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Hello.
The current climate for Canadian studying abroad has change very much in the recent years. I thought it be useful to provide an update for anyone considering to study abroad.
a. Irish Internship - It used to be that an individual can easily obtain an Irish Internship position if they wanted a back-up or decided to stay. Nowadays, everyone has priority over anyone that didn’t apply through the CAO. This means you need to be top of your class to obtain an Irish Internship position as an outsider. Even if your Irish, if you didnt apply through CAO your in trouble. Or marry an Irish ahead of time!
b. Thinking of going to UK after? Brexit.
c. I want to train in the USA?
Canada is steadily decreasing the number of statement of needs (needed for J1 Visas) issued for Internal Medicine. A J1 visa is what you need in order to stay in the USA for medical residency. The number of statement of needs changes year by year for each specialty. Currently, it reflects the trend that Canada wants more generalists and family physicians coming back. Even among Canadian graduates, finding a job as a specialist can be difficult in a very small market. This means you can match into your dream program in Radiology and be forced to give it up because you were denied a statement of need. For example, this year many Canadians who successfully obtained medical residencies in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Diagnostic Radiology were denied their statement of need. Facebook --> SOCASMA. This not only affects people that match, but also the number of interviews in you get. PD's are getting burned by us not getting SONS. Many people noticed that they have substantially less interviews in FM and IM in the USA this year compared to similar scoring candidates in the previous years.
d. Want to pursue a sub-specialty or fellowship after training in the USA?
Canada only allows statement of needs for 1 year fellowships in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Realistically, that means you have to be a generalist and make up the 1 year (because IM is 3 years in the USA and 4 in Canada) or pursue a 1 year fellowship in Geriatrics.
e. Want to stay in the USA after your residency training?
You need to return home to Canada for 2 years unless you can get a J1 visa waiver by working in an underserved area in the USA like North Dakota. Or marry an America and go through the lengthy process of getting a green card which isn’t as straightforward as you think. You have to stay in the country for 6 months. Hard to do if your studying medicine in Ireland.
f. Canada
Competition is worse than ever. If you haven’t heard, there’s a record number of Canadian Medical Graduates that have gone unmatched in the last few years. There was also the suicide of a CMG who didn’t match after a few attempts.This means more competition in second iteration as you compete with CMGs from the previous years. In fact, less and less spots in second iteration are going to IMGs.
Also, if you want to come back to Canada your connections can mean the difference between matching and going unmatched. Connections means opportunities to gain Canadian experience/electives that otherwise would not be available to you. These connections are crucial when you have borderline scores for interviews or interview at a school that has a preference for individuals that completed an elective there.
If you really want to come back to Canada, Ireland and UK >>>> Caribbean. Better quality of education and reputation in Ireland and UK. When I tell people I studied in Ireland/UK, preceptors assume my clinical skills are excellent. I’ve worked with Caribbean students and the first thing I notice is their lack of clinical skills (I don’t know if this is true for all Caribbean schools, but imagine what interviewers must be thinking). It’s too focused on USMLE and the quality of the rotations is too varied. I’m not attacking Caribbean students. I think that there are many intelligent and well-rounded people there. It’s just that I don’t feel the school does a good job of teaching those skills and is too focused on having students pass the boards so they can boast about it and lure other people with the promise of completing medical school only to purge them for profit. It’s an excellent choice if you want go to the USA only with high match rates to the USA.
g. Canadian provincial exams – each province has their individual requirements and additional exams
a. BC – Must complete BCIMG 1 day assessment. 50% of the limited spots for the assessment go to BC residents.
b. Alberta – must wait 1 year after graduation before applying. Then complete AIMG assessment (MMI). Must be Alberta resident.
c. Manitoba
d. Sask – Casper
e. Ontario
f. Quebec – wait 1 year.
h. Return of Service – if you match into Canada, you will likely need to sign a contract agreeing to work in an underserved area for “x” years or pay the province back.
