The development of part-time training in the United States and Canada is described. The flexibility required for young women physicians who attempted to combine childbearing and career development, together with the increasing number of women entering medicine, underlines the importance of part-time training schedules. A variety of flexible training options have been defined and a set of guidelines has been produced by the Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. The experiences of part-time psychiatry residents at Queen's University, Kingston is presented. Thus far this has involved a total of six residents over a four year period, including the authors of this paper. The advantages and disadvantages, viewed from both the resident and system viewpoint, are discussed.