Residency/Fellowship Training Programs
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Surgical Oncology
The Surgical Oncology Residency Training Program is a two-year program designed to train academically-oriented general surgeons to represent surgery on a multidisciplinary oncology team. The Program instructs surgeons in the state-of-the-art care of common malignancies as well as in the management of unusual and complex cancer problems.
Training takes places at the MUHC hospitals, the Jewish General Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital Center. Specific rotations can also be completed at the Universit茅 de Montr茅al-affiliated teaching hospitals.
The Program is accredited by the , leading to accreditation with听certification (depending upon eligibility).
Eligibility
Applicants must first have completed a residency in general surgery. For complete eligibility guidelines and application information, please see Postgraduate Medical Education. To fast track the process, please fill out this questionnaire, and return it to the coordinator. Enquiries may also be directed to the program coordinator.
Program Content
Clinical Training
- Emphasis is placed on the consultation process, on practical oncological surgical experience and on decision-making, in the care of patients with cancer. This stage of the training is not intended to teach routine, uncomplicated surgical procedures. Activities take place in the operating theatres, in outpatient clinics and at multidisciplinary tumour boards.
- The clinical component of the Program consists of rotation-specific objectives in the management of different types of cancer, such as breast, melanoma, sarcoma, hepatobiliary, endocrine, upper and lower GI, and other solid tumour malignancies. Rotations in Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Pathology and Palliative Care Medicine prepare the trainee to work on the multidisciplinary oncology team.
- Training will also involve the acquisition of expertise in dealing with the psychosocial aspects of patient care, and with the palliative management of pain and associated cancer symptoms.
Academic Aspects
- The trainee will function as a junior staff person, and will be involved in teaching medical students and residents in the clinics, on the wards and in the operating room.
- The trainee will be required to present at some of the oncology conferences, which are held on a regular basis at McGill and at the teaching hospitals.
- Participation in a didactic seminar series and the multidisciplinary oncology journal club is mandatory.
- The trainee will select a topic for research鈥攅ither basic science or clinical鈥攖o work on throughout the two-year period. Scholarship is encouraged in learning how to identify a research question, to develop a proposal to solve it and to execute the proposed solution.听Possible topics include oncogenetics, molecular oncology, global health (cancer), quality improvement in cancer care, clinical and epidemiological research, all of which can be arranged as required.
- The trainee will become familiar with, and will participate in, the conduct of prospective clinical trials involving patients with, or at risk for, cancer.
Regular assessments of the trainee's performance and progress will be made during the Program by the teaching staff. A certificate of training will be issued upon completion of all the requirements. The Surgical Oncology Residency Training Program aims to fulfill the CanMEDS requirements of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.听Of note, a national-based Competency by Design educational curriculum and assessment program by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada will be implemented for trainees starting in July 2025.
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Contact Information
Program Director
elliot.mitmaker [at] mcgill.ca (Dr. Elliot Mitmaker)
Program Contact
oncologysec.med [at] mcgill.ca (Vanessa Preddie)
Program Administrator
(514) 398-2264
5100 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Suite 720
Montreal, Quebec H4A 3T2