecutive days off over the Christmas or New Year period, which accounts for 3 statutory holidays (Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day), and 2 weekend days. |
Life Insurance | Yes, 2x salary |
Salary and Benefit Continuance | A resident that can’t work due to illness or injury will have salary and benefits maintained for 6 months or until end of appointment (whichever occurs first) |
Call Stipend | Regular: $127.60 in-hospital; $63.80 home call or qualifying shift on shift-based services. Weekend premium: $140.36 in-hospital; $70.18 home call or qualifying shift on shift-based services. |
Updated January 6, 2025
Visit the PARO website.
www.myparo.ca
Currently, there are 6 residents in our program. We accept one resident per year. Beginning in 2027, the Queen’s PM&R program will also accept 1 resident in the NOSM Stream, where residents will spend the majority of their training in Thunder Bay but spend a few blocks per year in Kingston. The NOSM stream PM&R residents will participate in all of the same academic activities as the Queen’s PM&R residents.
All residents are provided with a Queen’s email address, internet access, and dedicated PM&R resident office space with multiple computers. On-site library facilities include a small departmental library containing print and medical resources and an excellent hospital library with knowledgeable staff. The Health Sciences Library at Queen’s University has additional resources available in-person and online.
During formal teaching, residents access the Queen’s University anatomy lab (cadaver lab and anatomy museum) and the simulation lab including models to practice injections and ultrasound machines.
Residents also have access to wellness supports, resident organizations, and postgraduate medical education resources through the Queen’s PGME office.
Residents receive educational funding to support attendance at conferences, courses, and other professional development activities.
Funding is available to attend the Canadian Comprehensive Review Course in PM&R once during residency training. Additional funding opportunities may be available through Queen’s University and affiliated hospitals to support scholarly projects, research presentations, and educational initiatives.
The resident group has an annual budget to update resources in their library.
Residents will have opportunities to develop skills in musculoskeletal ultrasound and ultrasound-guided procedures through exposure to faculty with expertise in these areas. Residents will have access to ultrasound equipment and clinical experiences that support the development of procedural and diagnostic ultrasound skills relevant to PM&R practice.
All residents complete a scholarly project during their PM&R training.
Residents may participate in research collaborations with faculty at both Queen’s University and NOSM University, as well as with clinical partners. There are robust research collaborations with various other departments at Queen’s University. Areas of scholarship may include rehabilitation medicine, rural and remote healthcare delivery, Indigenous health, medical education, quality improvement, and health systems research.
Residents interested in pursuing graduate education may explore opportunities through the Queen’s University Clinician Investigator Program (CIP) or graduate programs offered through Queen’s University. Please see the CIP program website for more information.
Residents will have access to faculty mentorship, academic coaching, wellness resources, and resident support services through Queen’s University.
Graduates of the Queen’s PM&R program will be eligible for Royal College certification in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and will be well positioned for practice opportunities throughout Canada.
Yes. The program received full accreditation during the 2026 on-site review from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Queen’s PM&R graduates have gone on to practice in a variety of settings, from community physiatry to academic practice, including as Clinician Scientists.
