Foreign applicants? Check this out then...something you wanna know about Canada

[Aria2012]

Individuals who receive basic medical degrees from medical schools that are not accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) or the equivalent committee in the United States, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), are considered to be international medical graduates (IMGs).


Canadian citizens or legal permanent residents who have taken their medical training outside Canada or the United States are also considered to be IMGs.

Immigrating to Canada

If you wish to train or practice medicine in Canada, you must contact the Canadian embassy nearest to you for more information on immigrating to Canada.

Establishing Professional Competence

Before any application for immigration can be approved, IMGs must establish

professional competence. Canadian immigration officers rely on the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) in this regard.

Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination (MCCEE): IMGs seeking admission to Canada on the basis of their medical qualifications must pass the MCCEE. The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) administers the MCCEE to evaluate general medical knowledge compared to graduates of Canadian medical schools. The examination is designed to test your understanding of the principal fields of medicine, including internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry, surgery and others.

In order to sit the MCCEE, IMGs must have completed all the academic and practical

Requirements to obtain the qualification of Doctor of Medicine (MD), or equivalent, from the university that granted the medical degree. The university awarding the medical degree must be listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, published by the World Health Organization (WHO). The examination is held in English and French in various centres in Canada and abroad. It is usually held in March and September. To obtain an application to write the MCCEE or, to receive a list of examination centres, contact:

Medical Council of Canada, Box 8234, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KlG 3H7, telephone: (613) 521-6012, fax: (613) 521-9417.

Pre-registration Clinical Training/Postgraduate Medical Training Success in the MCCEE is only the first step toward obtaining a general license to practise medicine in Canada. In some provinces, IMGs must also undergo pre-registration training in Canada. This training generally consists of an approved residency, the length of which varies from province to province. For specific details, contact the licensing authority in the Canadian province or territory in which you wish to practise. A list of the licensing authorities is given below. It is important to note that, at present, there are very few opportunities in Canada for IMGs to pursue the postgraduate medical training that would lead to medical licensure in this country.

Thirteen accredited Canadian postgraduate medical training programs participate in the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). This service matches prospective physicians to a training program. Not all medical schools participating in the matching service accept international graduates into their postgraduate medical training programs. Applications from IMGs are processed according to the policies established by each institution. For more information about the service, please write to the following address or refer to their website at www.cma.ca.

Canadian Resident Matching Service
151 Slater Street, Suite 802
Ottawa, ON. Canada K1P 5H3

Achieving Licensure

The registration for licensure of physicians in Canada is under the jurisdiction of the medical licensing authorities. Most Canadian medical licensing authorities require physicians to become a Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) before being considered as candidates for licensure. The MCC issues the LMCC to IMGs following

1. successful completion of the MCCEE;

2. successful completion of the Qualifying Examination Part I;

3. proof of satisfactory completion of 12 months of postgraduate medical

training; and

4. successful completion of the Qualifying Examination Part II.

In addition to the professional competence standards, some licensing authorities also require supplementary professional examinations and/or language examinations. For information regarding specific provincial/territorial requirements, please contact the licensing authority in the province or territory in which you wish to train or practise. A list of the licensing bodies is given below for your convenience.

Studying In Canada under certain limited circumstances, IMGs may obtain additional medical training in Canada with a view to returning to their home country. Such individuals require registration with the provincial medical licensing authority, as well as authorization from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Contact the relevant provincial/territorial medical licensing authority for more information.

You may also wish to purchase the CMA publication, "MedGuide", which provides current licensing requirements for all provinces and territories, important information about specialty certification and other medical organizations representing the interests of Canadian physicians, and other valuable information. For further details about this publication and how to order, please contact the CMA Membership Services Centre toll free at 1-800-663-7336, extension 2307.

The information outlined above is not definitive or exhaustive. Please contact the relevant authorities referenced for specific details.

PROVINCIAL/TERRITORIAL LICENSING BODIES

Dept. of Consumer & Corporate Affairs
Government of the Yukon
P.O. Box 2703
Whitehorse, YT Y1A 2C6 Phone: (403) 667-5811

Professional Licensing, Dept. of Justice & Public Service,
Gov't. of NWT
P.O. Box 1320
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9 Phone: (403) 920-8058, FAX (403) 873-0272

College of Physicians and Surgeons
of British Columbia
1807 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6J 2A9 Phone: (604) 733-7758

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
900 Manulife Place, 10180-101 Street
Edmonton, AB T5J 4P8 (403) 423-4764

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan
211 Fourth Avenue South
Saskatoon, SK S7K 1N1 Phone: (306) 244-7355

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba
494 St. James Street
Winnipeg, MB R3G 3J4 Phone: (204) 774-4344

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
80 College Street
Toronto, ON M5G 2E2 Phone: (416) 961-1711

College des medecins du Quebec
2170, boul. Rene-Levesque Ouest
Montreal (Quebec) H3H 2T8 Phone: (514) 933-4441

College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick
1 Hampton Rd., P.O. Sack 628
Rothesay, NB E2E 5K8 Phone: (506) 849-5050

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
5248 Morris Street
Halifax, NS B3J 1B4 Phone: (902) 422-5823, FAX (902) 422-5035

