Pursuing clinician investigator programs in residency

A clinician investigator program (CIP) (aka surgeon-scientist program [SSP]) is an opportunity offered by most institutions across Canada that allow residents to take time away from surgical residency in order to pursue a formal research program. Their goal is to provide a dedicated research stream in addition to clinical training during a busy surgical residency. This means accomplishing an MSc or a postdoctoral fellowship (if you already have an MSc or PhD) within two years of dedicated research time, usually taken after PGY-2 or PGY-3. Additional goals of the CIP are to drive innovation and advancement of knowledge translation in healthcare in Canada and renew clinical academic faculty throughout the country