St. John's - General Surgery

Memorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorCMG stream

Program websiteWebsite CANPREPPCANPREPP

Open on carms.ca

CaRMS program description, 2026 match, last approved 4 Sep 2025

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

Positions (approx. quota): 4 positions
Length: 5 years
Stream: CMG
Discipline: General Surgery
Applications per year: 51–200
Applicants offered interviews: 51–75%
Accreditation: Accredited
CaRMS program ID: 30130

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

Summary

Memorial University's General Surgery Residency is a five-year Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) program designed to produce broadly-trained surgeons prepared for community practice. The program offers comprehensive training across various surgical disciplines, with a focus on developing competent specialists capable of assuming consultant roles in General Surgery.

Training

Research

One dedicated research block in PGY-3 and PGY-4, with opportunities to develop surgical research skills

Training setting

Urban medical center training in St. John's, Newfoundland, with rotations at multiple hospitals including Health Sciences Centre, St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, and Janeway Children's Hospital. Community rotations available in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island.

Teaching approach

Provide exceptional clinical surgery training with flexibility to develop surgical scientists, using Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) approach with progressive independence and comprehensive supervision.

Setting types

Academic medical center
Tertiary care center
Community hospital

Focus areas

General Surgery
Surgical Oncology
Trauma Surgery
Pediatric Surgery
Community Surgery
Critical Care

Patient populations

Adult surgical patients
Pediatric surgical patients
Trauma patients
Community hospital patients

Highlights

Surgical Foundations CBD-styled program
Interprovincial and international elective opportunities
Two Community Surgery rotations
Early operating experience
Virtual Town Hall/Q&A session for candidates

Strengths

Fully accredited by Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Comprehensive surgical training across multiple disciplines
Strong community surgery focus
Flexible program allowing scientific development

Enhanced skills

Community Surgery
Trauma Surgery
Endoscopy

By year

PGY-1

EmergencyHealth Sciences Centre/St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's, NL.1
Plastic SurgeryHealth Sciences Centre, St. John's, NL.1
General SurgeryHealth Sciences Centre (Acute Care Service), St. John's, NL.3
General SurgerySt. Clare's Mercy Hospital (Team C), St. John's, NL.3
ICUSt. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's, NL.1
MedicineSt. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's, NL.1
Pediatric SurgeryJaneway Children's Hospital, St. John's, NL.1
Vascular SurgerySt. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's, NL.2
Ambulatory ClinicsSt. John's, NL.1
General SurgerySt. Clare's Mercy Hospital (Team B), St. John's, NL.3
ICUHealth Sciences Centre, St. John's, NL.2
EndoscopyHealth Sciences Centre/St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's, NL3
TraumaSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ont.1
General SurgeryHealth Sciences Centre (Team B), St. John's, NL.3
Thoracic SurgerySt. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's, NL.2
Pediatric SurgeryJaneway Children's Hospital, St. John's, NL.3
General SurgeryHealth Sciences Centre (Acute Care Service Team), St. John's, NL.3
General SurgerySt. Clare's Mercy Hospital (Team A), St. John's, NL3
ResearchSt. John's, NL1
ElectiveResidents' choice1
Community SurgeryCarbonear, Corner Brook or Grand Falls-Windsor, NL; Charlottetown, PEI. Other sites may be arranged.3
ElectiveResidents' choice3
EndoscopySt. John's, NL.1
General SurgeryHealth Sciences Centre (Team A), St. John's, NL.3
Head and NeckSt. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's, NL.2
ResearchSt. John's, NL.1
Community SurgeryCarbonear, Corner Brook or Grand Falls-Windsor, NL; Charlottetown, PEI. Other sites may be arranged.3
General SurgeryHealth Sciences Centre/St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, St. John's, NL.10

From the program's rotation list.

Selection

What the program looks at

Medical Student Performance Record (MSPR)
Reference letters
Personal letter
CV/Résumé
Interview performance

Applications per year

51–200

Applicants offered interviews

51–75%

Interviews

Dates (2026 match): 30, 30–31 and 31 Jan 2026

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

Pay

Provincial scale, last updated 23 Jul 2026 · check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Contract expired, may change.

Annual salary by PGY level, Newfoundland and Labrador
Level	Annual salary
PGY-1	$69,175 / year
PGY-2	$74,779 / year
PGY-3	$79,848 / year
PGY-4	$85,137 / year
PGY-5	$90,868 / year

One provincial scale for Newfoundland and Labrador, set by the resident agreement, so every program there pays the same. Showing the 5 levels this program covers.

