Resident Applicants | New Residents
I have heard about health care cuts in Alberta. Is there any risk to the funding of the residency?
We have not had any cuts to the residency program & do not anticipate any cuts. We, of course, cannot predict what happens in the future!
The clinical program that I am in is APA accredited. I noticed in your brochure/application materials, that the residency positions are open to students meeting CPA academic and practicum criteria. Do your residency positions also consider students from APA schools?
Yes. Our program considers applicants from both APA and CPA accredited programs, as long as the applicants meet the visa criteria from Immigration Canada.
I was wondering whether you anticipated any changes in the availability of rotations next year? The availability of one rotation would not change my overall attraction to your program but I did not want to hurt my chances by requesting a rotation that may not be offered.
Applicants will not be rank ordered based on the availability of a specific rotations. Each year, we do our best to anticipate the availability of supervisors & rotations, but cannot always predict as we update our brochure about 16 months prior to the beginning of the residency year. If a rotation has several supervisors, it has a greater likelihood of availability in any given year.
Given that Calgary is my home town (I am a U of C alumnus) and where my family continues to reside, I was curious as to the likelihood and history of post-residency opportunities?
Historically, the local employment prospects for residency graduates have been good. Many of our current supervisors are graduates of our residency training program. Calgary also has an active practice community & generally has a good economic climate.
I am a United States citizen; however I have attended school in Canada in the past. I would like to know if I would be encouraged to apply to your site, given that I am a U.S. citizen and given that my training program is in counseling psychology?
a) In accordance with Canadian immigration law, Canadians must be given first priority. To date, successful candidates have all been Canadian or landed immigrants.
b) Counseling Psychology applicants will be considered for the Calgary Clinical Psychology Residency Program if they have received equivalent training from a CPA or APA accredited academic program.
I noticed that you would like a statement of rotations of interest. Would you prefer that this be incorporated into the cover letter or would you like a separate document?
Including your statement of rotations of interest in the body of your cover letter is the standard practice; however, any format you choose would be perfectly acceptable. Some applicants have a change in the focus in their clinical interests after the interview process, talking with potential supervisors and/or their visit to our site. Please note that all candidates selected for an interview will be asked to submit their final ranked preference for rotations of interest. The Rotation Request Form is at the end of the brochure and is included as a separate document on the web site.
How are applicants selected?
Each applicant's file is reviewed by two members of the Clinical Training Committee & ranked according to a number of criteria (e.g., academic training & experience, letters of reference). We then interview applicants over two days. Each of these applicants is interviewed by two people (one member of the training committee & one potential supervisor), utilizing a semi-structured interview format.
I live far away from Calgary & it is a great expense to travel across North America for interviews. Will I be disadvantaged if I have a telephone interview?
We do the same semi-structured interview for all applicants that are selected for an interview. We do our best to assess applicants who are interviewed by telephone in the same way as we do for applicants who attend in person. Applicants who are interviewed by telephone are able to talk to potential supervisors and current residents in order the learn more about the residency and the city. We have often matched with applicants who have been interviewed by telephone.
I have a question regarding the application: The Director of Clinical Training has also served as a clinical supervisor. Would I be able to have him/her send a letter of reference (as my clinical supervisor) along with letters from my research supervisor and 1 other clinical supervisor?
The Director of Clinical Training can provide a letter of reference as a clinical supervisor if they have acted in that capacity.
I am very interested in the residency program at your site and will be applying this fall. I am also interested in completing a post doctoral fellowship that will allow me to pursue Board Certification in Rehabilitation Psychology. Are there any post doc opportunities in the residency program, or elsewhere in Calgary?
There are no formal post-doc opportunities with the residency program. However, several individuals have arranged post-doc experiences, using funding from sources such as National Cancer Institute or other external funding agencies.
Applicants need to have completed a minimum of five integrated assessment reports, to be considered for an interview.
When should I arrive? I am wondering what the first day of residency is in September?
The first day of residency will generally be September 1st or the first working day following it. We begin the residency program prior to the September long weekend for payroll purposes. You will attend a one week orientation.
When might I hear about the rotations that I will have? I am eager to find out, but I’m sure it is hard to do the planning in advance.
You will be contacted by your Residency Program Coordinator in the spring who will work out your rotations & schedule with you & your supervisors. Once you know where your home site will be, as well as the majority of your rotations, you can then select which part of the city to live in.
Will you be sending us a daily schedule for the rotations as well?
You have a fairly good idea of your schedule by mid-summer, however, the details will typically be finalized in September.
Do I really need a car? I have heard Calgary described as a sprawling city.
It depends upon which rotations that you are working in. If you are primarily working in the downtown part of the city (e.g., Sheldon Chumir Centre) or at locations that are accessible by the city transit system (e.g., Foothills Medical Centre, Sunridge, Peter Lougheed Centre, Rockyview General Hospital), you would be able to manage without a car. Moreover, there is no “student” parking rate for parking on-site, so parking can be quite expensive. There typically is not a lot of nearby free parking off-site (especially free parking over two hours). Some of the locations are difficult to access by public transit (e.g., some of the forensic locations; Behavioural Health Consultation). If in doubt, discuss this issue with your Residency Program Coordinator.
