Vancouver - Psychiatry - Research Track

University of British ColumbiaVancouver, British ColumbiaCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPPContacts

CaRMS program description, 2027 match, last approved 27 Aug 2026 · See the 2026 version

2027 match programs, from CaRMS as of 5 Oct 2026. Programs can still change until file review opens 26 November; we re-check every two weeks. Always confirm on CaRMS (opens in a new tab).

Positions (approx. quota): 2 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: Psychiatry - Research Track
Applications per year: 51–200
Applicants offered interviews: 51–75%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 35419

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

Summary

The UBC Psychiatry Research Track is a 5-year residency with 2 positions per year, matched separately from the general track.
Residents train clinically mainly at St. Paul's Hospital in PGY1 and Vancouver General Hospital/UBC Hospital in PGY2.
Research time is one day per week in PGY2-4 and up to four days per week in PGY5, under a Scientific Supervisor.

Training

Setting

Academic / tertiary hospital

Sites

20 teaching sites

St. Paul's Hospital (SPH)
Vancouver Hospital (VGH)
University of British Columbia Hospital (UBCH)

Show all 20

Richmond Hospital (RH)
Peace Arch Hospital (PAH)
BC Children's Hospital (BCCH)
Lion's Gate Hospital (LGH)
Mount St. Joseph's Hospital (MSJH)
Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH)
Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH)
Burnaby Hospital (BH)
Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria (RJH)
Victoria General Hospital, Victoria (VGH)
University Hospital of Northern BC, Prince George (UHNBC)
Kelowna General Hospital (KGH)
Royal Inland Hospital (RIH)
Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH)
Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH)
Hillside Centre
Homewood Ravensview

Rural exposure

Optional rural rotation

Research

Required · research project · protected time

Highlights

Dedicated research time integrated in all residency years, rising to up to four days weekly in PGY5.
Option to enroll in a Master's or, exceptionally, a PhD program from PGY3 onward.

By year

PGY-1

research electivesone month duration

PGY-2

Adult Inpatient6 months
Adult Outpatient6 months

PGY-3

Child & Adolescent Psychiatry6 months
Geriatric Psychiatry6 months

PGY-4

Consultation-Liaison3 months
Chronic Care6 months, minimum 2 days per week
Addiction Psychiatry6 weeks, sometimes longitudinally
Emergency Psychiatry6 weeks

PGY-5

Selectives6 months, no less than 3 months per rotation
Electives6 months, no less than 2 months per rotation

From the program's rotation list.

Other rotations

Listed by the program without a single PGY year.

Transition to Discipline (Transition to Discipline · First month of PGY1)
General Medical and required Psychiatry Rotations (Foundations · remainder of PGY1)

Selection

Application file components

CV
Electives
Examinations
Extra-curricular
Leadership skills
MSPRs
Personal letters
Reference documents
Research/Publications
Transcripts

Return of service

Not stated on CaRMS page. Check the provincial return-of-service rules.

Applications per year

51–200

Applicants offered interviews

51–75%

Interviews

Dates (2027 match)

19, 26 and 27 Jan 2027

Mode

Virtual

Format

Traditional (one on one/two on one)
Panel
MMI or rotating station

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

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 2 Sep 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Salaries from April 2027.

Annual salary by PGY level, British Columbia
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$71,390 / year
PGY-2	$79,571 / year
PGY-3	$86,655 / year
PGY-4	$93,230 / year
PGY-5	$100,215 / year

One provincial scale for British Columbia, 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
CMPA dues paid: Yes. Mandatory
Dental plan: 100% Premiums Paid
Educational leave: Yes
Extended health insurance: 100% Premiums Paid
Frequency of calls: 1 in 4 onsite/1 in 3 offsite
Life insurance: 100% Premium Paid
Long-term disability insurance: Yes 100% Premiums Paid
Maternity leave: 17 weeks, plus up to 78 weeks Parental Leave
Meal allowance: No
Provincial dues (% of salary): 1.5%
Provincial health insurance: 100% Premiums Paid
Sick leave: Yes
Statutory holidays: 2 x pay plus extra day with pay

Call

Call (provincial max): 1 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.

RDBC agreement, 1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2029.

Teaching sites

St. Paul's Hospital (SPH) (Vancouver)
Vancouver Hospital (VGH) (Vancouver)
University of British Columbia Hospital (UBCH) (Vancouver)
Richmond Hospital (RH) (Richmond)
Peace Arch Hospital (PAH)
BC Children's Hospital (BCCH) (Vancouver)
Lion's Gate Hospital (LGH)
Mount St. Joseph's Hospital (MSJH) (Vancouver)
Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH)
Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) (Surrey)
Burnaby Hospital (BH) (Burnaby)
Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria (RJH) (Victoria · rural or distributed site)
Victoria General Hospital, Victoria (VGH) (Victoria · rural or distributed site)
University Hospital of Northern BC, Prince George (UHNBC) (Prince George · rural or distributed site)
Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) (Kelowna · rural or distributed site)
Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) (rural or distributed site)
Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH) (Penticton · rural or distributed site)
Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH) (Abbotsford)
Hillside Centre (Kamloops · rural or distributed site)
Homewood Ravensview

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.

