Hamilton - Plastic Surgery
McMaster UniversityHamilton, Ontario
At a glance
- Approx. quota
- 3
- Length
- 5
- Applications per year
- 51–200
- Offered interviews
- 0–25%
CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates
IMG stream · open to international medical graduates
Interviews
1 date, 18 Jan 2027
Hamilton, 5 teaching sites
What stands out about this program
Provincial burn program serving the entire province, with PGY2 burn rotation.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
Microsurgical skills taught early in a live animal model.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
1:1 resident-to-faculty ratio in senior years.
From “Additional information” on the CaRMS page
- McMaster Plastic Surgery is a 5-year program established in 1978, training at Hamilton Health Sciences sites and St. Joseph's Hospital.
- Residents rotate through the provincial burn program in their second year and learn microsurgery in a live animal model in PGY3.
- Residents are expected to prepare a manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal and present at a national meeting.
What training looks like
- Setting
- Academic / tertiary hospital
- Urban community
- Rural exposure
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- Focus areas
- Early independence
- Research
- Required · research project
By year
- PGY-1
- Plastic Surgery
- PGY-2
- General Pediatric Surgery
- Pediatric Plastic Surgery
- ICU
- Burns
- Otolaryngology
- PGY-5
- Community
- cosmetic
Other rotations
- General Surgery (PGY-1 & 2)
- Dermatology (PGY-1 & 2)
- Vascular Surgery (PGY-1 & 2)
- Perioperative Medicine (PGY-1 & 2)
- Rehabilitation Medicine (PGY-1 & 2)
- Anaesthesia (PGY-1 & 2)
Where you train
Hamilton, Ontario: 5 teaching sites.
- Hamilton General Hospital
- Juravinski Hospital
- McMaster University Medical Centre
- St. Joseph's Hospital
- Oakville Trafalgar Hospital (Oakville)
Record systems at the listed sites: Epic at 3 of 5, MEDITECH at 1, Oracle Health (Cerner) at 1.
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 Hospital
- Clinical record
- Cerner (OneChart), system named (how far it goes is not stated)
Oakville Trafalgar Hospital
- Clinical record
- MEDITECH Expanse, fully electronic record since Nov 2021
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)
- 18 Jan 2027
- Format
- Virtual
- Traditional (one on one/two on one)
- MMI or rotating station
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.
4 Plastic 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 | 3 | 5 years | 1 date, 18 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
| IMG stream | Positions not stated | 5 years | 1 date, 18 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
2026 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMG stream | 3 | 6 years | 1 date, 19 Jan 2026 |
| IMG stream | 1 | 6 years | 1 date, 19 Jan 2026 |
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
- McMaster University's 5-year Plastic Surgery Residency Program offers comprehensive training across multiple hospital sites in southwestern Ontario.
- The program emphasizes evidence-based surgical education, early hands-on learning, and provides residents with extensive exposure to diverse plastic surgery experiences, from trauma and burns to pediatric and reconstructive surgery.
- Research
- Residents are expected to complete two high-quality research projects, present at annual research day, and are encouraged to prepare three manuscript submissions.
- Training setting
- Training occurs across four main hospital sites in Hamilton, Ontario, including Hamilton General Hospital, Juravinski Hospital, McMaster University Medical Centre, and St. Joseph's Hospital, providing diverse clinical experiences.
- Teaching approach
- Competency-based medical education with progressive independence, emphasizing early hands-on surgical exposure, evidence-based learning, and comprehensive skill development through experiential training.
- Enhanced skills
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- What the program looked at
- Academic record
- CaRMS curriculum vitae
- Research experience
- Reference letters
- Personal letter
- Interview performance
Contacts and links
- Program director
Dr. Arianna Dal Cin
CaRMS lists no email for the director.
- Program office
Program Administrator
Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.
Plastic Surgery elsewhere
Nearest to Hamilton
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