Waterloo - Psychiatry
McMaster UniversityWaterloo, Ontario
At a glance
- Approx. quota
- 21
- Length
- 5
- Applications per year
- 51–200
- Offered interviews
- 76–100%0–25%
CMG stream · open to Canadian medical graduates
IMG stream · open to international medical graduates
Info session
details info sessions of this programThu 12 Nov 2026,7:00–8:00 pm ESTvia CANPREPP source (opens in a new tab)
Interviews
3 dates, 25 Jan – 1 Feb 2027
2 dates, 25–28 Jan 2027
Waterloo, CMG stream: 8 teaching sites · IMG stream: 6 teaching sites
What stands out about this program
Academic learning through a 'One Room Schoolhouse' system unique to the Waterloo Regional Campus.
From “Program highlights” on the CaRMS page
Residents choose their own site and supervisor for psychiatry rotations; they are not assigned to meet clinical needs.
From “Program curriculum” on the CaRMS page
An 8-week resident-designed selective working with marginalized populations.
From “Program curriculum” on the CaRMS page
- This is a 5-year McMaster psychiatry residency at the Waterloo Regional Campus, focused on care for marginalized and vulnerable populations in a regional or smaller community setting.
- Residents rotate through sites including Waterloo Regional Health Network, Guelph General Hospital, Homewood Health Centre and Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
- From PGY2, residents choose the site and supervisor for their rotations, and the scholarly requirements include a quality improvement project.
Based on what the program says about itself.
- You’re open to training at sites across a region, not at one hospital.
Show the quote
What training looks like
- Setting
- Regional community
- Rural exposure
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- Research
- Required · scholarly or quality-improvement project · protected time
By year
- PGY-1
- Emergency Psychiatryfour-week block
- selectiveone block
- electiveone block
- Internal Medicine
- Family Medicine
- Neurology
- Adolescent Medicine
- Emergency Medicine
- Addictions
- core rotation working with the medical team providing care to patients admitted to Psychiatry
- PGY-2
- General Adult Inpatient Psychiatry6 blocks
- General Adult Outpatient Psychiatry6 blocks
- Anchored Selective1 block partnered with 1 block at start of PGY3, for total of 2 blocks
- PGY-3
- Child & Adolescent Psychiatry6 blocks
- Geriatric Psychiatry6 blocks
- PGY-4
- Chronic Care Psychiatry6 blocks
- Elective, which may include research4 blocks
- Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry3 blocks
Other rotations
- Transition to Discipline Stage of Training (Transition to Discipline · two blocks)
- Collaborative Care (Transition to Practice · 3 blocks)
- electives (Transition to Practice · 10 blocks)
- PGY-1
- Emergency Psychiatryfour-week block
- selectiveone block
- electiveone block
- Internal Medicine
- Family Medicine
- Neurology
- Adolescent Medicine
- Emergency Medicine
- Addictions
- PGY-2
- General Adult Inpatient Psychiatry6 blocks
- General Adult Outpatient Psychiatry6 blocks
- Anchored Selective1 block
- PGY-3
- Child & Adolescent Psychiatry6 blocks
- Geriatric Psychiatry6 blocks
- PGY-4
- Chronic Care Psychiatry6 blocks
- Elective, which may include research4 blocks
- Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry3 blocks
Other rotations
- Transition to Discipline (Transition to Discipline · two blocks)
- Collaborative Care (Transition to Practice · 3 blocks)
- electives (Transition to Practice · 10 blocks)
Where you train
Waterloo, Ontario: CMG stream: 8 teaching sites · IMG stream: 6 teaching sites.
- Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN)
- Grand River Hospital (Kitchener-Waterloo)
- Waterloo Regional Health Network's Chicopee Site
- Guelph General Hospital (Guelph)
- Homewood Health Centre (Guelph)
- Cambridge Memorial Hospital (Cambridge)
- Canadian Mental Health Association in Guelph (Guelph)
- University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo Student Health Centres
Distributed across a region
- Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN)
- Grand River Hospital (Kitchener-Waterloo)
- Waterloo Regional Health Network's Chicopee Site
- Guelph General Hospital (Guelph)
- Homewood Health Centre (Guelph)
- Cambridge Memorial Hospital (Cambridge)
Distributed across a region
Record systems at the listed sites: MEDITECH at 1 of 8, Oracle Health (Cerner) at 2; no published record for 5.
Moving to a new system: Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
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.
Grand River Hospital
- Clinical record
- Cerner, system named (how far it goes is not stated)
Guelph General Hospital
- Clinical record
- Meditech, system named (how far it goes is not stated)
Cambridge Memorial Hospital
- Clinical record
- Oracle Health Foundation, moving to a new system
Hospital size and activity: Ontario doesn't publish this as open data.
About Waterloo
People
121,436residents, 2021 Census
Housing
4.0%rental vacancy rate
Winter and summer
−6.3 °CJanuary mean20.2 °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), CMG stream
- 25 and 28 Jan 2027; 1 Feb 2027
- Interview dates (2027 match), IMG stream
- 25 and 28 Jan 2027
- Format
- Virtual
- Traditional (one on one/two on one)
- Panel
Info sessions
Thu 12 Nov 2026
7:00–8:00 pm EST
Info session · VirtualCANPREPP source (opens in a new tab)
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 (as the program states it)
- In-house call · frequency “approximately 1/7 as a junior resident (PGY1 & 2) and approximately 1/12-15 as a senior resident (PGY3-5)”
- 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 | 2 | 5 years | 3 dates, 25 Jan – 1 Feb 2027 | Nothing noted |
| IMG stream | 1 | 5 years | 2 dates, 25–28 Jan 2027 | Nothing noted |
2026 match
| Stream | Positions | Length | Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMG stream | 2 | 5 years | 3 dates, 19–26 Jan 2026 |
| IMG stream | 1 | 5 years | 2 dates, 19–22 Jan 2026 |
The 2026 page of the CMG stream: our summary of its CaRMS description
- The McMaster Psychiatry Postgraduate Program at the Waterloo Regional Campus aims to train psychiatrists who can work effectively in community hospitals and outpatient settings, with a focus on providing care for marginalized and vulnerable populations.
- The program emphasizes Royal College CanMEDS competencies, community-based training, and comprehensive psychiatric skills development.
- Research
- Residents can pursue research through elective blocks, longitudinal protected time, and the Clinician Investigator Program (CIP), with opportunities to complete graduate degrees concurrently with residency.
- Training setting
- Training occurs in various locations including primary care hospitals and community-based programs in the Waterloo region, emphasizing the psychiatrist's role as a consultant and multidisciplinary team member.
- Teaching approach
- A flexible, responsive training approach that encourages scholarly inquiry, personal initiative, principles of adult learning, and self-directed learning with a focus on Competency-Based Medical Education.
- Enhanced skills
- Not stated on CaRMS page
- What the program looked at
- Evidence of interest in psychiatry
- Work ethic
- Team working skills
- Leadership experiences
- Professionalism
- Communication skills
- Academic record
- Scholarly work commitment
- Reference letters
Contacts and links
- Program directors
Dr. Megan PuckeringAssociate Program Director
Dr. Amanda Ritsma
- Program office
WRC Program Administrator
Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing. Site staff and other contacts are listed there too.
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.
Psychiatry elsewhere
Nearest to Waterloo
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