Residency in the Division of General Surgery

Residency Program

Program Director, Residency Training
Dr. Savtaj Brar

Welcome to the University of Toronto’s General Surgery Residency Training Program. The residency training program in General Surgery at the University of Toronto is the largest and perhaps most diverse of its kind in Canada. Our vision is to ensure excellence in clinical and academic training of our Residents. We know that we are preparing tomorrow’s leaders in General Surgery.

Our training Program is home to approximately 100 faculty members, over 6 Fully Affiliated Academic Health Centres, and 5 Affiliated Community Hospitals. In addition, the Program provides rural training opportunities through the Rural Ontario Medicine Training Program. We offer outstanding opportunities to engage in research activities; via longitudinal research electives or through the Clinical Investigator Program. Our faculty members are highly invested in Residency Training and many are opinion leaders in their own subspecialty area of General Surgery.

Under the leadership of Drs. Rutka, (University Department Chair), Levine (Department of Surgery, Post Graduate Director), Swallow (University Division Chair) and Brar (General Surgery, Program Director), the Program provides a rich environment for learning and enquiry. The University of Toronto teaching hospitals provide surgical care for a large urban population as well as patients from a vast catchment area and referral network. This arrangement provides outstanding learning opportunities and a breadth of clinical volume that is unsurpassed almost anywhere in North America. We warmly invite you to be part of our Program.

Please contact Ms. Madeline Ng (gensurg.residency@utoronto.ca) or Dr. Sav Brar (savtaj.brar@sinaihealthsystem.ca) to learn more.

Fully Affiliated Academic Health Centres:
• Mount Sinai Hospital
• University Health Network - Toronto General
• University Health Network - Toronto Western
• St Michael's Hospital
• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• The Hospital for Sick Children

Affiliated Community Hospitals:
• North York General Hospital
• Humber River Regional Hospital
• Trillium Health Centre
• St Joseph's Health Care Centre
• Toronto East General Hospital

Wellness Resources

Program Support

Program Director: Dr. Sav Brar
Wellness Lead: Dr. Tulin Cil
Director of Postgraduate Medical Wellness Office: Dr. Julie Maggi
Director of Learner Experience, Faculty of Medicine: Dr. Reena Pattani

Support Services

Postgraduate Medical Education Wellness Office

The Office of Resident Wellness was created to help support the well-being of the University of Toronto’s Post Graduate Medical Education trainees and to offer assistance to those encountering difficulties during training. All currently registered residents and fellows have access to support services such as confidential counseling/psychotherapy and wellness coaching.

Open Monday to Friday. For office hours, appointments and further information, contact:

Tel.: 416 946-3074 | Email: pgwellness@utoronto.ca

PARO Helpline (24/7): 1-866-HELP-DOC (1.866.435.7362)

Ontario Medical Association Physician Health Program (PHP)

Open Monday-Friday, 8:45am-5pm. Contact for services and inquiries:

Tel.: 1.800.851.6606 | Email: php@oma.org

Wellness Support Line (24/7 crisis support): 1.800.851.6606

Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Wellness Hub

Wellness Resources for Faculty (and Residents)

Psychological First Aid for Frontline Health Care Providers During COVID-19

CPSO Physician Wellness

CaRMS

Postgraduate Medical Education – Applicants
R-1 Main Residency Match
AFMC Student Portal - Application service for visiting electives for all Canadian faculties of medicine.
Services are offered for Canadian and International undergraduate medical students.

Program Description – 2020

CMG Stream

IMG Stream

2020-2021 Toronto - Letter of Reference (66.86 KB)
Relevant Experience CMG (19.29 KB)
Relevant Experience IMG (19.56 KB)

Goals and Objectives

University of Toronto, Department of General Surgery, Residency Training Program Program-wide Goals and Objectives:

Residency Training Program Program-wide Goals and Objectives.pdf

Fully Affiliated Academic Health centres:

Endoscopy Goals and Objectives (PGYs Residents).pdf

Endoscopy Goals and Objectives (PGYs Residents).pdf (101.25 KB)

Affiliated Community Hospitals:

Humber River Goals and Objectives.pdf

Humber River Goals and Objectives.pdf (55.94 KB)

Off Service Rotations:

Toronto East General Hospital Goals and Objectives.pdf

Toronto East General Hospital Goals and Objectives.pdf (62.95 KB)

Information and Policies

Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN)

CPSO

Residents and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Guidelines

CPSO Supervision Guidelines (see file attached (16)

Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME)

Training Verification

Apply for Elective Training

Resident Registration and Administrative Information

Access Payroll Resources

Call Stipends Resources
Recording On-Call Stipends (224.92 KB)

