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OMSAS – Queen’s University

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Refer to the application and the university's website for up-to-date program details.

About Queen’s School of Medicine MD Programs

We aspire to be leaders in training future physicians who foster outstanding interprofessional care and challenge the norms of care delivery to effectively serve our region.

Our Mission is to advance our tradition of preparing excellent physicians and leaders in health care. We embrace a spirit of inquiry and innovation in education and research. As educational leaders delivering innovative interprofessional curriculum, we train compassionate, resilient physicians to the highest calibre, who will help change the future of healthcare in their communities. We train physicians who are prepared to address health equity and access issues, and champion the needs of equity-deserving groups through practice informed by the principles of generalism and interprofessional collaboration.

Founded more than 150 years ago, the Queen’s School of Medicine provides a hands‑on Doctor of Medicine (MD) program in one of Canada’s premier centres for medical research and physical training.

We offer a rich array of post-graduate programs that emphasize the fundamentals of clinical medicine in the context of ongoing change, innovation and discovery.

Our graduates and faculty are leaders in Canadian medicine and their footprints can be seen across Canada and around the world. Kingston and Southeastern Ontario community members and public institutions are our most supportive partners in helping our students excel in their development and contributions as emerging health care professionals. Our graduates are highly successful in obtaining post-graduate training sites and are known to be committed and enthusiastic citizens of their profession and their communities.


Program Information

The goal of the medical curriculum is to produce physicians who have a wide understanding of the content and context of medicine and the knowledge, skills and attitudes to enter any post-graduate training program. The curriculum will foster the development of lifelong learning skills necessary for effective practice.

Starting in 2023, Queen’s School of Medicine is excited to offer 2 separate training programs: Our longstanding Kingston Campus MD Program and a new, innovative Queen’s Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program.

We admit up to 145 Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada annually to first year.

  • 114 seats are located at our Kington Campus.
  • 20 seats are located at the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health site specifically for the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program.
  • Up to an additional 11 supernumerary seats are located at our Kingston Campus for Canadian Forces Members through the Military Medical Training Program (MMTP).

Kingston Campus MD Program

The School of Medicine offers a 4-year program leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine. This program must meet all the requirements for accreditation and prepares graduates for post-graduate training leading to licensure and certification. The program provides opportunities for close, personal interactions between students and faculty members. It allows students to obtain relevant, extensive, hands-on clinical experience under supervision, especially:

  • in ambulatory settings embedded in the curriculum and
  • increased collaboration in education among the clinical disciplines.

The program also offers students many opportunities for clinical placements with our regional partners to experience health care delivery in a variety of community settings. There is a great potential for students to benefit from the integration of both clinical and basic sciences. The 4-year MD program at Queen’s University is structured in sequential terms that will allow students to progress from scientific foundational knowledge through to clinical foundations of the human systems and, finally, in clinical engagement during a 2-year clinical rotation series, including electives for students to explore areas of interest.

The pre-clerkship experience comprises the first 2 years at Queen’s and is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed for clinical experiences in clerkship and residency. The curriculum is designed to combine teaching on foundational basic science knowledge and principles of physician roles, along with clinical teaching, both in the classroom and in clinical skills. At the end of the first year, students participate in Community Week in regional sites in Ontario, where they work with family physicians and other health professionals.

In addition to attending large-group classroom-based sessions, students will work closely with tutors in small groups and will learn in a variety of settings, including:

  • laboratories,
  • clinical skills centres,
  • the simulation laboratory and
  • in hospital and community settings.

The clerkship experience at Queen’s provides students with a wide breadth of clinical experiences to prepare them for future practice. Encompassing the final 2 years of medical school training, it is a blend of clinical rotations in core disciplines, classroom-based consolidation experiences and elective opportunities. Students can engage in either block-based clinical rotations or integrated clinical experiences, which are anchored in Family Medicine and combine clinical opportunities from a variety of disciplines.

Clerkship is delivered in a regional format, and students are expected to spend anywhere from 1/3 to 3/4 of their time outside of Kingston at regional sites across Ontario.

Access to university and clinical training environments may be impacted and/or may result in revisions to program delivery or design due to events outside of our control. This may include the delivery of courses, academic services, co-curricular and clinical opportunities.

Queen’s School of Medicine continues to maintain the integrity of the MD program and ensure that our graduates are sufficiently prepared to enter residency training programs upon graduation.

Queen’s Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program

The Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program is designed for students who know they want to become family physicians.

Queen’s University’s School of Medicine has partnered with Lakeridge Health for many years, creating a satellite campus to train future physicians. Building on this long-standing partnership, Queen’s University and Lakeridge Health will help address the primary care physician shortage in southeastern Ontario by taking a novel approach to medical education through the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program.

The Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program is a new, first-in-Canada medical education model specifically designed to address the shortage of family doctors. It aims to graduate practice-ready, community-focused physicians able to provide comprehensive care to patients in southeastern Ontario. This program will be based at the Queen’s satellite campus at Lakeridge Health in Durham Region.

Queen’s University students will undergo classroom training at Lakeridge Health LHEARN Centre and engage in workplace experiences embedded in communities across the region. This area stretches from Oshawa to Peterborough to Perth, Smiths Falls and Brockville.

This new, concentrated-training model will develop community-focused family doctors who are specialized in offering comprehensive care to a wide variety of patients. This program differs substantially from the standard MD program in design, curricular delivery, purpose of electives and freedom from the need for post-graduate residency matching. For these reasons, transfers to other programs, including the standard Queen’s MD Program at the Kingston site, will not be feasible.