St. Paul's Hospital (SPH)

Matched to St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 8,691 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 2,240 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Vancouver Hospital (VGH)

Matched to Vancouver General Hospital in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 13,790 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 3,855 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

University of British Columbia Hospital (UBCH)

Matched to UBC Health Sciences Centre Hospital in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 7,983 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 2,043 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Show facts for 15 more sites

Richmond Hospital (RH)

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

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 6,446 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 1,680 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Peace Arch Hospital (PAH)

Matched to Peace Arch Hospital (White Rock) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 8,039 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 2,036 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

BC Children's Hospital (BCCH)

Matched to BC Children's Hospital (Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 7,396 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 1,910 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Lion's Gate Hospital (LGH)

Matched to Lions Gate Hospital (North Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 10,660 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 2,762 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Mount St. Joseph's Hospital (MSJH)

Matched to Mount Saint Joseph Hospital (Vancouver) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 15,711 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 4,233 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH)

Matched to Royal Columbian Hospital (New Westminster) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 4,798 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 1,447 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH)

Matched to Surrey Memorial Hospital (Surrey) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 11,911 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 2,849 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Burnaby Hospital (BH)

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

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 8,388 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 2,058 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria (RJH)

Matched to Royal Jubilee Hospital (Victoria) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 14,532 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 3,973 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Victoria General Hospital, Victoria (VGH)

Matched to Vancouver General Hospital in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 13,790 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 3,855 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

University Hospital of Northern BC, Prince George (UHNBC)

Matched to University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (Prince George) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 4,520 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 1,127 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Kelowna General Hospital (KGH)

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

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 15,707 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 4,090 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Royal Inland Hospital (RIH)

Matched to Royal Inland Hospital (Kamloops) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 10,812 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 2,914 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH)

Matched to Penticton Regional Hospital (Penticton) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 3,482 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 837 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH)

Matched to Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre (Abbotsford) in the province’s hospital list.

Elective surgeries completed, 2025/26: 6,232 All procedure groups, for the fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Scheduled surgery only: emergency surgery is not in the file.
Elective surgeries completed, 2026/27 Q1: 1,667 One quarter (April to June), interim figures, all procedure groups. Scheduled surgery only.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.

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

Grouped by the titles CaRMS lists. The program office (administrators and coordinators) usually answers questions about the program and applying; the director leads the training.

Program officeadministrators and coordinators

PGE Psychiatry

ahsan.sahibzada@ubc.ca

Ahsan Sahibzada · Manager, PGME Programs

Program director

Dr. Kenneth Heng

CaRMS lists no email for the director.

Site staffdirectors and coordinators at the teaching sites

PGE Psychiatry

Dr. William Panenka
Research Track Associate Program Director
will.panenka@ubc.ca

Per CaRMS. Staff change during the cycle, so check the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab) before emailing.

Location

Vancouver, British Columbia

About the city

Public statistics for the place named by this program’s location label, each with its source and reference period. They describe the place, not the program, and are not a ranking. Check each source before you rely on it.

Climate

Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020. Each value comes from the nearest weather station that reports it, not from the city itself.

January average: 5.3 °C Vancouver (Harbour), 5.7 km away
July average: 19.0 °C Vancouver (Harbour), 5.7 km away
Snowfall: 36.6 cm a year Vancouver International (Airport), 7.6 km away
Days below −20 °C: 0.0 days a year Vancouver (Harbour), 5.7 km away

People

2021 Census. Figures are for the municipality of Vancouver, not the metropolitan area. Statistics Canada rounds counts, so small places are approximate.

Population: 662,248 people up 4.9% from 2016
Official languages: English only 84.8% · French only 0.1% · English and French 9.3% · neither 5.8% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 42.2% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 6.4% · non-permanent residents: 6.6%
Indigenous identity: 2.3% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 56.2% · public transit 22.9% · walking or cycling 18.4% · other 2.6% Average commute: 25.3 minutes. Shares are of people who commute.The way Canadians commute was altered in 2021 by the pandemic, with lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 and changes in how and where Canadians worked leading to 2.8 million fewer commuters, compared with five years earlier. Statistics Canada, The Daily, 30 Nov 2022(opens in a new tab)
Median household income: $82,000 before tax $72,000 after tax · income year 2020, in 2020 dollars

Rural and remote

This describes the place named by the program’s location label. Programs can train in several towns, so it is not every site.

Population centre: Vancouver, a large urban population centre (100,000 or more people) 2,426,160 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.062 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.

Housing, cost and work

Each figure names the area it covers. A missing line means the source publishes nothing for this area.

Rental vacancy rate: 3.7% October 2025 survey, Vancouver, British Columbia (census metropolitan area). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $64,351 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Vancouver, British Columbia, for two adults with two children. A modest, basic basket (the poverty line), not a resident’s budget. A size-class region is not the town itself.
Unemployment rate: 6.5% September 2026, three-month average, seasonally adjusted, Vancouver, British Columbia (census metropolitan area); standard error 0.4 points. A survey estimate.

Job outlook

Employment and Social Development Canada’s rating for the occupation in the economic region. It is not a count of jobs, and says nothing about CaRMS positions or your match.

Outlook, 2025–2027: Moderate The employment outlook will be Moderate for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100) in the Lower Mainland - Southwest region for the 2025-2027 period.
Canada-wide, to 2033: Strong risk of Shortage ESDC’s projection for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, 2024–2033. Recent conditions, 2021–2023: Strong signs of Shortage.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Adapted from Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Cartographic Boundary Files.
Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Survey, October 2025 (vacancy rates), and Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0130-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or Statistics Canada of this product.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS), 2024 to 2033 projections).
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, 3-Year Employment Outlooks).
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Index of Remoteness (17-26-0001), 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0459-01 Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted, reference month 2026-09. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0066-01 Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by Market Basket Measure region, component and base year, 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0011-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0002-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0057-01 Household income statistics by household type: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0173-01 Mother tongue by knowledge of official languages: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0266-01 Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0307-01 Immigrant status and period of immigration by place of birth: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0458-01 Main mode of commuting by commuting duration, time leaving for work, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

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 6 Oct 2026.