That was true...3 years ago. That is what the College of Physician's and Surgeons of Ontario adviser told me on Friday. They removed the "barrier" for international students and now they get the residency in the same round as Canadian graduates. She told me as long as you get your MD/MBBS degree from one of the schools listed in the WHO directory you will be fine..
The only thing the international graduates have to take is the MCCQE (similar to the USMLE in the States) and be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Even Canadian graduates take the MCCQE at the end of med school...
Hi Nerv,
I've been reading this thread and I wanted to weigh in before you make any hasty decisions. I'm a Canadian Citizen and a graduate of McGill who looked extensively into foreign options before I decided to apply in Canada and the US (because of University GPA). I think that it's great that you are willing to go so far and do so much to achieve your dreams. That's a good sign that you have the tenacity to be successful.
🙂 I truly understand that because I'm the same way. On the other hand though, I realized that that same tenacity can often lead to hasty (yet driven) decisions that aren't necessarily the best way to go. Sometimes guys like us have to be measured and slow in order to reach our dreams. Patience works, even if only some of the time.
😛 I just want you to realize that its not as cut and dry as you make it out to be. There's a whole lot of risk involved.
While it might look very enticing to go abroad for medical school (easier admissions, save a few years), you need to understand that you will not be considered the same as Canadian Medical graduates, or even US medical graduates. I've noticed that you have not cited any primary references for your information, but only this advisor you talked to. I
strongly, strongly suggest that you do extensive research on both the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons website, as well as the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.
I think that not even giving yourself a chance at a Canadian University is making a mistake. Trust me when I say, "saving two years" is absolutely not worth it. You have a lot of exploring to do, and you never know what you might want to do after university. Everyone's minds change when they are younger. Take it from those of us with a little more experience that you will change more than you can imagine, and in a good way most likely. 🙂
Now, here are some facts about matching into Canadian programs and commentary on what that advisor told you.
- The Royal college and the Ontario College are not responsible for the Canadian Match Residency Service or Post-graduate medical training. Those entities deal with the licensing of physicians to practice independently of a training program (i.e. after post-graduate training). In fact, I'll bet that what the advisor told you when he was talking about barriers to practice in Canada being reduced this year, are actually the four new pathways to practice for IMGs that have completed
post-graduate medical education abroad (residency). These are listed on the Ontario College site (took effect Dec. 1st). Unfortunately, those pathways do not apply to your situation. They apply to foreign doctors
already practicing medicine elsewhere. The requirements on the Ontario College website explicitly say that the four new pathways to practice do not apply to International Medical Graduates fresh out of medical school:
http://www.cpso.on.ca/policies/policies/default.aspx?id=2348#TOC1 – Read the small blurb about IMGs, "Pathways 1 – 4 do not apply to IMGs who are not currently practicing medicine. These applicants must meet the requirements set out in the registration regulation."
You should understand that "practicing medicine" does not apply to dong residency abroad. It applies to foreign physicians who have completed residency abroad and have the licensure to practice independently. That means that you will have to complete the normal requirements to enter a residency program in Canada.
- Now, as of today, IMGs do NOT participate in the first-round of the match in any province. It is true that Ontario is more amenable to IMGs (they have a separate pool for IMGs and this year IMGs will be able to participate in the SECOND round of the match along with un-matched Canadian graduates), but choice is severely limited in this round. Basically, trying to get back anywhere in Canada is going to be difficult especially if you want to specialize in anything. Ontario is slightly nicer, but you will still be at a disadvantage as compared to Canadian Graduates. You need to understand that having access only to the Ontario IMG pool and the second round of the match is going to be cutting yourself severely short in terms of opportunity. Onatrio has shown the most initiative in making the match process easier for IMGs, but you have to understand that you will not be their priority. Their priority will be in ensuring that Canadian Graduates have enough access to residency positions; and that is something that is definitely not assured. If there is a problem matching Canadians into residency programs, you can be sure that the IMGs are going to take the first hit (and rightly so).
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/project/img/opport_faq.html#18
http://www.cair.ca/document_library/docs%5CCAIRPositionPaper%20Feb06%20IMGMedEdCaRMS.pdf
Let me be clear how hard the second round of the match is (from the above link gov.on.ca link):
"Last year, Ontario offered 39 positions across 7 specialties in the 2nd iteration of the match." That is for BOTH Canadian Graduates that did not match, as well as IMGs…pretty stiff competition.
- I don't know why the advisor you talked to told you that all you need is a WHO accredited school. Both the Ontario College and the Royal College only recognize schools from the FAIMER list (Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research). I could not find Ovidus on the list.
You can find their list of schools here:
https://imed.faimer.org/
This requirement is listed directly on both the Ontario Health Ministry and the Royal College websites:
http://www.rcpsc.medical.org/residency/certification/img_e.php#individual
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/project/img/opport_faq.html#18
- While it's true that any IMG can take the MCCEE and the MCCQE, you do have to have 12 months of post-grad training to take all of the exams (the clinical parts). You can take those 12 months anywhere in world. Now, that will grant you eligibility to take the exam, but it will not guarantee that you are treated the same as a Canadian graduate in the actual match. In actuality, you will not be treated the same at all (as per above).
- Finally you have to take into account the program by program bias in terms of FMGs. There are more than a few Canadian Residency directors who feel strongly that CMGs are prioritized over IMGs. So even if the Medical Council of Canada, and the provincial boards remove all of the technical barriers for IMGs to be placed into Canadian spots (that will never happen), then you still have to get through the bias on a program by program level.
This is just a small taste of all of the information out there, but the main point of my message is that while it is possible to come back to Canada for residency, you will not have the same options as a Canadian Graduate. I really think you need to do more research, talk to actual IMGs, get all of the documentation you can, the statistics (very important) and the match lists for IMGs. I believe if you do that, you'll realize very quickly that you should give yourself a chance in Canada first before going abroad… I had to make a similar decision not too long ago. I looked at all of the info and realized that it made more sense for me to take an extra year to try and raise my GPA than to go abroad. I think that it makes more sense for you to get a Canadian Degree, see how you do in the normal app process and then see if you need to go abroad as an option. Go to a Canadian University, get a Canadian bachelors degree and try to be accepted to a Canadian or American school. Why limit your options before you've even had a chance to try?
I really do hope that in the end you get what you want, and because of that tenacity you have, I'm sure that some way you will. But please be careful about pigeon-holing yourself into something so early in your life. You have a long way to go yet, and there's plenty of time. There's no rush. Enjoy your university life in Canada, get good grades and take it from there. I think that patience would work well for you here.
🙂
Good luck,
V.