Benefits

Benefits as listed by CaRMS in 2022–2024; check the current agreement(opens in a new tab)

Additional optional benefits: 100% employee paid
Annual vacation: 4 weeks/year
CMPA dues: 100% reimbursement
Conference leave: 7 days/pd
Extended health insurance: Mandatory medical, basic life and AD&Dhttp://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/exec/hrs/working_with_us/employee_benefits.html
Frequency of call: Excess in-hospital call > 7/28 weekday – $225, weekend – $360;Call stipend – $115 Home call > 7/21 – $75;Call stipend – $57.50
Maternity/Paternity leave: Up to One year
Meal allowance: $105 per month
Parking fees: $5/year
Provincial health insurance: Contact Medical Care Plan1-866-449-4459
Resident Student: Full-time status
Sick leave: 1 day per month
Statutory holidays: 1-1/2 x pay or paid day off

Call

Call (provincial max): 1 day in 4 in-house, on average

The union agreement’s cap for all residents in the province; your program’s actual call schedule may be lighter. Check with the program.

PARNL agreement, 10 Aug 2022 to 30 Jun 2024. The term has ended; its terms continue until a new agreement is signed.

Teaching sites

Health Sciences Centre
St. Clare's Mercy Hospital
Janeway Children's Hospital
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Saint John Regional Hospital

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.

Saint John Regional Hospital

Matched to Saint John Regional Hospital / Hôpital Régional de Saint John (Saint John) in the province’s hospital list.

Inpatient beds: 445 As listed in the province’s dataset, whose rows were last updated 24 Apr 2019; the count may be older.

For the other sites: Newfoundland and Labrador doesn't publish this as open data.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – New Brunswick.

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

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

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: −3.6 °C St. John's (West), 4.3 km away
July average: 16.5 °C St. John's (West), 4.3 km away
Snowfall: 363.4 cm a year St. John's (Airport), 9.0 km away
Days below −20 °C: 0.3 days a year St. John's (West), 4.3 km away

People

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

Population: 110,525 people up 1.5% from 2016
Official languages: English only 90.3% · French only 0.0% · English and French 9.2% · neither 0.5% Share of residents who can conduct a conversation in each. This is not the language spoken at home.
Immigrants: 7.0% of residents arrived 2016–2021: 2.5% · non-permanent residents: 3.8%
Indigenous identity: 3.3% of residents
How people commute: car, truck or van 84.4% · public transit 5.4% · walking or cycling 7.2% · other 3.0% Average commute: 15.4 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: $75,000 before tax $65,000 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: St. John's, a large urban population centre (100,000 or more people) 185,565 people in 2021
Remoteness index: 0.247 0 is least remote, 1 is most remote. Statistics Canada calls this index experimental.

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: 2.1% October 2025 survey, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (census metropolitan area). The share of purpose-built rentals (three units and over) vacant, not a rent.
Basic cost of living: $53,849 a year Market Basket Measure 2025, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, 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.
Unemployment rate: 6.6% September 2026, three-month average, seasonally adjusted, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (census metropolitan area); standard error 0.6 points. A survey estimate.

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 specialists in surgery (NOC 31101) in the Avalon Peninsula region for the 2025-2027 period.
Canada-wide, to 2033: Strong risk of Shortage ESDC’s projection for specialists in surgery, 2024–2033. Recent conditions, 2021–2023: Strong signs of Shortage.

Sources and licences

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Adapted from Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Cartographic Boundary Files.
Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Survey, October 2025 (vacancy rates), and Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0130-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or Statistics Canada of this product.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS), 2024 to 2033 projections).
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada (Employment and Social Development Canada, 3-Year Employment Outlooks).
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Index of Remoteness (17-26-0001), 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0459-01 Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted, reference month 2026-09. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0066-01 Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by Market Basket Measure region, component and base year, 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0011-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0002-01 Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0057-01 Household income statistics by household type: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0173-01 Mother tongue by knowledge of official languages: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0266-01 Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0307-01 Immigrant status and period of immigration by place of birth: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0458-01 Main mode of commuting by commuting duration, time leaving for work, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, 2021 Census. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

Independent. Not affiliated with CaRMS or the program. Programs edit their descriptions during the match; confirm on carms.ca (opens in a new tab) before you apply. Data last updated on residency.fyi 5 Oct 2026.