Are there any Canadian family docs here who are now working in the US? I may be coming to the US for my residency next year and my fiancee is a family doc in Canada trying to figure out what she needs to do. We're not sure if she will have to write the USMLEs or board exams for the US, or what kind of visa she would apply for. There's lots of conflicting info on the Internet about this.
Is there anyone out there who has gone through this? Any info would be appreciated.
I can't answer your question. However:
I strongly recommend that you do your homework here in regards to the pros and cons of working in US versus Canada . Are you fully committed to this route ?
Full disclosure: I am a Canadian physician.
I don't know if this is a recent trend, but it seems to me that I've noticed a number of American family docs migrating to Canada. My family doctor is American.
The Canadian system has recently made an effort to put more money into the primary health care system. I am not aware if this is the case in the US. As an american family doc, you'll need to pay out a significant amount of overhead in regards to paying personnel dedicated to collecting billings from a variety of insurance companies. In Canada, you have one payor: the government. On the downside, the government pays less for visits and procedures , etc. The upside is you get paid virtually 95 % - 98 % of the time.
You are
significantly less likely to be sued in Canada.
Having said this, I've never worked in the States. It could be fantastic. Good luck.
Perhaps the US docs can weigh in here in respect to the American primary health care experience.
