Canadian psychiatry residency training programs: A glance at the management structure.

OBJECTIVES To describe the administrative functioning of all current Canadian psychiatry residency training programs (RTPs) and to suggest available improvements to existing systems. METHOD We obtained data about the 2004 RTPs by distributing 2 questionnaires to all Canadian psychiatry RTPs. RESULTS Residency program committees (RPCs) are mainly consultative and carry only a small amount of the workload of managing a residency program. Program directors (PDs) manage more than 80% of the work and report that the time allowance to perform their duties is suboptimal. PDs remain in office for about 5 years, departing during or at the end of a predetermined second term. CONCLUSION RPCs bear only a small amount of the workload generated by the RTP. We piloted administrative changes that led to more equitable work distribution.