Training to purpose, this program will seamlessly integrate the training of medical students through to practice readiness.

Directed toward training in community-based Family Medicine, the program will have several unique features, including:

  • A deliberate Family Medicine focus guiding the overall curricular design and delivery.
  • Small class size, allowing for individual attention and close connections with faculty and student colleagues.
  • A prominent presence of practicing Family Physicians as teachers, curricular leads and student mentors.
  • Early and frequent clinical placements intended to introduce students to the practice of Family Medicine in parallel and integrated with their didactic learning and skill development.
  • Emphasis on the unique role of Family Physicians in our communities, including professional roles, social accountability, social determinants of health and health care advocacy.
  • Orientation to the various clinical profiles available within Family Medicine, including enhanced skill development in topics, such as addictions, anaesthesia, care of the elderly, emergency medicine, palliative care, sports medicine and women’s health, including intrapartum obstetrics.

Graduates of the MD portion of this program will be well prepared to enter Family Medicine Residency. Transition to Family Medicine training occurs under the authority and recommendation of the Queen’s Family Medicine Residency Program Committee once post-graduate entry requirements are met, including being eligible for educational license as per the CPSO.

Students can receive an offer to be promoted to the Post Graduate Family Medicine Training program in year 3, conditional on successfully completing the MD program. Once that offer is accepted students will transition into Queen’s Family Medicine Residency without entering the CaRMS matching process.

Durham region is home to The Queen’s-Bowmanville–Oshawa-Lakeridge (QBOL) Family Medicine Residency, which is 1 of the 4 highly acclaimed Queen’s University Family Medicine Postgraduate Programs sites (the others being Kingston and the Thousand Islands, Belleville-Quinte, Peterborough-Kawartha).

Facilities

Queen’s School of Medicine’s building is a state‑of‑the‑art facility that provides modern simulation labs and educational rooms designed to facilitate modern styles of education. Its central campus location provides an ideal home for the medical school.

The School of Medicine building includes:

  • A state-of-the-art teaching clinic
  • Leading-edge classrooms
  • Surgical and technical skills labs
  • Simulation labs
  • Informal learning spaces
  • Dedicated rooms for small group learning
  • Science labs
  • Student study space

Lakeridge Health Education and Research Network (LHEARN) Centre

Housed at Lakeridge Health Oshawa, the LHEARN Centre is where you will find a library, simulation labs, classrooms and meeting rooms, lockers, administrative offices and a fully equipped student lounge. 

An array of patient populations is served between the numerous Lakeridge Health sites and community medical clinics across the varied communities of Durham Region, which contribute to the rich medical experiences available at this site. Each learning experience is selected and designed to be family medicine-specific in terms of scope and objectives.

This area has been an active site for Queen’s medical learners for decades, and medical learners benefit from access to many experienced and enthusiastic preceptors, state-of-the-art facilities and a variety of clinical experiences within 30 minutes of Oshawa (from inner city, urban, suburban, to rural). All of these strengths are harnessed to ensure you are not just ready to practice but to shape the future of Family Medicine.


Admission Requirements

Applicants must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada at the application deadline to be eligible to apply to our program.

It is your responsibility to ensure that OMSAS receives all the required application pieces, including all references, documents, transcripts and registrar statements, by the application deadline.

All application components must be submitted to OMSAS by the specified deadlines for the application to be considered. Casper assessment results must also be submitted by our program’s application deadline. No late submissions will be considered.

Addendums or supplemental materials must be sent directly to the School of Medicine. Applications that are incomplete by the specified deadlines will not be considered for admission.

Applications are not carried over from previous cycles. Applicants who have applied previously must re-submit all application requirements for the current application cycle.

You must provide all relevant documentation by the specified deadlines. Deadlines are strictly enforced. Your application will not be considered if you fail to comply with the instructions or meet the deadlines.

Academic Requirements

To be eligible, you must have a minimum of 15 full courses or 30 half courses (or in combination) at the undergraduate level in a university program by June 30 of the year of entry. These credits must be achieved by the end of the academic year (August to April) in the year the application is submitted. This would typically equate to a total OMSAS course load weighting of 30 (refer to the OMSAS course weight table).

As a minimum, this requirement must be fulfilled by June 30 of the year of application prior to possible admission into the program in August the same year.

At the time of application, applicants must have completed a minimum of 20 half or 10 full courses (or in combination) of the 15 full courses or 30 half courses at the undergraduate level in a university program, as described by the OMSAS weighting at the time that their application is submitted.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits (i.e., International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement and CEGEP programs, exchange credits) appearing on your university transcript are not included in your grade point average (GPA) calculation but are considered in the credit requirement totals, provided all other requirements are met.

Credit/No Credit Courses

An applicant can have no more than 1 credit/no credit course in a semester (i.e., a course that has an OMSAS half-year/semester weighting of 1) to be eligible for a GPA calculation. Refer to OMSAS – GPA Calculations.

If the structure of your program does not allow for this, then you must submit official documentation from the institution as to why you do not have a choice to select a numerical or alpha grade. This will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

This treatment of Credit/No Credit courses will take effect for any courses taken in fall 2023 and onward.

Only undergraduate university credit courses meeting Queen’s University Basis of Admission for Advanced Study are included in the GPA and credit requirements.

Prerequisite Courses

Queen’s School of Medicine does not require prerequisite courses. With the elimination of all prerequisite courses, you can select a program of study and courses that best meet the goals of your undergraduate degree program.

We do not recommend any course or degree program, as there is no preference given to applicants who have studied at any particular university or in any particular program.

