Program Highlights

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Subspecialty Residency Training Program at Memorial University is a small, longitudinally based program, with the majority of clinical learning occurring in the province’s tertiary children’s hospital, supervised by a dedicated and enthusiastic faculty, with an excellent faculty-to-resident ratio. We strive to strike a balance between resident education and progressive responsibility, while maintaining a safe learning environment.

Our small program takes a generalist approach to this subspecialty, both for our residents and faculty. This is reflected in the resident exposure to clinical content, as they deal with the entire breadth of patient populations and diagnoses, while working in a dynamic learning environment, with exposure to all of the major clinical settings on a regular basis, including inpatients, outpatients, consult liaison and emergency. This broad, longitudinal approach is reflective of the practice of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in many settings across Canada and reflects the practices of our faculty here at Memorial University.

The small size of our residency program and the excellent faculty-to-resident ratio allows for a high degree of interactions, with our subspecialty residents thought of as junior colleagues by our faculty. The continual presence of junior (PGY-3) residents from our general psychiatry program at the same site ensures our subspecialty residents have the opportunity to interact with other psychiatry residents, with our subspecialty residents assuming leadership roles.

This program offers a highly individualized and flexible training experience. We work closely with each resident to tailor their clinical and non-clinical learning to align with their unique educational needs, interests, and career goals. Clinical rotations can be customized to provide focused exposure in areas of specific interest or need. In parallel, non-clinical components of the program, including seminar topics, scholarly work, quality improvement, research, and administrative experiences, can also be personalized to reflect each resident’s evolving professional path.

Conference and Professional Development Support

We strongly support the academic and professional development of our subspecialty residents. All residents in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry subspecialty program at Memorial University receive financial support to attend the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CACAP) Annual Conference in both years of the program. In the final year of training, residents are also funded to participate in the CACAP Review Course to support exam preparation.

In addition, the program provides financial support for residents who are accepted to present at academic conferences, whether through poster presentations, oral presentations, or workshops. This includes national and international conferences relevant to psychiatry, child and adolescent mental health, medical education, or related fields.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Journal Club

Subspecialty residents join the attending Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists quarterly for journal club (accredited). Journal clubs are typically held off-site at a restaurant, so these events can be social opportunities for the residents and faculty as well. Each subspecialty resident is the presenter at one of these journal clubs annually, with faculty members serving as presenters for the remaining journal clubs.

Program Curriculum

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry subspecialty residency at Memorial University is a two-year (PGY-5 and PGY-6) training program designed around a competency-based model, with progressive responsibility and individualization of experiences. Residents rotate through core clinical settings longitudinally while engaging in a structured academic curriculum and pursuing electives aligned with their career interests.

PGY-5 (First Year of Subspecialty Training)

Training Stages

• Transition to Discipline (First 2 months)
• Foundations of Discipline (Next 4 months)
• **Core of Discipline – Block 1 (Final 6 months)

Core Rotations and Clinical Experiences

• Outpatient Psychiatry
• Inpatient Psychiatry
• Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
• Emergency/On-Call Psychiatry
• Residents begin with intensive supervision and gradually assume increased autonomy.
• Experiences occur at the Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre, Newfoundland’s tertiary pediatric centre.
• Clinical teaching is longitudinal and team-based, with residents revisiting all major settings over time.

PGY-6 (Second Year of Subspecialty Training)

Training Stages

• Core of Discipline – Block 2 (First 6 months)
• **Transition to Practice (Final 6 months)

Junior Staff Clinical Roles

• Residents take on junior attending rolesin:
• Outpatient Psychiatry
• Inpatient Psychiatry
• Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
• On-Call Psychiatry (including provincial telehealth)
• Supervision of junior residentsand greater clinical autonomy are key features.

Electives and Specialized Experiences

Residents may undertake customized electives, including:

• Adolescent Medicine
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Psychiatric Care of Incarcerated Youth
• Psychiatric Care of Youth in Alternate Care
• Addictions Treatment Centre
• Psychiatric Rehabilitation Treatment Centre
• Early Psychosis
• Emergency Psychiatry
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Skills Group (co-facilitation)

Ongoing Academic Activities

Residents continue to participate in all academic sessions and complete their Scholarly Project. They also present at Grand Rounds and Journal Club, and are expected to play a leadership role in teaching and mentoring.

Academic Curriculum

• Core Topics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry(1 hr/week)
• Selected Topics Seminar(1 hr/week)
• Case Conference(1 hr/week)
• Family Therapy Seminar and Supervision(1.5 hrs/week)
• Journal Club(quarterly)
• Critical Appraisal & Grand Rounds(alternating biweekly, 1 hr)
• Research/Scholarly Project Time(20 half-days/residency)
• PGY-5 residents may also attend PGME Academic Half-Dayson select topics.

Vacation Time

• Up to 20 working days of vacation per year.
• Longitudinal Rotations: Integrated exposure to all clinical domains ensures depth and continuity.
• Psychotherapy Training: Includes CBT for insomnia (CBTi), family therapy, and behavioural groups.
• Customizable Electives: Tailored to resident interests, career goals, and academic development.

Unique Curriculum Features

• Longitudinal Rotations: Integrated exposure to all clinical domains ensures depth and continuity.
• Psychotherapy Training: Includes CBT for insomnia (CBTi), family therapy, and behavioural groups.
• Customizable Electives: Tailored to resident interests, career goals, and academic development.

Contact information

Program Director  (Contact Person for Applications)
David Richard Elcock, MD, FRCPC
Email: drae44@mun.ca
Telephone: 709-777-4476

Program Administrator
Ms. Jacqueline Doran
Email: pgme.psychiatry@mun.ca
Telephone: 709-864-3384