Are US electives weighed equally compared to Canadian in regards to CaRMs?

[howtomed]

Hi guys,

I'm in my second year of medical school, studying at Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. I plan on applying to the US for residency and am due to take Step 1 during the summer of my 3rd year. What I've read so far says that US considers Canadian electives equally in comparison to US electives. However, does the same go for US electives in Canada? i.e should I take the risk of doing all my electives in the US if I would like to apply to Canada as well, or, should I (if the option is available) do electives in both countries, or solely focus on electives in Canada so as I can apply to US and Canada with equal weightage.

Thanks

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[coolfay93]

I was thinking about the same thing too!

But I've confirmed with multiple sources to learn that Canada only receive IMGs who are Permanent Resident (GCH) of CANADA. As for the electives, I'm not so sure but would assume so (personally).

BTW, are you sure that Canadian electives are equally viewed as USCE? That would be great news for me.

 

[ConfusedChemist]

Canadian schools will strongly prefer Canadian electives. In Canada, there isn't a large number of schools and many, many programs will only interview (even for CMGs) people who did electives with them. Aka as an IMG good luck trying to get interviews if they've never met you....

 

[snarkie]

Happy to shed some light on this. I think the most important thing is to think about where you prioritize going.

1) If it's Canada, you MUST (cannot emphasize this enough) do Canadian rotations, at least 2 in your specialty of choice and be an absolute superstar. Your letters of recommendation MUST be 2/3 or 3/3 from Canadian writers to stand a chance.
2) If you want to end up in the US, don't worry about Canadian rotations, just do them in the US.
3) If you're unsure but want to keep Canada a feasible option, see 1). This may or may not possible depending on how many weeks of electives your program gives.

To give you an idea of the competition you face in CaRMS: this year, University of Toronto received over 700 family medicine application for 10 IMG spots. It's really really tough, but nonetheless possible. Good luck!