We encourage you to consider all undergraduate programs available to you and to embark on the course of study you have the greatest interest in and that would prepare you for an alternative career, should you not gain a place in medicine.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

The minimum GPA to apply is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, according to the OMSAS scale.

Admission to the MD program is competitive. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance.

The cumulative GPA includes undergraduate university degree credit courses taken, except those taken on foreign exchange and graduate studies, with all years treated equally. Courses and grades must appear on your university undergraduate transcript(s) to be included in the GPA calculation.

The GPA calculation does not include the current year of study, as you submit your application in October and final transcripts are not available at that time.

Courses that a “pass” or “credit” grade is assigned for are counted for credit, but we do not include them in the GPA calculation.

If you have withdrawn from a course and there is a grade reflected on your transcript for that course, it will be included in GPA calculations. If there is no grade associated with a withdrawn course, it has no effect on your application.

If you choose to repeat a course and both are listed on the transcript, both grades will be included in GPA calculations.

International Grades

Applicants attending university outside Canada, or at an accredited university in the United States must have their academic credentials and foreign transcripts assessed for Canadian equivalency by World Education Services (WES).

A course-by-course WES evaluation with an overall GPA is required.

Credentialing assessment means converting international academic credentials into their Canadian educational equivalents. If a WES assessment includes a copy of your official transcript, you are not required to request a transcript from your registrar.

The standard cumulative GPA will not be calculated for candidates submitting foreign transcripts. WES assessments will be reviewed and applications for these candidates will be reviewed on an individual basis.

Transcripts

You must submit all transcripts through OMSAS, including education taken outside of Canada. Applicants attending university outside Canada or at an accredited university in the United States must have their academic credentials assessed for Canadian equivalency by World Education Services (WES).

Your transcripts must demonstrate you have:

  • obtained 15 full or 30 half courses (or in combination) at the undergraduate university level by June 30 of the year of application prior to possible entry into the program of August of the same year;
  • maintained a satisfactory GPA, as determined by the Admissions Committee; and
  • will have completed post-graduate studies by August 1 prior to entry into the program, if applicable.

Note: It is not possible for OMSAS to notify you of any outstanding transcripts before the application deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure that OMSAS receives all transcripts and registrar statements by the application deadline.

Other transcript requirements:

  • You must provide transcripts for all postsecondary courses and programs you attended. This includes, but is not limited to, community colleges, CEGEPs, junior colleges and pre‑university programs.
  • OMSAS must receive transcripts and grades for courses taken on a Letter of Permission at another institution or proof that transfer credit or advanced standing was granted for by the application deadline. This applies to courses, terms and semesters of study taken abroad as part of a regular program.
  • We do not require evaluations of work terms completed as part of a co‑operative program.
  • We will accept only transcripts sent directly to OMSAS by the postsecondary institution(s). We will not accept transcripts sent by you.

Note: OMSAS will ask you to verify your application data in Document Tracking in the OMSAS Application.

Your application will be disqualified if you fail to meet all transcript requirements and deadlines.

MCAT

You must write the MCAT prior to the OMSAS Application deadline. You must release all MCAT scores to OMSAS and ensure that they are received by the stipulated deadline. OMSAS will report your scores to Queen’s University.

Each year, the Admissions Committee considers scores from the:

  • Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems,
  • Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems,
  • Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behaviour,
  • Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills and
  • the sum of these parts.

You must meet the minimum score set by the Admissions Committee each cycle for each category and total score. These thresholds are determined annually for each application cycle and category, and for the total score. These thresholds are not disclosed.

Notes:

  • The Queen’s School of Medicine imposes no restrictions on the number of times that you may take the test.
  • If you have written the test multiple times, you must ensure that all test results are released to OMSAS by the specified date.
  • All MCAT scores will then be reported by OMSAS to Queen’s University.
  • Test results are valid from any test written within 5 years of the application deadline.
  • Applications will be assessed based on the scores from your best test results.

Applicants who have submitted their MCAT score(s) with a previous application will need to re-submit their scores for the current application cycle to be eligible. It is your responsibility to ensure that these scores are received by OMSAS for the current application by the deadline.

Accommodations

If you require accommodations for the MCAT, you will need to submit that request directly to MCAT.

While we use the MCAT in our evaluation process, we do not administer the test. Therefore, we are unable to offer any information or advice on preparation for the MCAT.

Financial Assistance for MCAT Registration Fees

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) offer a fee assistance program for Canadian examinees in financial need who register for the MCAT. The AAMC and the AFMC are committed to providing support to Canadian students who would be unable to take the MCAT without financial assistance. This will contribute to a diversity of students enrolled in Canadian medical schools.

If paying for MCAT expenses out of pocket would be challenging for you, please consider applying.

Non-academic Requirements

Citizenship

Applicants must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (landed immigrant) of Canada at the application deadline to be eligible to apply to our program.

Permanent residents (landed immigrants) must submit a copy of the front and back of their current permanent resident card to OMSAS by the application deadline.

Casper

All applicants to any of the programs offered at Queen’s University are required to complete Casper through the Acuity Insights platform to be eligible for admission. We do not require applicants to complete Snapshot or Duet, and they will not be included in the review of your application even if completed.

Casper is an online test that assesses the personal and professional characteristics we believe are important for successful students and graduates of our program.

