Dr. Watling obtained his MD (cum laude) from Dalhousie University in Halifax in 1990. He completed residency training in neurology at Western University in 1995 and fellowship training in Pain and Symptom Management at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in 1996. After practicing general neurology in Sudbury, Ontario for 4 years, he joined the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in 2000.

In 2009, Dr. Watling completed a Master of Medical Education degree at the University of Dundee with a research thesis entitled "Rules of Engagement: An Exploration of Resident and Faculty Perceptions of the Resident In-Training Evaluation Process". In 2014, he received his PhD in Health Professions Education from Maastricht University; his thesis was entitled "Cognition, culture, and credibility: Deconstructing feedback in medical education." He is a Scientist at Schulich's Centre for Education Research and Innovation, and is presently the Associate Dean for Postgraduate Medical Education at Schulich.