Head and Neck Surgery - Otolaryngology

Dalhousie UniversityUnknown, Nova ScotiaCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPP

Open on carms.ca

CaRMS program description, 2026 match, last approved 9 Oct 2025

From the 2026 match (R-1 2026). See the 2027 version

Positions (approx. quota): 2 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: Otolaryngology
Applications per year: 0–50
Applicants offered interviews: 51–75%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 30082

Bands are 5-year averages the program reports to CaRMS. They describe past cycles, not your odds.

Summary

Dalhousie University's Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery residency is a comprehensive 5-year program designed to train skilled surgeons and clinicians in the specialty. The program offers extensive academic and clinical training across various subspecialties, with a strong emphasis on research, surgical skills, and multidisciplinary patient care.

Training

Research

Residents must complete a basic or clinical research project annually, with opportunities to present at divisional, departmental, and national levels.

Training setting

Training occurs across multiple hospitals in Halifax, Nova Scotia, including QEII Health Sciences Centre, IWK Health Centre, Dartmouth General Hospital, and Hants Community Hospital, with potential community-based rotations in the Maritime provinces.

Teaching approach

Competency-based medical education with progressive independence, emphasizing comprehensive skill development across CanMEDS roles and providing structured, supervised training with increasing autonomy throughout the residency.

Setting types

Academic medical center
Tertiary care center
Community hospital

Focus areas

Head and Neck Oncology
Otology
Neuro-otology
Facial Plastics
Endoscopic Sinus Surgery
Laryngology
Communication Disorders
Pediatric Otolaryngology

Patient populations

Head and Neck cancer patients
Pediatric patients
Otology patients
Communication disorders patients
Community and rural patients

Highlights

Academic Half Day every Wednesday
Multidisciplinary H & N oncology rounds
Grand rounds
Journal club
Visiting professor program
Cadaveric surgery sessions
Temporal bone dissection lab
Surgical skills lab
Annual funding for courses and meetings
Research project requirement each year

Strengths

Comprehensive 5-year training program
Strong research opportunities
Multidisciplinary approach
State-of-the-art surgical skills facilities
Temporal bone and surgical skills labs
Emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion

Enhanced skills

Otology/Neuro-otology Fellowship
Head and Neck Surgery Fellowship

By year

PGY-1

General Surgery4-8 weeks
Otolaryngology4-8 weeks
Emergency4-8 weeks
Thoracic Surgery4-8 weeks
Anesthesia4-8 weeks
Neurosurgery4-8 weeks
Infectious Diseases4-8 weeks
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery4-8 weeks

PGY-2

Plastic Surgery
Intensive Care
Otolaryngology

PGY-3

Otolaryngology SubspecialtiesVictoria General Hospital, IWK, Dartmouth General HospitalFull year
Endoscopic Sinus Surgery Course
Temporal Bone Dissection Course
Community ENT RotationNew Brunswick or Nova Scotia

PGY-4

Otolaryngology SubspecialtiesVictoria General Hospital, IWK, Dartmouth General HospitalFull year
Elective RotationsDalhousie system or other university centers2-4 months

PGY-5

Otolaryngology SubspecialtiesVictoria General Hospital, IWK, Dartmouth General HospitalFull year

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at

CaRMS application
File review
Multi-mini interview (MMI)
Research portfolio
Reference letters
Personal letter
Academic performance

Applications per year

0–50

Applicants offered interviews

51–75%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match): 2 and 30 Jan 2026

Programs can change interview dates. Confirm on carms.ca.

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 24 Jul 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Annual salary by PGY level, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$78,578 / year
PGY-2	$83,904 / year
PGY-3	$89,462 / year
PGY-4	$95,485 / year
PGY-5	$101,926 / year

One provincial scale for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

Benefits

Benefits as listed by CaRMS in 2022–2024; check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Annual vacation: 4 weeks
Call stipend: Yes
CMPA dues paid: Yes
Dental coverage: Yes
Educational leave: Yes
Extended health insurance: Yes
Frequency of call: l in 4 in-hospital and for homecall
Life insurance: $100,000 of insurance
Long-term disabilityinsurance: 66.7% of salary
Maternity leave top up after one year’s service: eligible for up to a maximum of 17 weeks top-up allowance for maternity/pregnancy leave
Provincial dues (% of salary): 1.30%
Provincial health insurance: Yes
Sick leave: Yes
Statutory and floating holidays: paid

Call

Call (provincial max): 1 night in 4 in-house

The union agreement’s cap for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. Check with the program.

MarDocs agreement, 1 Jul 2024 to 30 Jun 2027.

Teaching sites

QEII Health Sciences Centre
Halifax Infirmary
Victoria General Hospital
IWK Health Centre
Dartmouth General Hospital
Hants Community Hospital

Hospital facts

Public figures for hospitals named above, each with its source and reference period. They describe the hospital, not the program, and are not a ranking. We match names to the province’s lists by name, so check each source before you rely on it.

QEII Health Sciences Centre

This name covers 2 hospitals in the province’s lists. Each is shown on its own, A to Z, and the numbers are never added together.

QEII - Halifax Infirmary Site (Halifax)

Hospital type: Tertiary As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

QEII - Victoria General (VG) Site (Halifax)

Hospital type: Tertiary As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Halifax Infirmary

Matched to QEII - Halifax Infirmary Site (Halifax) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type: Tertiary As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Victoria General Hospital

Matched to QEII - Victoria General (VG) Site (Halifax) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type: Tertiary As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Show facts for 3 more sites

IWK Health Centre

Matched to IWK Health Centre (Halifax) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type: Tertiary As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Dartmouth General Hospital

Matched to Dartmouth General Hospital (Dartmouth) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type: Regional As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Hants Community Hospital

Matched to Hants Community Hospital (Windsor) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type: Community As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Nova Scotia.

Unfilled positions in past years

No repeated vacancies in CaRMS’s lists of open positions, 2019–2026.

Positions at this site, all streams.

A position can go unfilled because of where the site is, because it is open to IMGs only or to another restricted stream, or because the quota changed late. It says nothing about the quality of the training. Verify with the CaRMS lists. Source: CaRMS’s lists of positions open after round 1 and after round 2, as read in October 2026 (latest: 2026 round 1 (CaRMS PDF, opens in a new tab), 2026 round 2 (CaRMS PDF, opens in a new tab)). A site’s numbers are shown when it had positions open after round 1 in at least 2 of 8 years or at least 3 in one year.

Contacts

Contacts weren't collected for the 2026 match.

The current program director and contacts are on the 2027 version of this program and on the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab).

Location

Unknown, Nova Scotia

Independent. Not affiliated with CaRMS or the program. Programs edit their descriptions during the match; confirm on carms.ca (opens in a new tab) before you apply. Data last updated on CdnMD 5 Oct 2026.