To take Casper, you will be responsible for securing access to a laptop or desktop computer with a webcam and audio capabilities. You will require the following for both account creation and taking the test:

  • Government-issued photo ID
  • Valid email address
    • Important: Use the email address that you used in your OMSAS Application, as this is used as one of our identifiers when linking your score to your application.
  • Working webcam
  • Working microphone
  • Reliable high-speed internet connection
  • OMSAS Reference Number for the current application cycle (i.e., 8xxxxx)
    • Important: This is used as one of our identifiers when linking your score to your application. Do not use a previous year’s OMSAS reference number.

Go to Acuity Insights to register your Casper account and sign up for the CSP-10201 – Canadian Professional Health Sciences version of Casper using a piece of government-issued photo ID and your OMSAS Reference Number for the current admission cycle.

Once you have registered, select a Casper test date. You will be provided with a limited number of testing dates and times; these are the only testing dates available for your Casper test. There will be no additional tests scheduled. Use the email address that you used for your OMSAS Application and check it regularly; there may be updates to the test schedule.

  • Exceptions will not be provided for applicants who are unable to take Casper during one of the available test dates.
  • To account for identity verification and payment processing timelines, ensure that you register for your test at least 3 days before your preferred test date and time. We do not recommend last-minute bookings.
  • Ensure you have selected Queen’s University for distribution before the posted Distribution Deadline.

Direct any inquiries about Casper to: support@altus.as. Alternatively, you may use the chat bubble on the Acuity Insights website.

Accommodations

If you require testing accommodations for Acuity Insights, you will need to submit the Accommodations Request Form [PDF] signed by you and your qualified professional 3 weeks before your desired test date.

Additional notes:

  • Casper scores are available for only 1 application cycle and the test is offered only on a select number of days. Applicants who have already taken the test in previous years are expected to re-take it.
  • If you take Casper during this cycle but before you have your OMSAS Reference Number (8xxxxx) for your current application, you will still be able to distribute your score to us. You will simply need to wait until you have received your OMSAS Reference Number for this year’s application and then request that your score be distributed to Queen’s, as the OMSAS Reference Number is required. Do not use an OMSAS Reference Number from previous years or make one up, as we use this number as one of our identifiers when linking your Casper score to your application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure this is complete by the deadline.

If you do not follow these instructions, your Casper score may not get linked to your application and your application will be considered incomplete.

It is your responsibility to provide the correct information to Casper that correlates with your current OMSAS Application. We are not responsible for Casper scores that are not linked to an application due to incorrect or mismatched information being supplied.

If you are applying to another university or program that requires you to write the Casper assessment in French, you will need to write it again in English for this application.

If you are writing a different version of the Casper assessment (other than CSP-10201 – Canadian Professional Health Sciences for your MD application) you will also need to complete the CSP-10201 version for this application.

There is a separate fee for that Casper test that you must pay directly to Acuity Insights. This fee is not included in the OMSAS or Queen’s application fees.

Autobiographical Sketch (ABS)

Queen’s School of Medicine uses the detailed ABS as part of the application evaluation. This submission provides our assessors with a snapshot of your personal experiences and achievements.

We consider the following 5 categories in the ABS:

  • Employment
  • Volunteer Activities
  • Extracurricular Activities
  • Awards and Accomplishments
  • Research

Ensure that items selected are those most relevant to a medical school application. Items listed in the “Other” category will not be considered.

There is room in the form to provide information for up to 32 items. You are not required to fill all available spots. The Admissions Committee will assess the submission based on the quality of the listed items and the characteristics they represent (not the number of items listed).

You must list:

  • the year in your education the activity occurred (i.e., first-year undergraduate, summer between second- and third-year undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate),
  • a brief description of the activity, which can be in point form,
  • the location of the activity and
  • the length of time for each activity. When you indicate the number of hours, specify if it is one time per week, per month or per year.

The Admissions Committee will not review activities from high school. If you started an activity in high school and continued in postsecondary education, only the time starting at postsecondary is reviewed.

The Admissions Committee is unable to review and evaluate ABSs that are not written in English.

If you are applying to the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program, you will be prompted to identify the top 3 activities in the Employment, Volunteer Activities and Extracurricular Activities categories (maximum of 9 in total).

Verifiers

Each activity must have a verifier. You must provide current contact information for the verifier, including their title, physical address, email address, telephone number and relation to you.

It is your responsibility to notify verifiers that the Admissions Office may contact them any time to request verification, including possibly asking them for evaluations or letters of support. Non-verifiable activities could adversely impact your file assessment.

Confidential Assessment Forms and References

You must ask 3 different individuals (we refer to them as referees) to provide a reference on your behalf:

  • 1 academic or employment-related referee
  • 1 non-academic referee
  • 1 referee of your choosing

You should choose referees who can evaluate you in a non-biased fashion, avoiding family members, family friends, neighbours, acquaintances, friends or spiritual advisors. We do not consider them to be objective. Ideally, applicants should choose referees from different areas who can collectively address qualities and attributes in both academic and various non-academic domains. Forms from non-objective references will not be considered.

Select referees who have extensive personal knowledge of you and can answer the Confidential Assessment Form questions. We do not provide specific feedback on who you should choose as a referee, or the type of referee. 

The Admissions Committee recommends choosing referees that have known you for a minimum of 6 months. You should ask your referee to provide examples of the characteristics they are being asked to comment on.

Confidential Assessment Form Deadline

OMSAS must receive all Confidential Assessment Forms by the application deadline. It is each applicant’s responsibility to ensure they have selected 3 appropriate referees to submit a Confidential Assessment Form. If an applicant submits less than 3 forms by the submission deadline, their application will be considered incomplete and will not be assessed further. 

