Psychiatry residency education in Canada: past, present and future

Abstract

OBJECTIVE This article provides a brief overview of the history of psychiatry residency training in Canada, and outlines the rationale for the current training requirements, changes to the final certification examination, and factors influencing future trends in psychiatry education and training. METHOD The author compiled findings and reports on residency education in Canada from current and historical sources. RESULTS Residency training in psychiatry in Canada has undergone significant change in the past 5 years, moving from an "apprenticeship" model to a competency-based curriculum with explicit expectations for the acquisition of key, defined competencies. CONCLUSION Continuous evaluation of teaching methodologies, increasing use of innovative and creative medical education techniques, flexible curricula, and increasingly rigorous standards of accreditation are some of the factors likely to continue to shape the future.