Dual citizen, canadian residency from US med school

[DocBBear]

I am currently a first year at a top US med school. For personal reasons I am considering pursuing residency in Canada (Quebec) rather than the US, when the time comes. While it is very early for me to decide on my specialty, I am likely not interested in FM; top of my list right now are Hem/Onc, Cardiology (so IM + fellowship, at least in the US), and Emergency. Here are my questions:

1) If I do complete residency in the US, what obstacles will I encounter in trying to move and practice to Canada? After reviewing other posts this seems to basically be impossible, is there any hope?

2) I pretty much just want to go to Quebec; I have lots of family there and really like the province. (Also my personal reasons would take to Montreal, or as close as I can get). I have decent French, though I do realize if I practice medicine in Quebec I will need to bone up quite a bit. Is there a formal process for ascertaining my fluency?

3) Are there additional accreditation tests I will need to take other than USMLE 1 and 2? CaRMS seems to suggest that I do *not* need to take other tests before applying for Canadian residency, but I wanted to verify that my interpretation is correct.

4) If I do complete residency in Canada, is there any hope of one day returning to the US? (This may not be the best place for this question, but if anyone has any insights I'd much appreciate it!)

Essentially, I am looking for any possible flexibility in moving between the US and Canada as a physician...Thanks very much in advance!

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[C5toC9]

I think you have to take MCQEE

 

[Giemsa]

1) If I do complete residency in the US, what obstacles will I encounter in trying to move and practice to Canada?

Assuming you're a Canadian citizen, having passed your American Internal Med / Sub board exams, you will then need to complete the Canadian exams (LMCC Part I and II, and the Royal College certification exams). You may find a position where the hospital will allow you to work without your Royal College exams, or they may expect you to pass them within a certain period of time (e.g. within 3 years). Note that I am a pitiable Anglophone and really don't know anything about la belle province - this is how it generally works elsewhere, but the rules may be different in Quebec (as so many things often are 🙂)

http://www.cmq.org/en/ObtenirPermis/DiplomesCanadaUS.aspx

2) I pretty much just want to go to Quebec; I have lots of family there and really like the province. (Also my personal reasons would take to Montreal, or as close as I can get). I have decent French, though I do realize if I practice medicine in Quebec I will need to bone up quite a bit. Is there a formal process for ascertaining my fluency?

Bien sur!
http://www.cmq.org/en/ObtenirPermis/DiplomesCanadaUS/ExamenFrancais.aspx

3) Are there additional accreditation tests I will need to take other than USMLE 1 and 2? CaRMS seems to suggest that I do *not* need to take other tests before applying for Canadian residency, but I wanted to verify that my interpretation is correct.

If you're at an allopathic US school, you're good. If you're going osteopathic, you'll need the MCCEE.

4) If I do complete residency in Canada, is there any hope of one day returning to the US? (This may not be the best place for this question, but if anyone has any insights I'd much appreciate it!)

😕

 

[drake19]

To Gimesa:

In your post you said "If you're at an allopathic US school, you're good. If you're going osteopathic, you'll need the MCCEE."

Does that mean we only write Step 1 and 2 and we are exempt from MCQEE?

 

[Giemsa]

To Gimesa:

In your post you said "If you're at an allopathic US school, you're good. If you're going osteopathic, you'll need the MCCEE."

Does that mean we only write Step 1 and 2 and we are exempt from MCQEE?

If you graduate from an allopathic US school, you don't need to write the MCCEE. You will still need to write and pass the LMCCs part I and II (written typically during the 4th year of med school and early second year of residency, respectively). In other words, you must still be a Licentiate of the LMCC - the USMLEs do NOT exempt you.

 

[Scarlet Woman]

I am currently a first year at a top US med school. For personal reasons I am considering pursuing residency in Canada (Quebec) rather than the US, when the time comes. While it is very early for me to decide on my specialty, I am likely not interested in FM; top of my list right now are Hem/Onc, Cardiology (so IM + fellowship, at least in the US), and Emergency. Here are my questions:

1) If I do complete residency in the US, what obstacles will I encounter in trying to move and practice to Canada? After reviewing other posts this seems to basically be impossible, is there any hope?

2) I pretty much just want to go to Quebec; I have lots of family there and really like the province. (Also my personal reasons would take to Montreal, or as close as I can get). I have decent French, though I do realize if I practice medicine in Quebec I will need to bone up quite a bit. Is there a formal process for ascertaining my fluency?

3) Are there additional accreditation tests I will need to take other than USMLE 1 and 2? CaRMS seems to suggest that I do *not* need to take other tests before applying for Canadian residency, but I wanted to verify that my interpretation is correct.

4) If I do complete residency in Canada, is there any hope of one day returning to the US? (This may not be the best place for this question, but if anyone has any insights I'd much appreciate it!)

Essentially, I am looking for any possible flexibility in moving between the US and Canada as a physician...Thanks very much in advance!

Thank you for posting this forum. I have moved recently to Canada too and I am still trying to figure all sorts of things out. I think I'll be looking a lot at these forums over the next few months.

 

[Germanada]

To practice permanently in Quebec (if you do not have Quebec residence) you will have to pass a pretty tough French exam.

Having said that, it is possible to match Quebec schools from the States. One of the former seniors during my internal med rotation at my school had matched there from the States.

For most Canadian and US residency programs, they are considered equivalent across the borders. The one exception is ENT - Canadian ENT graduates are not board eligible in the U.S. Aside from that it's not a problem; plenty of residency grads from Canada end up moving across the border to practice in the US

If you end up staying interested in emergency, consider that the EM residency in Canada is longer than in the States.