Why Queen's

 

The Department of Emergency Medicine at Queen's University is proud to offer a five-year residency program in Emergency Medicine, fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.  Our program has an excellent national reputation which has allowed us to attract the top medical student candidates every year.  Our residents come from across the country and choose Queen's Emergency Medicine because of its many strengths, including:

 

Our residents are fortunate to see a high volume, high acuity, and wide variety of patients which is necessary to become competent specialist Emergency physicians. This includes a high pediatric volume.

Our faculty members are committed to the success of our program.  They share a passion for teaching and are incredibly supportive of our residents.  Over the last three years, we have welcomed an enthusiastic group of new, young, and talented faculty members with expertise in Critical Care Medicine, Education, Toxicology, Clinical Epidemiology, Ultrasound, Disaster Medicine, and Global Health.

There is expertise in patient simulation at Queen's.  Our residents frequently use the new Clinical Simulation Centre, a state-of-the-art facility featuring four simulation labs for high fidelity mannequin scenarios including a complete operating room and two emergency rooms.  Our residents and faculty are also active participants in the Simulation Olympics.

Our Department offers the Annual National Review Course in Emergency Medicine, an exam preparation course offered to all PGY5 residents.

We place a heavy emphasis on well-being and resident wellness.  The creation of a balanced lifestyle for faculty and residents which celebrates their interests is a major strength of our program. 

Due to the smaller size of our academic centre, faculty and residents from all disciplines get to know each other personally and collaborate well in educational, clinical, and administrative areas.  Our residents are a cohesive group who enjoy each others' company and have created an active social atmosphere.

The City of Kingston is continually ranked as one of the best places to work and live in Canada.  Our residents are happy here and enjoy its high quality of life, abundant attractions, and lower cost of living.

Affiliated Hospitals

Kingston Heath Sciences Centre (KGH) site and Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH) site, are partners in the Southeastern Ontario Health Sciences Centre (SEOHSC), a joint healthcare delivery system composed of Kingston’s top healthcare providers. Other partners include Queen’s University, Providence Continuing Care Centre (St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital and the Mental Health Site), Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Community Care Access Centre and Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Health Unit.  Together, the SEOHSC is able to provide unprecedented advanced and comprehensive care to our region.

KGH is Kingston’s oldest and largest hospital, opening its doors in 1838.   KGH is a 452-bed major tertiary care referral facility for Southeastern Ontario located across the street from Lake Ontario.  It has a 24-hour emergency care unit, designated trauma centre and receives emergencies flown in by helicopter to our helipad.
 
Hotel Dieu has been open since 1845 and is the Ambulatory Outpatient Teaching Hospital for SEOHSC.  It houses an Urgent Care Centre that is complementary to the Kingston General Emergency Department.

A Message From Our Residents

The lifestyle of a resident in Kingston is unique in Canada.  With the 2 acute-care hospitals located close together, almost all of our residents live within walking distance of work.  Conveniently, it’s also walking distance from the downtown core, where we often end up unwinding with staff and fellow residents after evening shifts for an (in)famous code-brew.  This really highlights one of the most attractive qualities of being a resident in the Queen’s Emergency Medicine program: the collegiality. From the very start of your training you’ll develop close personal relationships with staff and colleagues, that we pride ourselves on maintaining throughout and after residency.  The setting is also idyllically located on the Lake Ontario waterfront (the 1974 Montreal Olympics held their sailing events in Kingston for a reason) and just a few kilometers away from some of the best cycling in the province.  Kingston is a beautiful, historic city, ideally suited to resident life.

During my elective, I was blown away by how welcoming the residents and staff/PD were! Everyone was so happy and proud to be part of the QueensEM fam. I was excited about the amazing sim opportunities and chance to live in the beautiful city of Kingston.

Kingston summers are the best! There are ample opportunities for bike rides, paddle boarding, and Mio Gelato trips. In the winter, there are lots of great trails for snowy walks.

Academically, we pride our program on its small size and clinical excellence.  We're a national leader in academic emergency medicine and were the first to pioneer the Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) format for resident training.  Shifts at both our Emergency Department (KGH) and Urgent Care Center (HDH) are always 1-to-1 with supportive staff physicians, who are renowned for their excellent bedside teaching.  The size of the program also fosters close academic and professional relationships between residents, staff, and allied healthcare workers who are all excited to help each other succeed.  The family-like atmosphere at Queen's is hard to put into words, but the support, kindness, and learning that we are lucky enough to be a part of would be difficult to match.