This residency program is for 2 years.

Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.

The training program is comprised of mandatory rotations including: two months in Malignant Hematology, one month in Palliative Care, thirteen months in Medical Oncology (which includes rotations in Gynecologic Oncology, Mentorship, and ‘Fundamentals of Oncology”), and six months of electives. Radiation Oncology training is integrated into all of the Medical Oncology rotations.

Residents enter into  a competency-based training program, with an expected length of training of two years in Medical Oncology that meets the requirements of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

To contribute to the success of Canadian physicians and the delivery of high-quality patient care, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada  embarked upon an initiative to introduce competency-based medical education (CBME) in Canadian postgraduate specialty training and in professional practice in Canada beginning in July of 2018. This initiative, called Competence By Design (CBD), aims to enhance patient care by aligning medical education and lifelong learning with evolving patient needs and empowering learners to more fully engage in their education process.

CBD uses time as a framework rather than the basis for progression. It is not anticipated that the duration of training will change for the majority of trainees. Residency programs are broken down into stages, and each stage will have a series of milestones based on required competencies. These milestones create more targeted learning outcomes and involve more frequent, formative assessments within the clinical workplace to ensure residents are developing and receiving feedback on the skills they need to be promoted through the stages of training.

All programs that have implemented CBD continue to undergo the same rigorous accreditation processes as traditional programs. All CBD programs lead to Royal College approved certification. Certification for trainees in CBD will include the completion of a Royal College examination; however, residents will also be assessed against program milestones throughout their training. Within a CBD program, all milestones and the Royal College examination must be successfully completed to achieve certification.  For more information, please contact cbd@royalcollege.ca.

The trainee will start their first year with a four week transition block, followed by an eight week rotation called ‘Fundamentals of Oncology.’ During these rotations, the trainee will meet with key members of the cancer multidisciplinary team; learn core concepts in oncology and pharmacology; and receive clinical exposure and dedicated teaching in the most common cancer disease sites. The remainder of the first year is a combination of off-service rotations and Medical Oncology specialized training opportunities to meet training requirements.   Although most elective time is scheduled during the second year of training, this is flexible and any requests for specific electives will be considered. All Medical Oncology rotations are based on multi-disease-site specific teams. We encourage our residents to consider doing a one month elective in Community Oncology. However, this is only available as an out-of- province elective and is not a requirement.  Residents with strong academic standing and defined research interests can request that the entire six months be used as a research block within their second year of training, providing all program specific stages are completed prior to the elective period.

There is no in-house call. During Medical Oncology rotations, call never exceeds an average of one in four. Since medical oncology patients requiring admission are generally admitted under the Internal Medicine teaching service, call usually entails answering phone calls from patients and primary care, hospitalists or emergency physicians seeking advice across our catchment area, and in-patient oncology consultations. There is always a medical oncologist supervising on-call duties.

Early in the first year, the trainee is assigned a longitudinal clinic, supervised by an attending staff medical oncologist. Whenever possible, this clinic is chosen to reflect the trainee’s stated interests. Participation in this clinic enables the trainee to appreciate the importance of continuity in cancer care and allows the trainee to hone patient interaction and communication skills. There is graded responsibility in the second year of training with the development of a ‘senior’ longitudinal clinic that is run by the resident with a gradually decreasing level of supervision, designed to assist the resident in transition into independent Medical Oncology practice.

Toward the end of the second year, there is a mandatory two month “Mentorship” Rotation in which the resident is paired with one staff oncologist (generally of the trainee’s choice) for each month of the two month rotation to facilitate transition to practice. The resident is expected to attend all or most of the oncologist’s clinics, and to fulfill many of the clinical responsibilities of the staff physician, under the supervision of the staff physician. This rotation is intended to allow the resident to get a true sense of the clinical activities required of a staff Medical Oncologist and to function as a junior consultant. Graded responsibility for the care of both inpatients and outpatients is provided throughout the trainee’s rotations.

The program is closely linked with CancerCare Manitoba (CCMB), the organization overseeing cancer care in our province. CCMB is charged by an Act of the Legislature of Manitoba with responsibility for cancer prevention, detection, care, research and education for the people of Manitoba. CCMB is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for those living with cancer and blood disorders, and to improving control of cancer for all Manitobans.

Our program is enhanced by close ties to a lively research environment. CCMB is extensively involved in clinical trials, with affiliations with the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG), and is actively involved in a number of industry-sponsored trials.   Many staff members are associated with, or have close ties to, the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute (CCMR).  Research interests are wide and range from lab-based to translational and clinical research.  CCMB has a well established Cancer Registry which leads to many effective research collaborations.  CCMB Medical Oncologists are also heavily involved in the pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR) process. Our residents are required to be involved in at least one research project, which should be completed to the point at which it can be submitted for presentation and/or publication before the end of their two years of training.  Residents are also expected to participate in the quality improvement committee and are encouraged to complete a clinical quality improvement project. We provide guidance and mentorship in grant-writing, research methodology, statistical analysis, and manuscript preparation. To date, most of our trainees have been successful in carrying their research project(s) through to publication, and many have gone on to research-based fellowship training. There is also opportunity to participate in a nationally acknowledged dedicated Trials Clinic during the program in the second year of training.

Support for trainees in our Medical Oncology program is provided through an assigned Mentor with opportunity to select ‘better fit’ mentors as desired, as well as Academic Advisors to ensure trainees are progressing sufficiently to achieve promotion and ongoing feedback is given.