Hematology: Program Director’s Message

Welcome to our Hematology Residency Training Program

I am writing to extend you a warm welcome to our program! If you are reading this I suspect you want to know more about who we are, what our program is about and what training in Toronto looks like. Let me tell you!

Who We Are

The residency training program is a priority program within our amazing Division of Hematology. Our division has 100+ faculty members with expertise in every clinical area within hematology, along with excellence in scholarship including medical education, clinical teaching, quality improvement, clinical and translational research, and basic sciences. The reason our program is successful however is because of its PEOPLE. We are ALL committed wholeheartedly to your success, ensuring that you reach your career goals (or helping you figure out what those goals are). We collaborate with outstanding lab technologists and allied health disciplines who are also dedicated to your success. Our hematology residents bring tremendous skill, lived experiences, and perspective that absolutely impact upon our Division’s present and future.

What Is Our Program About

Our training program’s priority goal is to ensure that our trainees have excellent clinical training within clinical hematology. Trainees obtain broad exposure to classical hematology, malignant hematology, hematopathology, laboratory hematology, quality improvement, and research methods. This training occurs across multiple academic sites. We value equity, diversity, and inclusivity and are interweaving these principles into our academic curriculum, admissions process, and program design. There is mentorship for career exploration for both academic medicine and excellence within community-based hematology.

There is ample elective time in PGY5 for career exploration, including an international elective in Ethiopia through the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC). We are a resident-focused program with continued improvement based on feedback from our residency program committee and chief hematology residents, who take a key role in designing our academic curriculum each year.

What Are Some Highlights About Our Program

Unique clinical aspects of training in Toronto include working within the largest red cell disorders program in Canada, leadership in hemostasis and thrombosis, cellular therapy and stem cell transplantation, immunohematology, and transfusion medicine. Highlights of our training curriculum include our national hematology retreat, an annual resident research day, a revolving dedicated academic half day curriculum, after hours sessions focused on intrinsic CanMEDS competencies, and a dedicated research methods rotation. There is conference funding each year for trainees. These opportunities are possible due to tremendous support from our university Division Director who works closely with the Program Director.

How Can I Find Out More?

I would be delighted to answer any additional queries about our program – do reach out! Please contact our program coordinator (heme.prg@utoronto.ca) if you would like to connect with me or any of our current residents. We strongly encourage prospective applicants to do elective rotations at any of our Toronto academic sites so you can get a sense of what it is like to live and work in our wonderful city. Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

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