BC – Internal Medicine – 3 years* (edited) ROS, must sign contract saying you cant specialize. FM – 2 years ROS. Can’t pursue fellowship/PGY3 until you complete ROS.
AB – No ROS.
Manitoba - FM – 2 years. Cannot do PGY3 until return of service is completed.
Sask – FM – 2 years.
Quebec – No ROS.
Ontario – 5 years for any specialty?
Memorial – No ROS but can’t apply to first iteration. No ROS for IM in second iteration.
i. Unmatched – this can happen to anyone. All you need is one non-competitive score, a failed course, or a red flag. Or in some people’s cases having an anti-social personality. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. Most people that have gone unmatched have a solid reason or complete lack of self-awareness (blames everyone, blames school, blames the system). You can’t blame anyone for not matching. It’s on you to do the research, and work hard. There’s no room for the same mistakes in undergrad that might have caused you to pursue medicine abroad.
j. Stigma – Even if you match, there will always be people who secretly think you weren’t smart enough to get into Canada, you gamed the system, or your parents were so rich they bought their way through. True IMGs resent you for stealing their spots. Some CMGs blame you for the shortage of residency spots in Canada.
In summary, only pursue this option as a last resort. I can't this enough. It may be easier to get into but getting into a residency is much harder. Be willing to be flexible with your specialty and location. Having citizenship elsewhere can be useful, as they may accept a J1 visa waiver from that country. If you just want to do family medicine then there are still plenty of opportunities in the USA and Canada.
I don’t regret studying abroad. Was a very enriching experience. It worked out well for me. But the process was stressful and hopeless at times. Just keep in mind there’s no one to blame but yourself. Do your research beforehand and don’t go in blind. Being successful takes lots of planning. You could potentially have a useless degree you spent 400 K on. Lastly, people always ask me what’s my chance of matching. 0-100%. Individual statistics don't apply. It’s the whole package that the individual brings to the table, scores, personality, connections, and a bit of luck.
The current climate for Canadian studying abroad has change very much in the recent years. I thought it be useful to provide an update for anyone considering to study abroad.
a. Irish Internship - It used to be that an individual can easily obtain an Irish Internship position if they wanted a back-up or decided to stay. Nowadays, everyone has priority over anyone that didn’t apply through the CAO. This means you need to be top of your class to obtain an Irish Internship position as an outsider. Even if your Irish, if you didnt apply through CAO your in trouble. Or marry an Irish ahead of time!
b. Thinking of going to UK after? Brexit.
c. I want to train in the USA?
Canada is steadily decreasing the number of statement of needs (needed for J1 Visas) issued for Internal Medicine. A J1 visa is what you need in order to stay in the USA for medical residency. The number of statement of needs changes year by year for each specialty. Currently, it reflects the trend that Canada wants more generalists and family physicians coming back. Even among Canadian graduates, finding a job as a specialist can be difficult in a very small market. This means you can match into your dream program in Radiology and be forced to give it up because you were denied a statement of need. For example, this year many Canadians who successfully obtained medical residencies in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Diagnostic Radiology were denied their statement of need. Facebook --> SOCASMA. This not only affects people that match, but also the number of interviews in you get. PD's are getting burned by us not getting SONS. Many people noticed that they have substantially less interviews in FM and IM in the USA this year compared to similar scoring candidates in the previous years.
d. Want to pursue a sub-specialty or fellowship after training in the USA?
Canada only allows statement of needs for 1 year fellowships in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Realistically, that means you have to be a generalist and make up the 1 year (because IM is 3 years in the USA and 4 in Canada) or pursue a 1 year fellowship in Geriatrics.
e. Want to stay in the USA after your residency training?