Policies and Guidelines

The Latest on COVID-19

Principles: PGME Redeployment for COVID-19

Redeployment of Postgraduate Learners Across University of Toronto Affiliated Sites
Board of Examiners – Postgraduate Medical Education (BOE-PG): Residents In Academic Difficulty (152.99 KB)
Central Assessment Guidelines and Policies (2.44 MB)
Central Safety Guidelines and Policies (1.01 MB)
Central Wellness Guidelines and Policies (5.17 MB)

Immunization and Communicable Disease Policy (87.81 KB)
Intimidation and Harassment Guidelines (154.44 KB)
Leaves of Absence and Training Waivers Policy 2015 (109.53 KB)

General Surgery Residency Training Program

U of T Safety Abroad
Emergency Preparedness Policy (116.02 KB)
Resident Safety Policy (319.15 KB)

See also CPSO and PGME health and safety guidelines

Dispute Resolution Policy (79.6 KB)
Handover Policy (102.25 KB)
Principles of Resident and Fellow Interactions (120.96 KB)
Visiting Residents Policy (400.45 KB)
Call Pool Resident Agreement (85.69 KB)
PGY5 Study Time Policy 2020 (198.71 KB)
Resident Duty Hours Policy (170.93 KB)
Religious Observances Policy (79.58 KB)
Residency Training Vacation Policy (41.3 KB)
Terms of Reference Document Reimbursement of Resident Travel Expenses (47.06 KB)

Administrative Structure

General Surgery - Residency Program Committee (GS-RPC)

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Terms of Reference (TOR) (454.59 KB)

Membership:

Faculty

Dr. Savtaj Brar   Chair; Program Director; Mount Sinai Hospital
Dr. Shiva Jayaraman   Associate Program Director, Curriculum; Unity Health Toronto - St. Joseph’s Health Centre
Dr. Preeti Dhar   Assistant Program Director, University Health Network - Toronto General Hospital
Dr. Peter Stotland Assistant Program Director, North York General Hospital
Dr. Danielle Bischof   Resident Site Coordinator, Mount Sinai Hospital
Dr. Marcus Burnstein Resident Site Coordinator, Unity Health Toronto - St. Michael’s Hospital
Dr. Tulin Cil   Wellness Lead; Resident Site Coordinator, University Health Network - Princess Margaret Hospital
Dr. Jamie Cyriac Resident Site Coordinator, Toronto East Health Network/Michael Garron
Dr. Sayf Gazala Toronto East Health Network/Michael Garron
Dr. Laz Klein   Resident Site Coordinator, Humber River Hospital
Dr. Nicole Look Hong   Resident Site Coordinator, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Dr. Ashlie Nadler Resident Site Coordinator, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Dr. Todd Penner Resident Site Coordinator, University Health Network - Toronto Western Hospital
Dr. Ted Ross   Resident Site Coordinator, Women's College Hospital
Dr. Melanie Tsang Resident Site Coordinator, Unity Health Toronto - St. Joseph’s Health Centre

Residents

Dr. Sachin Doshi   PGY1
Dr. Kimberley Lam PGY1
Dr. Johanna Pinto Lee PGY1
Dr. Riordan Azam PGY2
Dr. Luckshi Rajendran PGY2
Dr. Jordyn Vernon PGY2
Dr. May-Anh Nguyen PGY3
Dr. Marcus Oosenbrug PGY3
Dr. Graham Skelhorne-Gross PGY3
Dr. Serio Acuna PGY4
Dr. Dhruvin Hirpara PGY4
Dr. Megan Melland-Smith PGY4
Dr. Brittany Greene PGY5
Dr. Marika Sevigny PGY5
Dr. Evangelia Theodosopoulos PGY5
Dr. Zubair Bayat Surgeon Scientist Training Program
Dr. Alexander Gregor Surgeon Scientist Training Program
Dr. Matt Guttman Surgeon Scientist Training Program
Dr. Wanda Marini Selections Committee Co-Chair

Non-Voting Members

Administrative Support
Madeline Ng Program Coordinator

Ex Officio
Dr. Carol Swallow Chair, Division of General Surgery (ex officio)

Dr. Mojdan Hodaie Director, Postgraduate Education (ex officio)

General Surgery Competency Committee

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Terms of Reference (TOR) (170.17 KB)

Membership

Dr. Preeti Dhar, Chair; Assistant Program Director
Dr. Savtaj Brar, Program Director
Dr. Shiva Jayaraman, Associate Program Director
Dr. Peter Stotland, Assistant Program Director
Dr. Brian Pinchuk, Faculty, North York General Hospital
Dr. Georges Azzie, Hospital for Sick Children
Dr. Nicole Look Hong
Dr. Melanie Tsang
Dr. Marcus Burnstein
Dr. Jamie Cyriac
Dr. Tulin Cil