Bonjour,
I am a Canadian citizen who was born in Canada, grew up in Canada, went to undergrad in Canada, and is currently a third year medical student at a LCME-accredited allopathic US medical school. I am currently trying to figure out which specialty to pursue in the 2016 match (and I'm running out of time), however since I intend to return to my country I would like to put their needs in front of my personal interests and choose something that we're in dire need of. So I'm looking at the 2015 List of Needed Specialties and Subspecialties and see that these specialties currently have unlimited endorsement:
Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry.
Here's where I start to get confused. The J1 means you have to come back after residency, but how many of these can you actually practice in Canada after you come back? I know FM is for sure because the training is equivalent but how about the others? I'm saying this because most of these do not have the same length of training as Canadian residencies:
EM 3 year residency (a few 4 year programs), 5 in Canada
FM 3 years, 2 in Canada
IM 3 years, 5 in Canada
Neurology 4 years, 5 in Canada
OB/GYN 4 years, 5 in Canada
Pediatrics 3 years, 4 in Canada
Psychiatry 4 years, 5 in Canada
So I'm confused because I see this scenario happening: I match into let's say EM March 2016, I apply for my J1 (assuming EM is still unlimited endorsement but who knows), I get my J1, I complete my residency, I come home to Canada an ABEM-certified emergency doc ready to work since they needed me, can't get a job because I can't get licensed because my training isn't equal length, find job in oil fields.
Basically I'm confused as to why Health Canada offers SoNs for J1s for these specialties when they know the training isn't equal length or equivalent and Canadians who trained in the US wouldn't be eligible for licensure when they finish.
Now I've heard that for the specialties with a 1-yr difference, that gap can be made up with a fellowship. But wouldn't that person pursuing a fellowship require another SoN for endorsement for that fellowship? Let's say it's the same scenario except I match into OB/GYN March 2016. To make up for the 1 year gap, I apply for a fellowship in one of the OB/GYN fellowships that are in need, Maternal Fetal Medicine (3 are needed this year). What if those are used up already by other applicants? Now what would I do? In fact, in total all the OB/GYN fellowships add up to 7 for 2015 (which will likely change in 5 years to even lower), so what would all the Canadians who matched into OB/GYN do at the end of the residency? Work at McDonald's?
And what about the specialties with a 2 yr difference in training that currently have unlimited endorsement such as EM and IM? If I match IM in March 2016 and get my J1, how will I provide my skills to Canada in July 2019? I've heard of Pathway 3, but that's only Ontario right? What about the 9 other provinces? Where's their information on this?
This makes no sense. The J1 is a "return to your country after training here" contract. So why would Health Canada endorse specialties for the J1 when they know we wouldn't be able to practice back home after we train? If anyone has any insight into this or could post some links that would be helpful. And trust me, I've already scoured SDN, the Royal College website, the Health Canada website, and Google. I've been a member of SDN since 2012 and have been reading all along but as you can see I've never posted. I wouldn't have posted unless I really couldn't find legitimate answers to these questions.
Thank you.
I am a Canadian citizen who was born in Canada, grew up in Canada, went to undergrad in Canada, and is currently a third year medical student at a LCME-accredited allopathic US medical school. I am currently trying to figure out which specialty to pursue in the 2016 match (and I'm running out of time), however since I intend to return to my country I would like to put their needs in front of my personal interests and choose something that we're in dire need of. So I'm looking at the 2015 List of Needed Specialties and Subspecialties and see that these specialties currently have unlimited endorsement:
Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry.
Here's where I start to get confused. The J1 means you have to come back after residency, but how many of these can you actually practice in Canada after you come back? I know FM is for sure because the training is equivalent but how about the others? I'm saying this because most of these do not have the same length of training as Canadian residencies:
EM 3 year residency (a few 4 year programs), 5 in Canada
FM 3 years, 2 in Canada
IM 3 years, 5 in Canada
Neurology 4 years, 5 in Canada
OB/GYN 4 years, 5 in Canada
Pediatrics 3 years, 4 in Canada
Psychiatry 4 years, 5 in Canada
So I'm confused because I see this scenario happening: I match into let's say EM March 2016, I apply for my J1 (assuming EM is still unlimited endorsement but who knows), I get my J1, I complete my residency, I come home to Canada an ABEM-certified emergency doc ready to work since they needed me, can't get a job because I can't get licensed because my training isn't equal length, find job in oil fields.
Basically I'm confused as to why Health Canada offers SoNs for J1s for these specialties when they know the training isn't equal length or equivalent and Canadians who trained in the US wouldn't be eligible for licensure when they finish.
Now I've heard that for the specialties with a 1-yr difference, that gap can be made up with a fellowship. But wouldn't that person pursuing a fellowship require another SoN for endorsement for that fellowship? Let's say it's the same scenario except I match into OB/GYN March 2016. To make up for the 1 year gap, I apply for a fellowship in one of the OB/GYN fellowships that are in need, Maternal Fetal Medicine (3 are needed this year). What if those are used up already by other applicants? Now what would I do? In fact, in total all the OB/GYN fellowships add up to 7 for 2015 (which will likely change in 5 years to even lower), so what would all the Canadians who matched into OB/GYN do at the end of the residency? Work at McDonald's?
And what about the specialties with a 2 yr difference in training that currently have unlimited endorsement such as EM and IM? If I match IM in March 2016 and get my J1, how will I provide my skills to Canada in July 2019? I've heard of Pathway 3, but that's only Ontario right? What about the 9 other provinces? Where's their information on this?
This makes no sense. The J1 is a "return to your country after training here" contract. So why would Health Canada endorse specialties for the J1 when they know we wouldn't be able to practice back home after we train? If anyone has any insight into this or could post some links that would be helpful. And trust me, I've already scoured SDN, the Royal College website, the Health Canada website, and Google. I've been a member of SDN since 2012 and have been reading all along but as you can see I've never posted. I wouldn't have posted unless I really couldn't find legitimate answers to these questions.
Thank you.