canadian in american medical school...canadian Residency???

[kumar28]

I am a Canadian at an american medical school. Is it possible for me to match into Canadian residencies? Would I need to take the Canadian boards first. What iteration would I be considered in?

Thanks

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[moo]

YOu need to take the Canadian boards and you are eligible for the first round of CaRMs.

 

[Epidemic]

I've checked this out myself. You are eligible for the first round in some provinces. Check out the CARMS webite: www.carms.ca

click "Application Information" >> "United States Medical Schools"

 

[white daisy]

hey kumar 28,

just out of curiosity, why did you decide to go to the states for med school when tuition fee is so much cheaper in canada? I mean, the programs are all US accredited anyways right? I am asking cuz I am an american who's studying med in canada and I just don't see advantage for a canadian to go study across the border.

 

[Lara]

Many of us didn't get accepted in Canada. The ratio of applicants to seats is higher than in the US and there aren't really any equivalents to large private schools like Finch, NYMC, Drexel etc. I was waitlisted twice at McGill (my undergrad school - is that where you are?) and didn't receive any interview invites from Ontario. Not saying this is the case for Kumar, but it's definitely a common reason.

With my debt (around 200K USD) I don't know if I could afford to go right back to Canada for residency...I'd be interested in any input there. Also I don't know how hard it'll be to match at McGill, UofT or UBC (the Canadian programs I'd mainly be interested in) if I'm not from a "name" school like Hopkins. Allowing us to enter the first CaRMS rounds is pretty recent so I guess no one really knows unfortunately.

 

[white daisy]

well it really depends what program you're looking at. some are definitely harder than others. I matched at mcgill family med. it's not like it's neurosugery so you see the point. what are you interested in?

with a $200K debt, i would even stay in the states to practice later cuz the salaries in canada (especially quebec) aren't comparable to the US. i mean, they don't die of hunger or anything here but $200K is a lot and it can be a burden to many people.

oh Lara, one more question. do you originally come from QC? cuz i think that it's much better you can understand and speak a little bit of french.

 

[Lara]

White daisy - Yes, I'm from Montreal. My French is rather out of practice, but I understand perfectly and I guess I could handle conversations - just not as fluently as in English.

Right now I'd probably say I'm most interested in internal med. Hopefully by this time next year I'll have a definite answer. I agree there wouldn't be much point in doing just residency here in the US, since you don't make much headway in paying off debt during those years (salaries are usually around 30-35K per year).

Another thing to see is whether they move the CaRMS match back to before the US one. I heard it was pushed back this year because of the rotation time lost due to SARS, but hopefully that's not a permanent thing because virtually no one is going to pass up the US match on the chance of matching in Canada.

 

[white daisy]

it's definitely a problem that the match day for Carms and NRMP don't fall on the same day. you basically have to decide whether you want to stay in the US match or the canadian one.
IM is really not that bad at mcgill and if you have a decent profile, it really shouldn't be that hard to get into. but wait till next year to decide.
are you one of those people who absolutely have to go back home or you woulnd't mind staying in the US?
Personnally, I really find it hard to understand that it was easier for you to get into Temple than Mcgill... Is mcgill more prestigious? cuz I was under the impression that Temple is better... I've always thought that American med schools are harder to get into cuz there are SO MANY applicants. you can go have a look in the pre-allopathis threads. some of the numbers (acceptance/applicants) are horrifying. So you must be a really good applicant.

 

[Lara]

No, while I'd like the option I don't absolutely have to go home.

I'm glad you think Temple's more prestigious but I think East Coast residency programs would be more impressed with McGill (they consider it more or less equivalent to top 20 US schools whereas Temple's unranked). Internationally it's certainly the most recongized Canadian school, although Canadians themselves don't tend to put it on a higher level. And you definitely do need higher stats for McGill - I had 3.46 and 30Q and even as a Quebec resident it wasn't good enough...the second time I was actually advised by admissions to retake the MCAT and shoot for an above average score. US schools differ *widely* in what they'll accept compared to Canada (which is fairly high stats across the board) and IMO tend to look at the "whole package" a little more, plus other factors like URM status.

In any case, things worked out - Temple's a great school and it's been good for me to have new experiences and gain some independence. The debt is by far the worse thing about coming here.

 

[kumar28]

hey,
sorry for the delayed reply. Actually I have a gc and didn't want to lose it so decided to go to medical school in the US. Plus, I have alot of family down here. Also I heard that they are making it alot harder to go down to the states to practice if you went to school in Canada...they are really tightening the borders.

My inquiry about Carms was based getting into the difficult specialties like radiology and derm. Is it harder to match to these difficult residencies in canada or just as hard?

Thanks