Annapolis Valley - Family Medicine

Dalhousie UniversityAnnapolis Valley, Nova ScotiaNova Scotian IMG stream

Program websiteWebsite5 more links

Open on carms.ca

CaRMS program description, 2026 match, last approved 17 Nov 2025

From the 2026 match (R-1 2026). See the 2027 version

Positions (approx. quota): 1 position
Length: 2 years
Stream: Nova Scotian IMG
Discipline: Family Medicine
Applications per year: 601+
Applicants offered interviews: 0–25%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 30128

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

Summary

The Dalhousie Family Medicine Annapolis Valley program offers a unique, longitudinal training experience focused on comprehensive family medicine. Residents work primarily with family physicians in a variety of settings, developing strong clinical skills and patient relationships through an integrated, competency-based curriculum.

Training

Research

Residents are required to complete a scholarly project with protected time and support from faculty.

Training setting

Rural and community-based training sites in the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia, including family medicine clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and emergency departments.

Teaching approach

Competency-based medical education emphasizing continuous learning, patient-centered care, and progressive independence through longitudinal experiences and mentorship.

Setting types

Rural community clinics
Community hospitals
Family medicine practices

Focus areas

Comprehensive Family Medicine
Rural Medicine
Community-Based Care
Longitudinal Patient Care

Patient populations

Rural community patients
Diverse age groups
Patients across multiple clinical settings
Comprehensive patient panels

Highlights

Triple C competency-based curriculum
Longitudinal experiential learning format
One-to-one mentorship with primary preceptors
Integrated learning across multiple clinical settings
Patient panel responsibility
Mandatory Family Medicine Resident Education Symposium (FMRES)

Strengths

Innovative longitudinal training model
Strong focus on rural and community medicine
High-quality mentorship
Comprehensive clinical experience
Emphasis on continuity of care

Enhanced skills

Emergency Medicine
Palliative Care
Care of the Elderly

By year

PGY-1

Family MedicineVarious Annapolis Valley sitesLongitudinal
Emergency MedicineLocal hospitalsLongitudinal
Internal MedicineLocal hospitalsLongitudinal
General SurgeryLocal hospitalsLongitudinal

PGY-2

ElectivesFlexible10 weeks
Family MedicineVarious Annapolis Valley sitesLongitudinal
PediatricsLocal hospitalsLongitudinal
PsychiatryLocal hospitalsLongitudinal
Palliative MedicineLocal hospitalsLongitudinal

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at

Personal letter
CV
Reference letters
Multi-Mini Interview (MMI)
Medical Student Performance Record (MSPR)

Applications per year

601+

Applicants offered interviews

0–25%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match): 13 and 24 Nov 2025; 10 and 23 Jan 2026; 6 Feb 2026

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

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 24 Jul 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Annual salary by PGY level, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$78,578 / year
PGY-2	$83,904 / year

One provincial scale for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 2 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
Call stipend: Yes
CMPA dues paid: Yes
Dental coverage: Yes
Educational leave: Yes
Extended health insurance: Yes
Frequency of call: l in 4 in-hospital and for homecall
Life insurance: $100,000 of insurance
Long-term disabilityinsurance: 66.7% of salary
Maternity leave top up after one year’s service: eligible for up to a maximum of 17 weeks top-up allowance for maternity/pregnancy leave
Provincial dues (% of salary): 1.30%
Provincial health insurance: Yes
Sick leave: Yes
Statutory and floating holidays: paid

Call

Call (provincial max): 1 night 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.

MarDocs agreement, 1 Jul 2024 to 30 Jun 2027.

Teaching sites

Valley Regional Hospital
Annapolis Community Health Centre

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.

Valley Regional Hospital

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

Hospital type: Regional As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Annapolis Community Health Centre

Matched to Annapolis Community Health Centre (Annapolis Royal) in the province’s hospital list.

Hospital type: Community Health Centre As the province lists it. The list has no volumes or beds.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Nova Scotia.

Contacts

Contacts weren't collected for the 2026 match.

The current program director and contacts are on the 2027 version of this program and on the CaRMS program page(opens in a new tab).

Location

Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

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: −4.8 °C Waterville Cambridge, 12.5 km away
July average: 20.3 °C Waterville Cambridge, 12.5 km away
Snowfall: 232.3 cm a year Waterville Cambridge, 12.5 km away
Days below −20 °C: 3.6 days a year Waterville Cambridge, 12.5 km away

People

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

Population: 6,630 people up 5.7% from 2016
Official languages: English only 87.7% · French only not reported · English and French 12.1% · neither 0.1% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 5.0% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 0.7% · non-permanent residents: 3.1%
Indigenous identity: 4.6% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 90.1% · public transit 1.7% · walking or cycling 6.2% · other 2.1% Average commute: 16.4 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: $68,500 before tax $60,000 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: Kentville, a small population centre (1,000 to 29,999 people) 14,905 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.295 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.
Student loan forgiveness: Family medicine here may qualify for up to $60,000 of Canada Student Loan forgiveness. Eligibility depends on the postal code of where you work: check the official postal-code lookup. Postal-code lookup(opens in a new tab)

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: 1.4% October 2025 survey, Kentville, Nova Scotia (census agglomeration). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $51,917 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, Nova Scotia, population under 30,000, 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.

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: Very good The employment outlook will be Very good for general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102) in the Annapolis Valley region for the 2025-2027 period.
Canada-wide, to 2033: Strong risk of Shortage ESDC’s projection for general practitioners and family physicians, 2024–2033. Recent conditions, 2021–2023: Strong signs of Shortage.