The Admissions Committee is unable to review and evaluate Confidential Assessment Forms that are not written in English.

Proficiency in the English Language

To be granted admission, you must be proficient in spoken and written English.

We expect you to write clearly and correctly in English.

All application materials must be submitted in English, otherwise your application will not proceed further in the admission process.

The Queen’s Medical School Curriculum is conducted in English. Proficiency in English is a prerequisite for admission. Applicants whose native languages do not include English will be required to obtain satisfactory standing in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) proficiency test as part of the application process.

If English is not your native language but you have recently studied for at least 1 complete year at a university where English is the official language of instruction, you may be exempt from the English-language proficiency test. An applicant requesting a waiver of the test for this reason should do so in writing and submit it with their OMSAS Application using Secure Applicant Messaging (SAM) in their application. The Medical School Admissions Committee will make determinations in these cases.

The Queen’s School of Medicine requires the following minimum TOEFL scores:

  • TOEFL Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT): 100
  • TOEFL Paper-based Tests: 100

Applicants may submit unofficial TOEFL results through SAM; however, official TOEFL results must be shared with us directly through TOEFL.

To distribute your results to Queen’s University:

  1. Use Institution Code 0949 for Queen’s University and select “Undergraduate Organization” as the department from the list.
  2. Once you distribute your Official Score Report through TOEFL, email your full name, date of birth and registration number to queensmd@queensu.ca so that we can retrieve your results.

Additional Admission Requirements

Additional items are required with your OMSAS Application if you choose to apply under any of the following categories:

  • Queen’s Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program
  • Combined MD/PhD or MD/MSc Programs
  • Indigenous Applicants
  • Canadian Armed Forces – Medical Military Training Program

Be sure to review these additional items within the Admission Categories in this Guide and on the Queen’s University website.


Admission Categories

Kingston Campus MD Program

By default, any application to Queen’s School of Medicine will be considered for the Kingston Campus MD Program. Applicants who indicate the Queen’s Lakeridge Health MD Program or the Combined MD/PhD or MD/MSc Program as their first choice will be considered for those programs first and, only if not offered a seat, will they be considered for the Kingston Campus MD Program.

Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program

Applicants who can see themselves having a fulfilling career in Family Medicine, and know they want to become Family Practitioners, should choose this program as their first choice. The program is uniquely tailored to the educational needs of this specialty. This program will be based at the Queen’s satellite campus at Lakeridge Health in Durham Region.

We have up to 20 spots available in this program.

You must indicate your intention to apply to this program in your OMSAS Application. By selecting this option, you are indicating that this is your first choice at Queen’s and, as such, you will be considered for this program first. If you are unsuccessful in receiving an interview or offer for this program, your application will only then be moved to the MD Kingston Campus Program for consideration. Assessment of your application for the MD Kingston Campus Program will be identical to all other applications to this program and will in no way be influenced by the fact you indicated interest in the MD Family Medicine Program.

You will not, however, be considered simultaneously for both Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program and the MD Kingston Campus Program. If you are offered a position in the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine program at the time of admission and choose to decline it, your application will be closed and you will not be considered for the MD Kingston Campus Program.

MMTP applicants are not eligible for this program.

If you apply to the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program, then you are not eligible to apply to the:

  • MMTP stream or the
  • MD/PhD, MD/Master’s combined program.

You must provide the following additional items for the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program and submit them through your OMSAS Application:

  • Responses to a series of short answer questions in the application.
  • A highlighted selection of autobiographical sketch activities.
  • 2 additional confidential assessment letters in addition to the 3 references that are required for the MD application.
    • You may use the same referee for both the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program component of the application and the MD references; however, there are different questions in each form that will need to be completed as an MD referee and as a Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine referee.
    • The MD component will require the completion of the Confidential Assessment Forms while the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine referee will be required to upload a separate form. You will see the referee selection choices in the OMSAS Application.
    • This supplemental application will also review the first referee’s Confidential Assessment Form from the main MD application.

All components of the main MD application and the supplemental pieces for the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program must be completed by the deadline to be considered.

Ensure you review our How to Apply page and the Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program website.

Combined MD/PhD or MD/MSc Programs

The combined MD/PhD and MD/MSc programs at Queen’s University are offered jointly by the School of Medicine and the School of Graduate Studies at the Kingston Campus.

The combined MD/PhD and MD/Master’s programs provide benefits to both scholarship and the professional development of physician-scientists by allowing better integration of clinical and research training experiences and providing better opportunities for fostering translational research.

Our programs are in keeping with the strategic directions of both the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategic Plan and Government of Canada’s Science and Technology Strategy, which emphasize the need for:

  • providing increased trans-sectorial and multidisciplinary training,
  • building research excellence,
  • translating knowledge into practical applications and
  • deepening the pool of highly skilled individuals.

Students in combined MD/graduate programs bring a distinctive, clinical and translational perspective into their laboratories and, conversely, these students also bring a basic science perspective to share with their fellow medical students. This is especially relevant in the context of the greater emphasis now being placed on team-based learning approaches as an important component of the Queen’s medical curriculum.

The programs admit a limited number of exceptional students who wish to combine their medical training with advanced training in research. We generally have 3 spots available in this combined program.

Graduates from these programs will be well prepared to pursue postdoctoral or research-intensive residency training and, as fully trained physician scientists, will contribute to increasing Canada’s capacity in basic, clinical, translational and patient-oriented research.

You must indicate your intention to apply to these programs in your OMSAS Application.

