Hamilton - Orthopedic Surgery
McMaster UniversityHamilton, Ontario
At a glance
- Approx. quota
- 41
- Length
- 5
- Applications per year
- 51–200
- Offered interviews
- 51–75%
CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates
IMG stream · open to international medical graduates
Interviews
1 date, 28 Jan 2027
Hamilton, 4 teaching sites
What stands out about this program
Division hosts the only Canada Research Chair in Orthopedics; faculty lead large randomized orthopedic trials.
From “Additional information” on the CaRMS page
Option to apply for dedicated time during residency to complete a Master's degree.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
- McMaster's orthopedic surgery residency is a 5-year program with about 30 faculty and 29 residents.
- Training takes place across Hamilton Health Sciences hospitals and St. Joseph's Healthcare, with no primary base hospital.
- Residents may apply for dedicated time to complete a Master's degree, and PGY2 includes a clinical research course.
What training looks like
- Setting
- Academic / tertiary hospital
- Rural exposure
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- Research
- Offered · research project
By year
- PGY-3
- foot and ankle3 blocks
- upper extremity3 blocks
- spine3 blocks
- elective or community rotation2 blocks
- general orthopedics2 blocks
- PGY-4
- trauma3 blocks
- pediatric surgery3 blocks
- elective or community rotation2 blocks
- arthroplasty2 blocks
- oncology2 blocks
- general orthopedics1 block
Other rotations
- orthopedic surgery (Transition to Discipline · 11 blocks)
- trauma (Transition to Discipline · 1 block)
- perioperative medicine (Transition to Discipline · 1 block)
- pediatrics (Foundations of Discipline · 3 blocks)
- arthroplasty (Foundations of Discipline · 3 blocks)
- trauma (Foundations of Discipline · 1 block)
- sports (Foundations of Discipline · 3 blocks)
- ICU (Foundations of Discipline · 1 block)
- junior spine (Foundations of Discipline · 1 block)
- vascular (Foundations of Discipline · 1 block)
- general orthopedics (Transition to Practice · 12 blocks)
- study block (Transition to Practice · 1 study block)
Where you train
Hamilton, Ontario: 4 teaching sites.
- Hamilton General Hospital
- Juravinski Hospital
- McMaster Children's Hospital
- St. Joseph's Healthcare
Record systems at the listed sites: Epic at 4 of 4.
Hospital facts
What official sources say for hospitals named above, each with its source and the date we read it. They describe the hospital, not the program. We match names to the sources by name, so check each source before you rely on it.
- Clinical record
- Epic, fully electronic record since Jun 2022
St. Joseph's Healthcare
- Clinical record
- Epic, fully electronic record since Nov 2024
Hospital size and activity: Ontario doesn't publish this as open data.
About Hamilton
People
569,353residents, 2021 Census
Housing
3.5%rental vacancy rate
Winter and summer
−3.1 °CJanuary mean21.9 °CJuly mean
Job outlook
Goodfor the specialty here, 2025–2027
How they choose
- Application file components
- CV
- Electives
- Examinations
- Extra-curricular
- Leadership skills
- MSPRs
- Personal letters
- Reference documents
- Research/Publications
- Transcripts
- Other file component(s)
- Return of service, CMG stream
- Not stated on CaRMS page. Check the provincial return-of-service rules.
- Return of service, IMG stream
- Required · IMGs only
- IMG requirements, IMG stream
- Not stated on CaRMS page
Interviews and info sessions
- Interview dates (2027 match)
- 28 Jan 2027
- Format
- Virtual
- Panel
Info sessions
None listed on the program’s CaRMS page (opens in a new tab) (read 20 Oct 2026) or on CANPREPP’s events calendar (read 24 Oct 2026). Programs add sessions through the fall.
5 Orthopedic Surgery info sessions at other programsAll info sessions
Pay and call
| Level | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| PGY-1 | $73,367 / year |
| PGY-2 | $79,670 / year |
| PGY-3 | $85,564 / year |
| PGY-4 | $92,701 / year |
| PGY-5 | $98,567 / year |
Call
- Call (provincial max)
- 7 nights in 28 in-house
- Post-call rule (provincial)
- No new patient responsibilities after 24 hours in-hospital, except what clinical handover needs
- Max continuous duty (provincial)
- 24 hours in-hospital, then relieved after handover (up to 2 hours)
Past matches
No repeated vacancies in CaRMS’s lists of open positions, 2019–2026.
What this means
- A position can go unfilled because of where the site is, because it is open to IMGs only or to another restricted stream, or because the quota changed late.
- It says nothing about the quality of the training or how heavy the workload is.
- A site’s numbers are shown when it had positions open after round 1 in at least 2 of 8 years or at least 3 in one year.
Year by year
2027 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMG stream | 4 | 5 years | 1 date, 28 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
| IMG stream | 1 | 5 years | 1 date, 28 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
2026 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMG stream | 4 | 5 years | 1 date, 29 Jan 2026 |
| IMG stream | 1 | 5 years | 1 date, 29 Jan 2026 |
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
- The MacOrtho Residency Program is a fully accredited 5-year Orthopedic Surgery program at McMaster University.
- The program offers comprehensive training across all orthopedic subspecialties, with a strong emphasis on evidence-based medicine, research opportunities, and competency-based medical education.
- Research
- Extensive research opportunities in both basic science and clinical research, with support from Research Director and potential for pursuing a Masters degree during residency.
- Training setting
- Training occurs across multiple affiliated teaching hospitals in Hamilton, including Hamilton Health Sciences (Hamilton General Hospital, Juravinski Hospital, McMaster Children's Hospital) and St. Joseph's Healthcare.
- Teaching approach
- Follows Competency by Design (CBD) framework with progressive learning stages: Transition to Discipline, Foundations of Discipline, Core, and Transition to Practice, emphasizing evidence-based medicine and comprehensive skill development.
- Enhanced skills
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- What the program looked at
- Personal letter
- Reference letters
- Academic record
- Interview performance
- Elective experiences
- Research involvement
- Leadership skills
- Communication skills
Contacts and links
- Program directors
Dr. Jeffrey Kay
905522115532267
Dr. James YanAssociate Program Director
- Program office
Program Coordinator
Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.
Videos and podcasts
From the program
Public podcast episodes and videos where the program presents itself. The short descriptions are ours; each link goes to the original.
Orthopedic Surgery elsewhere
Nearest to Hamilton
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