Canadian-friendly residency programs?

[vsl5]

Just wanted to know if anyone knew of any residency programs in anesthesia that is fairly open to taking people who graduate from medical school in Canada. I wrote my step 1 recently and realized I was eligible for the US match in addition to CaRMS (the Canadian matching system).

Some additional info: I don't have US citizenship and have a decent step 1 score (>260), no red flags in medical school, some IM and surgery research with publications, did well in pre-clerkship and currently doing well in clerkship.

With the way the matching system would work if I decided to apply for both US and Canadian schools, I would likely only be eligible to be selected through NRMP if no program in Canada wanted me. Basically, I'd like to know if it would be worth the extra paperwork + $$$ to apply to the US system as well and if programs in the US are generally willing to go through the headache of dealing with VISA issues for a decent student. Thanks in advance for any insight.

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[Ronin786]

From what I've seen, Canadian medical schools are well-respected in the US, though the visa will almost definitely cause troubles.

That Step 1 score though is way more than decent, and will probably open some doors. At the end of the day, it's only extra money since you also have a backup plan in Canada.
The caliber of program you're going to might not be as good as something in Canada though (not sure how competitive you are for there), so you also want to consider whether your end goal is to work in the US or Canada. 

 

[vsl5]

From what I've seen, Canadian medical schools are well-respected in the US, though the visa will almost definitely cause troubles.

That Step 1 score though is way more than decent, and will probably open some doors. At the end of the day, it's only extra money since you also have a backup plan in Canada.
The caliber of program you're going to might not be as good as something in Canada though (not sure how competitive you are for there), so you also want to consider whether your end goal is to work in the US or Canada. 

Thanks for the response. If I applied to the Canadian system at all, then the US programs automatically become a backup (because my application is automatically withdrawn from NRMP if I match to a Canadian residency). I would say I am fairly competitive for a Canadian program although it is difficult to say for sure because we don't use as many "objective" measures as US programs do (eg. Step 1, AOA, pre-clerkship grades). I plan to complete all 3 USMLEs and whatever board certification for my eventual specialty in both US and Canada.

Do you think most "good" anesthesia residency programs in the US would pass on me based on the VISA issues? I guess another way to put it is - if I do apply to the US as a back-up, should I only be ranking lower-tier programs? Thanks.

 

[partydoc]

Most places give some sort of visa. And they typically will bend a bit for exceptional candidates. It's different for each program so you may have to check with each one that you are interested in. Start with programs which already have foreign grads. I don't suspect most American programs will hold it against you for being Canadian (vs being an IMG or FMG).

 

[nimbus]

Try UCSD. They have had foreign residents from time to time from Germany and Ireland. And they have many Canadians on the faculty. At the very least, the Canadians can
give you some advice about transitioning to the US if that is your goal.

 

[thinkorswim]

As a fellow Canadian here in the US, I can provide some insight. There are a number of factors down the road that you need to consider. I would think long and hard about your long-term career/lifestyle goals before coming to the US. With your numbers, matching won't be an issue and programs typically will sponsor visas. But here's where things get tricky:

If you want to go back to Canada, you will need to do an additional year of training in order to sit for their boards. This is because anesthesiology residency is 5 years in Canada versus 4 years in the US. Not a big deal, just do a fellowship in the US.

If you want to stay in the US, you need to seek out programs that will sponsor for an H-1B visa, and not many do. Most will only sponsor J-1 visas, which you should avoid like the plague since being placed under this class will require you to either return back to Canada for 2 years after your training or work in an underserved area for however many years.

Lastly, if your end game is private practice, you should realize that most desirable private practice jobs in the US won't even touch visas. The only workaround here being that should you do residency in the US, you can work at an academic institution for a few years immediately after and obtain permanent resident status, which would make it easier to get a private practice gig. But you would only be able to do this on an H-1B, since the J-1 will force you to return to Canada regardless of your job or marital status.

So basically, I would only come to the US if you find a good program that will sponsor you for an H-1B visa and plan on an academic career for at least a few years after your training. Either that, or get married to a US citizen while on an H-1B visa (they'll still send you back if you get married on a J-1).

 

[bigdan]

Try University of Pittsburgh. They have sponsored visas consistently, and are an outstanding training program*

*I'm deeply biased

 

[vsl5]

Thanks for the all responses, they were very helpful. My goal for the future would likely be to practice in Canada (unless something drastically changes in the next 10 years) and I will be applying to the Canadian match (which almost always occurs before NRMP). I'm gonna try to talk to the advisors at my school and see what they think.

Ultimately, applying to the US is basically an insurance policy for me (I wrote Step 1 for fellowship purposes, not really with residency in mind) and I am just trying to figure out if it would be worth the headache of going through the VISA issues and paperwork if my end goal is to stay in Canada.