You must indicate your intention to apply to this program in your OMSAS Application. By selecting this option, you are indicating that this is your first choice at Queen’s and, as such, you will be considered for this program first. If you are unsuccessful in receiving an interview or offer for this program, your application will only then be moved to the MD Kingston Campus Program for consideration.

You will not be considered simultaneously for both MD/PhD or MD/MSc combined programs and the MD Kingston Campus Program. If you are offered a position in the MD/PhD-MD/MSc program at the time of admission and choose to decline it, your application will be closed and you will not be considered for the MD Kingston Campus program.

You must provide the following additional items for the MD/PhD or MD/MSc programs and submit them through your OMSAS Application:

  • A current curriculum vitae.
  • A letter of intent indicating your research interests and accomplishments, and graduate program(s) of interest.
  • Abstracts of any publications, if available.
  • 2 additional confidential letters of recommendation focusing on your research accomplishments and potential to become a physician-scientist (in addition to the 3 references that are required for the MD application).
    • You may use the same referee for both the PhD/MSc component of this application and the MD references; however, there are different forms that will need to be completed as an MD referee and as a PhD/MSc referee.
    • The MD component will require the completion of the CAF, while the PhD/MSc referee will be required to upload a letter of recommendation. You will see the referee selection choices in the OMSAS Application.
  • If you are currently completing a PhD or have completed a PhD, you must include an additional 1-page statement clearly stating the reasoning for why another PhD degree or Master’s degree is necessary to advance your skill sets and how different this PhD or Master’s will be from the existing degree that you hold. This document must be uploaded using SAM in the OMSAS Application.

You must meet the admission requirements for both programs (both the MD and PhD programs or the MD and MSc programs) and will be assessed for eligibility for admission by each program. All components of the main MD application and the supplemental pieces for the combined MD/PhD and MD/MSc programs must be completed in order to be considered.

MMTP applicants are not eligible for this combined program.

If you apply to the MD/PhD-MD/Master’s combined program, then you are not eligible to apply to the:

  • MMTP stream or the
  • Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program.

Note: There are different eligibility and application requirements for the MD component and the PhD or MSc component of this combined program. Ensure that you review our How to Apply page as well as the MD/PhD and MD/MSc website.

Indigenous Applicants

The Admissions Committee recognizes the critical shortage of Indigenous physicians in Canada and the need to educate more Indigenous physicians to serve as role models and to address the health care needs of Indigenous people of Canada.

The Committee has developed an alternative process for assessing Indigenous candidates. We may admit 4 qualified Indigenous applicants per year to the MD program to the Kingston Campus by this alternative process.

You must apply through OMSAS and indicate that you are applying as an Indigenous applicant.

If you wish to be considered through the Indigenous application category, you must submit the following documentation through OMSAS by the application deadline:

  • A separate letter to the Chair of the MD Admissions Committee, in which you declare your Indigenous ancestry and give specific information about their First Nation, Treaty, Indigenous community or Indigenous organizational affiliation.
    • Your letter should request consideration by this alternative process and expand on your academic and personal background, how you are culturally connected to your Indigenous community, and your reasons and motivation for wishing to become a physician.
    • Ensure you include your name on the letter. The letter must be in 12-point font, be a minimum of 1.5 spacing, and have a minimum 1-inch page margin.
    • Maximum 1 page.
  • A letter of support from a representative of your First Nation, Band Council, Tribal Council, and/or Treaty, Indigenous community or Indigenous organizational affiliation.
    • This individual needs to identify themselves in the letter, their connection to you, and their role in the Indigenous community.
    • This individual should be able to speak to your Indigenous community involvement and personal character traits that would qualify you as a promising candidate to pursue a future in medicine.
    • This letter of support should take into consideration the same ideas of the Confidential Assessment Letter and, as such, applicants should choose an individual who has more than a casual relationship with you and can evaluate you in a non-biased fashion.
    • Try to avoid references from family members, family friends or personal friends as we require objective referees and we do not consider these individuals objective. If you are submitting a letter from someone who may be called in to question, ensure any kinship is clearly defined in letter. For example, stating they are a family member or distant family member does not suffice. Exact relationship descriptors are required. (i.e., second cousin).
    • Ensure that they include your name on the letter.
    • The letter should be in 12-point font, be a minimum of 1.5 spacing, and have a minimum 1-inch page margin.
    • Maximum 1 page.
  • Proof of Indigenous ancestry. You must submit 1 of the following documents:
    • Indian status cards from First Nations that are federally recognized and those listed on the Indigenous & Northern Affairs Canada website.
    • For Non-status First Nations persons, your parents’ and/or grandparents’ Indian status card and your long form birth certificate or baptismal certificate. (Submitted documents must show the connection to the person with the Indian status card.)
    • A membership card indicating that you are a member of a Non-status First Nation that is currently in a court case (e.g., the Algonquin land claim).
    • Métis citizenship from organizations that are members of the Métis National Council (MNO) or the Manitoba Métis Foundation For the Metis Nation of Ontario. Applicants must provide the MNO letter stating complete status is required for people using the MNO card.
    • Nunavut Trust Certificate card or Inuit roll number

You must submit copies of both the front and back of your proof of ancestry document(s) if there is information on both sides of the document(s).

Your application will not be considered under the Indigenous Student Application Pathway unless you follow all of the instructions and submit your documents by the application deadline. It will instead be considered under the mainstream admissions process, provided you have completed all application pieces. A panel consisting of representatives from the Admissions Committee and the Indigenous community will review the files of the candidates who wish to be considered by this alternative process and select candidates for interview.

