Candidates may be eligible for either the five-year or the three-year training program, both fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. 

Entry into the five-year Pediatric Neurology Residency Program occurs directly after the completion of medical school training. Residents spend the first 12 months in general pediatric training as well as completing six months in adult neurology training. The remaining time is spent in pediatric neurology training and related fields.  

The Pediatric Neurology Residency and Fellowship program provides an excellent and well-balanced training for individuals interested in working as a consultant pediatric neurologist based at an academic, university-affiliated pediatric hospital or as an independent community practice. Graduates from our program are working in each setting. Many graduates have also gone on to complete further subspecialty training in Canada and the U.S. in such areas as epilepsy/EEG, stroke and EMG/neuromuscular.

Residents and fellows are encouraged to become resident members of several pediatric neurology-specific professional organizations including:

• Canadian Association of Child Neurologists (CACN)
• Child Neurology Society (CNS)
• American Academic of Neurology (AAN) 

Residents and fellows are provided with financial support to attend national and international conferences each year.

Related links

• CaRMS
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
• CEHPEA - Ontario International Medical Graduates
• Foreign Medical Graduates

Residents and fellows receive a balanced exposure to pediatric neurology inpatient, outpatient and emergency room consults. Residents and fellows are expected to run one half-day, longitudinal clinic each week in order to understand the evolution of neurological disease in children and adolescents over time.  

Mandatory clinical rotations include:

• EEG/epilepsy
• Neuro-ophthamology
• Neuromuscular/EMG
• Research
• Pediatric neurology ward junior consultant
• Neuroradiology
• Pediatric neurology ward senior consultant
• Elective

Trainees receive a minimum of five hours of protected teaching time per week.

All trainees are required to complete a minimum of two research projects during their training.

Rotations occur primarily at CHEO and The Ottawa Hospital, but electives in other centres are also encouraged. Call is generally home-call (1 in 4), with trainees acting as a “junior consultant” in their final year.

Stipends and benefits are in accordance with the resident's level of seniority and correspond to the schedule paid according to guidelines set by the Professional Association of Residents of Ontario (PARO). There is support available for attendance at educational meetings and for presentation of research.

The program curriculum is based on the subspecialty training requirements in pediatric neurology as outlined by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Residents in the Pediatric Neurology Residency program spend:

• 12 months in general pediatric training
• Six months in adult neurology (inpatient wards, consult service, ambulatory clinics)
• Remaining time is spent in pediatric neurology training 

Residents in the Pediatric Neurology Residency program have the following formal, protected teaching: 

• Pediatric resident academic half-day (every Thursday afternoon); first 12-months
• Combined adult / pediatric academic half-day (every Tuesday afternoon); beginning in second year of the program and continuing until graduation.
• Pediatric neurology academic curriculum (every Friday morning) beginning in the second year of the program and continuing until graduation

The Division of Neurology at CHEO includes six full-time and three part-time pediatric neurologists. Particular areas of staff expertise include: EEG/epilepsy, neuromuscular disease/EMG, cerebral palsy and neurodevelopmental disorders, demyelinating disease, white matter disorders, neuro-oncology and movement disorders.

Residents and fellows work closely with pediatric subspecialties at CHEO including pediatric physiatry, metabolics, neurogenetics, neuroradiology and neuropathology.

CHEO has a busy clinical neurophysiology laboratory capable of performing routine, ambulatory and prolonged video EEGs, inpatient epilepsy monitoring, sleep studies, nerve conduction studies and electromyography as well as multi-modal evoked potentials. 

Unique programs include the only Rett Syndrome Clinic in Ontario and the opportunity to attend a pediatric neurology clinic at Qikiqtani General Hospital (one week) in Iqaluit, Nunavut, if desired.

The Pediatric Neurology Residency and Fellowship Program at the University of Ottawa is based primarily at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) but does use three main teaching hospitals.

Training sites include:

• Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) - main training site
• The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) - Civic Campus - adult neurology training site (i.e. adult neurology inpatient unit and majority of adult neurology ambulatory clinics)
• The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) - General Campus - adult neurology training site (i.e. some adult neurology ambulatory clinics)
• University of Ottawa Eye Institute at The Ottawa Hospital – General Campus - neuro-ophthamology rotation
• Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre (OCTC) - developmental pediatrics training
• Community-based pediatric neurology
• Qikiqtani General Hospital, Iqaluit, Nunavut

The Division of Neurology has an active program of clinical research in epilepsy, neuromuscular disease, Rett’s syndrome, demyelinating disease and movement disorders. We additionally have close links to the neurogenetics program at CHEO and to the basic scientists at the CHEO Research Institute.

Some trainees in the past have chosen to pursue a Master’s in Epidemiology. Opportunity is also available for trainees to pursue research in medical education. Trainees are expected to complete at least two research projects during their training and to present at CHEO Resident Research Day.

Applications are accepted only through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)