You need to return home to Canada for 2 years unless you can get a J1 visa waiver by working in an underserved area in the USA like North Dakota. Or marry an America and go through the lengthy process of getting a green card which isn’t as straightforward as you think. You have to stay in the country for 6 months. Hard to do if your studying medicine in Ireland.
f. Canada
Competition is worse than ever. If you haven’t heard, there’s a record number of Canadian Medical Graduates that have gone unmatched in the last few years. There was also the suicide of a CMG who didn’t match after a few attempts.This means more competition in second iteration as you compete with CMGs from the previous years. In fact, less and less spots in second iteration are going to IMGs.
Also, if you want to come back to Canada your connections can mean the difference between matching and going unmatched. Connections means opportunities to gain Canadian experience/electives that otherwise would not be available to you. These connections are crucial when you have borderline scores for interviews or interview at a school that has a preference for individuals that completed an elective there.
If you really want to come back to Canada, Ireland and UK >>>> Caribbean. Better quality of education and reputation in Ireland and UK. When I tell people I studied in Ireland/UK, preceptors assume my clinical skills are excellent. I’ve worked with Caribbean students and the first thing I notice is their lack of clinical skills (I don’t know if this is true for all Caribbean schools, but imagine what interviewers must be thinking). It’s too focused on USMLE and the quality of the rotations is too varied. I’m not attacking Caribbean students. I think that there are many intelligent and well-rounded people there. It’s just that I don’t feel the school does a good job of teaching those skills and is too focused on having students pass the boards so they can boast about it and lure other people with the promise of completing medical school only to purge them for profit. It’s an excellent choice if you want go to the USA only with high match rates to the USA.
g. Canadian provincial exams – each province has their individual requirements and additional exams
a. BC – Must complete BCIMG 1 day assessment. 50% of the limited spots for the assessment go to BC residents.
b. Alberta – must wait 1 year after graduation before applying. Then complete AIMG assessment (MMI). Must be Alberta resident.
c. Manitoba
d. Sask – Casper
e. Ontario
f. Quebec – wait 1 year.
h. Return of Service – if you match into Canada, you will likely need to sign a contract agreeing to work in an underserved area for “x” years or pay the province back.
BC – Internal Medicine – 3 years* (edited) ROS, must sign contract saying you cant specialize. FM – 2 years ROS. Can’t pursue fellowship/PGY3 until you complete ROS.
AB – No ROS.
Manitoba - FM – 2 years. Cannot do PGY3 until return of service is completed.
Sask – FM – 2 years.
Quebec – No ROS.
Ontario – 5 years for any specialty?
Memorial – No ROS but can’t apply to first iteration. No ROS for IM in second iteration.
i. Unmatched – this can happen to anyone. All you need is one non-competitive score, a failed course, or a red flag. Or in some people’s cases having an anti-social personality. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. Most people that have gone unmatched have a solid reason or complete lack of self-awareness (blames everyone, blames school, blames the system). You can’t blame anyone for not matching. It’s on you to do the research, and work hard. There’s no room for the same mistakes in undergrad that might have caused you to pursue medicine abroad.
j. Stigma – Even if you match, there will always be people who secretly think you weren’t smart enough to get into Canada, you gamed the system, or your parents were so rich they bought their way through. True IMGs resent you for stealing their spots. Some CMGs blame you for the shortage of residency spots in Canada.
In summary, only pursue this option as a last resort. I can't this enough. It may be easier to get into but getting into a residency is much harder. Be willing to be flexible with your specialty and location. Having citizenship elsewhere can be useful, as they may accept a J1 visa waiver from that country. If you just want to do family medicine then there are still plenty of opportunities in the USA and Canada.
I don’t regret studying abroad. Was a very enriching experience. It worked out well for me. But the process was stressful and hopeless at times. Just keep in mind there’s no one to blame but yourself. Do your research beforehand and don’t go in blind. Being successful takes lots of planning. You could potentially have a useless degree you spent 400 K on. Lastly, people always ask me what’s my chance of matching. 0-100%. Individual statistics don't apply. It’s the whole package that the individual brings to the table, scores, personality, connections, and a bit of luck.
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