Nephrology Residency Training Program
The University of British Columbia’s Division of Nephrology offers a two-year Sub Specialty Residency in Nephrology which is accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. This highly structured program includes a broad range of clinical exposures, along with formal educational sessions. The program accepts up to 3 residents on average per year into the program, and has an outstanding record of successful Royal College examination results by the graduates, many of whom go on to additional postgraduate training locally or abroad.
PGME Elective opportunities are provided for subspecialty residents to pursue training in particular aspects of nephrology, including histopathology, glomerular diseases, community nephrology, dialysis or transplantation, and other components according to their needs and interests. Residents and fellows are encouraged to be active in scholarly activities and research throughout their core years, with submissions to and presentations at meetings of the Canadian and American Societies of Nephrology, as well as Canadian and international transplant society meetings.
Nephrology trainees divide their time equally between the two large teaching hospitals in Vancouver, St Paul’s Hospital (SPH) and Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). In addition, there are elective opportunities at other hospitals across the province. VGH and SPH both offer the full range of nephrology services, including general nephrology clinics, chronic kidney disease clinics, hemodialysis (both outpatient and in-centre nocturnal), peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis, transplantation and in-patient nephrology. Between them, the two hospitals provide tertiary and quaternary referral services for the province, with a population of approximately four million people. St Paul’s hospital includes a maternity ward and complex maternal care clinics, which allows opportunity for exposure to complications of pregnancy. VGH houses a large Burns and Trauma Unit, as well as neurosurgery and the bone marrow transplant program. Both hospitals provide most other specialty medical and surgical services and critical care.
Completion of the 24-month program by residents already qualified in Internal Medicine fulfills the training requirements for a Subspecialty Certificate in Nephrology from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
The usual start date is July 1st each year, although this is flexible depending upon the completion of the third year of internal medicine. Additional details regarding the curriculum and resources are available through the CaRMS Medicine Subspecialty Match (R-4) website.
Applications
Eligible applicants must fall into one of the following two groups:
1. The Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS):
Canadian citizens or permanent residents currently enrolled in a three-year residency in Internal Medicine in a Canadian medical school can apply for our Sub Specialty Residency Program at the start of their third year. Application information is available on the CaRMS website. All funded positions are awarded through the CaRMS matching process. Canadian citizens or permanent residents who completed medical school in Canada and are enrolled in an Internal Medicine residency in certain US medical schools may also be eligible for the CaRMS match. The UBC Division of Nephrology does not accept applications directly for this program.
2. Internationally Sponsored (VISA) Trainees
An internationally-sponsored medical trainee is a physician who is not a Canadian citizen or a Canadian permanent resident and whose tuition and salary are funded by a sponsoring agency in their home country. A postgraduate training agreement must be in place between UBC and the international sponsoring agency before PGME can process an application. Please see the list on UBC’s PGME website.
Please Note:
We are only taking applications from Canadians or trainees currently training in a Canadian program at this time. We review this on an annual basis, so please check back in the spring of 2024 for the July 2025 intake.
Individuals who do not fit either of the above groups are not eligible for this program, even if they have funding from an outside agency, hospital or government. While there may be other opportunities for training in clinical nephrology with the Division (see Clinical Fellowships), these other programs are not accredited by the Royal College and do not lead to certification or licensure in Canada.
Postgraduate Visiting Electives
PGME Visiting Elective opportunities are available for those interested in Nephrology, and in particular those who may be hoping to pursue Nephrology as a career. We welcome residents currently enrolled in a Canadian University residency program. We offer rotations in general nephrology, as well as transplantation, glomerular disease, community nephrology, home therapies, dialysis, transplantation, renal obstetrics, palliative nephrology care and more.
If you are interested, please email the Division Administrator, Maeve Lalor at maeve.lalor@ubc.ca. More information can also be found on UBC’s PGME website.