What the research profiles of this year's 12 incoming residents actually look like, by specialty relevance, presentations, and notable activity, not just publication count.
Source: CaRMS program descriptions
Selection weights
Selection weights not published
What the program says it looks for
- A strong academic record showing special proficiency in specialty related subjects, with examinations rated very important on the CMG stream and not evaluated on the IMG stream
- Proven interest in surgery, shown by electives in any surgical specialty or related field
- References preferably from academic specialists in orthopedic surgery
- Interest in basic science and clinical research is encouraged
- Special accomplishments within or outside medicine are a strong endorsement
- Physical requirements including visual, auditory and tactile precision, manual dexterity, and sustaining standing, walking and lifting through long procedures
Where research appears
Research and publications are rated very important at file review, scholarly activities are rated very important at interview, and the curriculum describes formal research as essential, with each resident required to complete a research project.
51 to 200
applicants per year
26 to 50%
interview invite rate
Inference, not the program's wording
Research has no stated percentage weight, but it is rated very important at both file review and interview, which is stronger than a general mention. Every file and interview component is rated very important and no percentages are published, so no research share can be assigned.
Gaps: Figures are the same for the CMG stream (quota 9) and the IMG stream (quota 3), and the program does not state an interview count.
Nine residents in this cohort are Canadian medical graduates and three are international medical graduates, shown together as a single IMG pill. Schools are shown as a set only and are not matched to the individual research profiles below, since with a cohort this small that pairing would make individuals identifiable.
* 2 of these are dated after match day.
Two first-authored systematic reviews with meta-analysis, one in pediatric orthopedics and one in arthroplasty, both squarely in the specialty. Both are dated after match day, so they were most likely listed on the original application as in preparation or pending publication, which is worth keeping in mind when benchmarking against this profile. The record is synthesis work rather than new protocols or original data.
Notable: hosts a podcast for medical students and residents and has a record of student government and advocacy leadership across several years. Completed a master's degree before medical school.
A single first-authored retrospective study comparing the costs of common orthopedic sports medicine procedures across care settings, a health economics angle rather than a clinical outcomes paper. It is original research rather than a review, and it is the only publication found.
Notable: no presentations, leadership roles or other activity were found in public sources.
No publications were found in public sources. A count of 0 does not mean none exist, it only means none were found in public sources.
Notable: describes a research focus in sports medicine, has spoken publicly on safeguarding in sport, and has hands-on varsity athletic training and global health volunteering experience from undergraduate years.
Three first-authored papers: two spine case reports and one original paper that built an open-source image analysis pipeline for bone microstructure, which is new methods work rather than a review. The fourth is a middle-authored multi-center consortium paper in medical image analysis, classed as other medical.
Notable: presented spine research at a national scientific meeting and has been active in youth STEM education and community mentorship.
Additional items reported in the original research could not be independently confirmed and are excluded from the counts above.
* 2 of these are dated after match day.
All six papers are first or second authored, but only one sits in orthopedics: a first-authored case report on a revision hip arthroplasty technique. The rest span general surgery, surgical team performance and neurosurgery, including two case reports completed prior to medical school. Two papers are dated after match day, so they were most likely listed on the original application as in preparation or pending publication.
Notable: presented pediatric orthopedic research at more than one scientific meeting, which broadens a record that is otherwise mostly outside the specialty.
One middle-authored arthroplasty paper from an outside research placement, alongside a sole-authored health policy commentary classed as other medical. A third paper, an undergraduate lab education study, is non-medical and is not charted.
Notable: served as a staff writer for a student medical journal and held an elected undergraduate student society executive role. Completed an honours thesis in cell biology.
* 4 of these are dated after match day.
Broad output across spine and sports medicine, mixing systematic reviews, a machine learning prediction model, a patient preference survey and health systems research. The three other medical papers concern surgical equipment efficiency, device reprocessing and faculty teaching tools. Four papers are dated after match day, so they were most likely listed on the original application as in preparation or pending publication.
Notable: a deep abstract and poster record across spine, sports and arthroplasty health systems work, including podium presentations at national and international meetings.
A duplicate preprint version of a counted paper is excluded, and published conference abstract entries are described here rather than counted.
* 1 of these is dated after match day.
All four papers sit outside orthopedics, spanning gynecologic oncology, neonatology and reproductive medicine, two as second author and two in the middle of larger teams. No orthopedic publication was found in public sources. One paper is dated after match day, so it was most likely listed on the original application as in preparation or pending publication.
Notable: presented abstracts at national and international meetings in women's health, neonatal and pediatric cardiac research, and has a competitive athletic background from undergraduate years.
* 1 of these is dated after match day.
Five orthopedic papers centered on arthroplasty, opioid reduction and research methodology, including a feasibility trial protocol, which is new methods work rather than a review. Most contributions are mid-author roles on larger teams, with one second-authored survey study and one group-author paper. One older systematic review was completed prior to medical school with author position unconfirmed, and one paper is dated after match day, so it was most likely in preparation at application time.
Notable: several years of work as a clinical research assistant in an orthopedic outcomes research group, a research master's completed before medical school, and a background in youth coaching and instruction.
* 7 of these are dated after match day.
By far the highest output in the cohort, with 16 of 20 papers first or second authored, almost all systematic reviews and meta-analyses in knee sports medicine and hip preservation, plus one case report and one scoping review of global orthopedic research. The volume is analysis rather than new protocols or original data. Seven papers are dated after match day, so they were most likely listed on the original application as in preparation or pending publication.
Notable: peer teaching in anatomy and first aid, and involvement in student orthopedic and surgical societies alongside the research output.
One preprint that has not been peer reviewed is excluded from the counts above.
Eight orthopedic trauma papers, including three multicenter randomized controlled trials, a rotator cuff meta-analysis, a retrospective cohort study and two reviews, four of them first authored. Most of the record was completed prior to medical school, and it is unusually consistent in subject, almost entirely fracture and trauma care.
Notable: long-running involvement in multicenter orthopedic trauma trials, with a substantial list of conference abstracts at national and international trauma meetings. Presenting versus co-author role could not be confirmed for those abstracts.
One trial paper listed on an external profile is excluded because the resident is a data contributor, not a listed author.
Six of nine papers sit in arthroplasty and sports medicine, led by revision hip and knee arthroplasty cohort studies with 10-year follow-up, two of them first or second authored. The three outside-field papers, a case report in otolaryngology, a survey of attitudes to AI in surgery and a systematic review of post-surgical garments for breast cancer patients, are all first authored.
Notable: an extensive undergraduate record of leadership, mentorship and community volunteering with several awards, plus an abstract on AI in surgery.
Reading this data
Output in this cohort runs from no publications found to 20 confirmed, with a mean of 6.0 but a median of 5, because one resident accounts for 20 of the 72 total. Three quarters of all confirmed publications (54 of 72) sit directly in orthopedics, and 8 of the 11 residents with a publication record have most of their work in the specialty.
New protocols or purpose-built tools are rare, showing up in only two profiles. Six of the 12 residents have at least one paper dated after match day, most likely listed as in preparation at application time, so counts here should be read with that in mind. Program weightings may change from year to year.
All data on this page was gathered from publicly available sources and verified to a high but not absolute degree of confidence. This profile is intended to give prospective applicants a general sense of what previously matched residents looked like, not to serve as a definitive or exhaustive record.
