Genetics

Dr. Malgorzata (Margaret) Nowaczyk, MD, FCCMG, FRCPC
Associate Professor
Pathology and Molecular Medicine - Clinical Pathology

Program Director,
Canadian College of Medical Geneticists (CCGM) Fellowship Training Program
Associate Member, Paediatrics
HSC-3N16
905-921-2100 ext. 73042
nowaczyk@hhsc.ca

Canadian College of Medical Geneticists (CCMG) Fellowship Application

Program Overview

The mission of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists (CCMG) is to establish and maintain high quality professional and ethical standards of medical genetics services in Canada and to help ensure that the highest quality of service is delivered to the Canadian public. The CCMG program at McMaster offers postgraduate fellowship training in clinical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics and biochemical genetics.


Curriculum

The length of the program is two years for cytogenetics and molecular genetics, and three years for clinical genetics and biochemical genetics. The training guidelines can be found at the CCMG website.

The Program offers a wide variety of rotations in clinical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, prenatal screening and diagnosis, hematology, fetal pathology, and cancer genetics. The program is set up to enable trainees to learn from diverse genetic cases and to be exposed to different techniques in genetics testing.

Research is strongly encouraged. Fellows are expected to generate research proposals or participate in research projects. Submitting abstracts and having poster presentation in the national and international meetings are encouraged.


Objectives of Training and Specialty Requirements

Please refer to the training guidelines at the CCMG website.

Educational Activities

Fellows will be expected to participate many educational events from different departments, such as weekly academic half days and genetics grand round in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, pediatric grand round in the Department of Pediatrics, or prenatal ultrasound teaching rounds. The content covers not only special areas in genetics, but also anatomic pathology, pediatrics, laboratory management, quality assurance, biomedical ethics, and evidence-based journal clubs. There are also numerous ongoing rounds at various hospital sites and the McMaster campus. By studying cases at these multi-disciplinary rounds, the fellows will have the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with clinical colleagues and learn how to integrate these cases into genetics service.

Resources

The genetics laboratories at McMaster University Medical Centre has an annual workload of over 10,000 specimens for genetic testing. The Program keep updating for the testing methodologies and equipments. There are nine CCMG or ABMG certified geneticists, who are experienced in clinical genetics service, research, and teaching.

Each fellow per year is allocated generous travel fund to attend and present at conferences. Fellows can use a limited part of their travel funds to attend workshops, courses and obtain books.


Evaluation

Fellows are evaluated after every rotation. Case logbooks are required to fill in for each rotation for credentials purpose. The forms are available at the CCMG website. Every three months, the fellows meet with their committee members to monitor their progress. Informal discussion with the program director or supervisor throughout the rotation is also encouraged.

Examination

The fellows are expected to write the CCMG or American Board of Medical Genetics (ABMG) exam, which is held once every two years. The CCMG exam has two parts: written exams (general and specialty, essay type questions) in April and specialty oral exam in October or November before the CCMG meeting. The ABMG exam has only written exams with computer-based multiple choice format. Details information will be available in the CCMG website or ABMG website.


How to Apply

For candidates who wish to apply to laboratory specialty (clinical cytogenetics, clinical molecular genetics, and clinical biochemical genetics), the application deadline is June 30th. The documents required include a completed application form (clearly describing why you wish to pursue a career as a service laboratory geneticist, the relationship between your training and the chosen field of specialty, your technical, teaching or supervisory, and communication skills), a most up-to-date CV, and three reference letters.

The committee will select the best candidate by the end of July to apply to Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Laboratory Genetics Fellowship funding. Please note that only two candidates across the three specialties will be funded in Ontario each year.

For candidates who wish to apply to Clinical Genetics, please contact Program Director by e-mail nowaczyk@hhsc.ca.