Canadian Armed Forces – Military Medical Training Program (MMTP) Applicants

At the request of the Department of National Defence, the Queen’s University MD program has completed arrangements with the Department of National Defence (DND) to create up to 16 additional supernumerary training positions in the Queen’s Medical Doctorate Program at the Kingston Campus. Canadian Forces Staff who are supported by the DND would be eligible to apply for these positions and offers of admission will be made to those who qualify.

To be eligible for subsidization under the MMTP, you must already be a Regular Force (full-time) member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), be fully qualified in your current occupation and have worked for 1 year in that occupation before the MMTP Competition closes. If you are currently a civilian, you are not eligible for subsidization under the MMTP.

Regular Force military candidates interested in the MMTP can obtain more information by consulting the Officer Specialist Training intranet website.

Military candidates who apply through the MMTP must meet all application eligibility requirements. These candidates must follow the same application procedures as all other applicants. The application fees and institutional levy will apply, and the candidates must follow the same method of payment as all other applicants.

If you apply to the MMTP stream, then you are not eligible to apply to the:

  • MD/PhD, MD/Master’s combined program or the
  • Queen’s-Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program.

All military candidates wishing to apply to medical schools under MMTP sponsorship must inform the Director General Military Careers DMCPG 5-2 by email at the same time of their application to the medical schools.

For additional information regarding the MMTP application process, contact:

Name: DMCPG 5-2
Title: Commissioning and Education Programs Supervisor, Director General Military Careers
Email: cmp.dmcpg5@forces.gc.ca

For additional information regarding Medical Officer Recruitment, roles, responsibilities and prospective military service in Health Services, we strongly encourage you to also contact:

Canadian Forces Health Services Attraction Cell
Email: CFHSAttractionCell-CelluledattractionSSFC@forces.gc.ca

Graduate Applicants

Graduate applicants who have met the minimum threshold requirements will be given consideration of their graduate student status and level of education based on what is submitted at the time of the OMSAS Application deadline.

To be considered a graduate applicant:

  1. You must have completed your graduate degree by August 1 prior to the commencement of medical school. This includes all graduate programs listed on your application.
  2. You must be in your final year of a multi‐year graduate degree program to be eligible to apply as a graduate applicant. You must indicate on your application the expected date of degree completion.
  3. If you  are in a 1‐year graduate degree program, you must complete your graduate degree prior to applying as a graduate applicant. Otherwise, you will be considered as an undergraduate applicant.  
  4. A sub-committee will assess the suitability of your performance and if your graduate degree was completed at an accredited university.
  5. If the sub-committee determines that you are suitable, they will progress to the next step in the method of selection.

If you qualify as a graduate applicant and you are offered a seat in our program, the offer is based on the expectation that your graduate degree(s) will be completed by August 1, prior to the commencement of medical school. If you are unable to meet the deadline, you will lose your seat in the program. We require an official transcript as proof of graduate studies conferral.


Admission Policies and Procedures

We review the admission policy annually and the requirements from previous years may not apply. The University reserves the right to review and change the admission requirements at any time without notice.

When you apply to the Queen’s University MD programs, you accept the admission policies and procedures and the methods applicants are selected by.

Applicants are selected based on:

  • strong academic record,
  • MCAT,
  • Casper and
  • assessment of personal characteristics considered to be the most appropriate for studying medicine at Queen’s University and the subsequent practice of medicine.

The Admissions Committee believes that both academic abilities and specific personal attributes are important in successfully studying and practicing medicine and will assess these factors at different points during the admission process.

Equity, diversity and inclusion are priorities for our Admissions Committee and are guiding principles for our process.

Application Assessment

Each year the Admissions Committee establishes the minimum acceptable GPA score, MCAT score and Casper score for the admissions cycle. At Queen’s, we review the cumulative GPA.

If the applicant meets the minimum established score set for the admissions cycle with a complete application, then they progress to File Review.

A select number of applicants will be invited for an interview. This invitation will be based on the review of the application submitted. You will be considered for admission only if you are invited for an interview.

The Admissions Committee will only review documents written in English. All application materials must be submitted in English, otherwise your application will not proceed further in the admission process.

Interview

Queen’s School of Medicine typically uses a combined Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) and panel interview in the assessment of qualifying candidates. The goal of using the MMI is to assess the non-cognitive qualities of an applicant more effectively, which could include empathy, critical thinking, ethical decision making and communication skills. Selected candidates will be invited to the MMI portion. A select number of candidates who complete the MMI will then be invited for a panel interview.

All interviews will be conducted virtually for the 2023-2024 admission cycle.

The Admissions Committee reserves the right to alter the elements of the interview process.

If you have been invited for an interview and require an accommodation, you must email Queen’s Accessibility Services.

Note: All candidates invited to interview will be required to sign a Confidentiality Non-Disclosure Statement to ensure the integrity and security of the interview process. Any violation of the signed statement or failure to sign will result in removal from the admission process.

Factors Not Considered in Selection

We encourage you to consider all the undergraduate programs available and to embark on the course of studies that you are most interested in and that would prepare you for an alternative career should you not gain a place in medicine.

We do not:

  • show preference to applicants who have studied in any university program.
  • show preference to applicants at any level of training.
  • consider place of residence and location of the university where studies have been undertaken.
  • consider age, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation in the selection process.

Information for Successful Applicants

Offers of Admission

Queen’s School of Medicine coordinates the first round of offers with all Ontario medical schools. Therefore, applicants who were invited to panel interviews will receive the results of their application in May, with the exception of MD/PhD and MD/Master’s offers, which are typically sent in March, and MMTP offers, which are typically sent in April.

Offers are binding to the site and program indicated in the offer letter. No requests for transfers between sites or programs will be considered at any time.

All offers are conditional on the candidate fulfilling the offer requirements.

Upon accepting your offer, conditions will include:

  • Paying the deposit
  • Maintaining an academic standing that is acceptable to the Admissions Committee
  • Completing the required credits
  • Providing an official transcript
  • Submitting a graduate completion letter (if applicable)
  • Providing evidence of citizenship
  • Providing a Police Records Check
  • Submitting immunization screening forms
  • Meeting the standards for entry into the medical degree program, as stated in the Essential Skills and Abilities Required for Entry to a Medical Degree Program

All conditions must be met by their stipulated deadlines.

Note: The University may revoke the offer of admission if you fail to meet any admission requirements or any one of the conditions mentioned.

Deposit

A non-refundable deposit of $1,050 is required when you accept an offer of admission. The deposit will be put toward your tuition fees.

Immunization

All incoming students are required to be immunized against certain diseases before entering the clinical setting. These requirements must be fulfilled to meet the standards set out in the Public Hospitals Act, Section 4.2, Ontario Regulations 965.

We will use the information collected to ensure these standards are met for you to participate in clinical activities.

Failure to comply with the Immunization and Communicable Disease Policy [PDF] may lead to limited participation in clinical aspects of the MD program and successful completion of the program could be compromised.

Police Records Check

In recognition of the requirements of the clinical agencies and the Faculty’s responsibility to ensure that its health sciences students do not place vulnerable populations at additional risk, the School of Medicine requires, as a condition of admission, that incoming students provide a current Police Records Check and a Vulnerable Sector Screening.

The Police Records Check includes a check of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Canadian Police Information Centre database. Queen’s reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission based on the results of the Police Records Check.

Essential Skills and Abilities Required for Studying Medicine

Queen’s School of Medicine, in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and University Policy, is committed to providing equal access opportunities to all qualified applicants.

To fulfill the requirements of the MD program and to avoid serious risk to the health and safety of patients, you are required to acquire competency in a wide range of knowledge, skills and abilities.

You should carefully review and meet the standards stated in the OMSAS Essential Skills and Abilities Required.

Once admitted, if you are a student requiring academic accommodations, you should register by email with Queen’s Accessibility Services.

Deferred Registration

The Admissions Committee will consider requests for deferred registration from highly qualified students who wish to complete the requirements for their undergraduate or graduate degree before enrolling in the School of Medicine.

Requests for deferral are limited and will be considered as they are received. They must be received within 7 days of accepting your offer to be considered. Acceptance of your offer requires you to accept on OMSAS, accept on SOLUS (University Student platform) and pay your deposit.

Normally, deferred registration will be granted for 1 year. Deferral requests after June 30 of the year of application, prior to the commencement of medical school, will generally not be accepted.

You must email a letter requesting deferral directly to the Queen’s School of Medicine Admissions Office.

Admission With Advanced Standing

Due to the unique structure of the medical curriculum, you will not be considered for admission with advanced standing in any MD courses.

Applicants will be deemed ineligible for admissions into the Queen’s School of Medicine program if they:

  • are a current student, past student or graduate of an Undergraduate Medical Education program at a Canadian medical school and/or
  • have been required to withdraw from an MD program (to be assessed on a case‐by‐case basis).

False Application Information

If it is discovered that any application information is false or misleading, concealed or withheld, the application will be disqualified; or, if discovered after an offer of admission has been sent, that offer will be withdrawn.

If these circumstances are discovered after you are admitted into the MD program, you will be required to withdraw from the program.

Queen’s School of Medicine may, at its discretion, refuse to accept future applications to the MD program from a candidate who has submitted a false, misleading or fraudulent application in the past.


Additional Information

Notice of Collection of Personal Information

Queen’s University collects information you provide to OMSAS/OUAC as part of your application to our medical program.

This includes the following personal information:

  • name,
  • home or mailing address,
  • telephone number,
  • email address,
  • date of birth,
  • gender identity,
  • legal status in Canada and
  • academic history.

Personal information is collected under the authority of the Queen’s University Royal Charter, 1841, as amended, and will be used for the purpose of administering the admission, registration, university-related student activities, financial assistance and reporting to government.

Personal information collected through OMSAS/OUAC will only be accessed by authorized faculty and staff. The information will be protected in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Questions regarding the collection or use of this personal information should be directed to Undergraduate Medical Education Admissions at: queensmd@queensu.ca.

Important Notice for Applicants

Queen’s University School of Medicine reserves the right to change the admission requirements at any time without notice.

Check the Queen’s website for any changes or additions to the admission requirements or processes.

Communication

We communicate with our applicants using the email address provided in your OMSAS Application. As such, it is your responsibility to monitor your email and all associated email folders (inbox, spam, junk, etc.) during the application process. This includes ensuring that email inboxes are not full and are able to receive incoming mail. We are not responsible for any correspondence that is not answered by stipulated deadlines.

Please ensure that you read our entire Communication Protocol on our How to Apply page.


Contact Information

MD Program Admissions Office
School of Medicine
Queen’s University
80 Barrie Street
Kingston ON  K7L 3N6
Fax: 613‑533‑3190

MD Program and MD/PhD-MD/MSc Program
Email: queensmd@queensu.ca
Telephone: 613‑533‑3307

Queen’s Lakeridge Health MD-Family Medicine Program
Email: MDFMprog@queensu.ca
Telephone: 613-533-6927

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