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Prince Edward Island
199 Grafton Street
Charlottetown, PE C1A 1L2 Phone: (902) 566-3861

Newfoundland Medical Board
139 Water St., St. John's, NF A1C 1B2 Phone: (709) 726-8546


And heres an example:

In Iran, Dr. Shahab Khanahmadi, a graduate of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, had worked as a family physician for two years. He also worked as an assistant in the university neurology department’s clinical electrophysiology laboratory, studying diseases such as epilepsy. But in Canada, Khanahmadi hasn’t been able to work as a doctor. The closest he’s come to a hospital is as an unpaid assistant to a neurologist and as a volunteer in a family practice.
The 32-year-old says, “I am so disappointed.” He is the victim of a complicated bureaucracy that seems intent on shutting out foreign-trained physicians.
Khanahmadi came to Vancouver in September 2001. Because his English is flawless, he aced the language tests—written and oral—that foreign-trained doctors must pass to practise in this country. He also passed a series of Canadian medical exams. This year Khanahmadi applied for a residency position under the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). He got two interviews but no position. Last year British Columbia had only six positions set aside in family practice for immigrant doctors. In September 2004 Khanahmadi will try for one of these positions, and he says that if he doesn’t make it this September, he’ll probably move. He has already passed the three exams necessary to work in the United States. “I’d rather stay in Canada,” he says, “but it’s so difficult for me.”
Equally frustrated are patients, health professionals and administrators across the country who struggle with a shortage of doctors every day. Right now, Hamilton is short 40 physicians—and somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 people in the community do not have a doctor. “Young families must use after-hours clinics and hospital emergency departments because they can’t find a physician,” says Kim Harper, former executive director of the Academy of Medicine in Hamilton.
In Calgary, Dana Ball has been looking for a general practitioner (GP) for three years. The mother of three young children says, “Whenever I see a doctor in a clinic or in emergency, I ask, ‘Do you know any doctors that are taking new patients?’ They say, ‘There are no doctors available—there just aren’t any.’”
According to the College of Family Physicians of Canada, 41û2 million people had trouble finding a family physician in 2002. We lack at least 3,000 family doctors, and the situation is getting worse. The country produces fewer family physicians now than it did a decade ago. The shortfall could grow to 6,000 by 2011 if nothing is done.
Specialists are also in critically short supply. We need cardiovascular specialists, anesthetists, psychiatrists, radiologists, obstetricians. Hospitals have to turn patients away because of a shortage of emergency room physicians. In January 2000 Joshua Fleuelling, 18, suffered a serious asthma attack in Scarborough. Because the nearest hospital could not accept any more patients, the ambulance took him to another hospital, where he died. The coroner’s inquest listed the acute shortage of physicians in local emergency departments as one of the causes of his death.
Canada’s doctor shortage is partly rooted in a 1991 report commissioned by the provincial deputy ministers of health. In that document, Morris Barer and Greg Stoddart, two health economists, predicted that Canada was facing a physician surplus. In response, provincial governments, scrambling to save money, cut first-year enrollment to Canadian medical schools by about ten percent. Dr. Andrew Cave, an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, says, “Despite the predictions of the gurus ten years ago, in fact, we need more doctors.”
Dr. Dale Dauphinee, executive director of the Medical Council of Canada, coauthored a report in 1999 that calculated that Canada needs to recruit 2,500 new doctors a year. This would cover both physicians retiring or leaving the country and population growth. Our own graduates can’t fill the void: Our medical schools graduate only 1,570 new doctors a year—a shortfall of 930.
A major problem is the shortage of residency openings. The provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons, which grant doctors their licences, require that after medical school, doctors complete a residency: at least two years of hands-on training, usually in a hospital. An American residency is treated on a par with a Canadian one, but residencies in other countries are not. Therefore, the majority of immigrant doctors have to complete a residency here.
“The snag is getting the training,” Cave explains. “You can pass all your exams, but you still can’t get into a training program.”
Dr. Abdel Bashir graduated from the Sudanese University of Gezira as a general practitioner in 1995. That same year, he came to Ontario, fleeing a brutal dictatorship. In Canada Bashir passed the English exams as well as the Medical Council of Canada’s Evaluation Exam, which all foreign doctors must write. He also passed the council’s Qualifying Exam, which Canadian medical graduates must do to get their licences. He also became a Canadian citizen. However, the final step—getting a residency—proved to be much more challenging than he’d ever imagined.
Bashir had his eye on becoming a resident in internal medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton. But to get there, he needed to pass two more exams—one written and one clinical—administered by the Ontario International Medical Graduate Program. Bashir says, “I had never failed an exam in my life.” But the first time he took the Ontario exams, his clinical scores were not high enough to be accepted into the program. He tried again a year later, with the same disappointing result.
When he wasn’t on social assistance, Bashir worked as a cabbie and a dishwasher. He tried the exams again in 2002 and 2003. His written results were always among the highest out of some 500 candidates. But the examiners weren’t satisfied with his clinical skills. They told Bashir his accent made it difficult for patients to understand him. Finally, in 2004, almost nine years and 15 exams later, Bashir got closer to practising here as a doctor. He secured a residency at McMaster. It was what he had always wanted, but he says, “I am 33. I’ve lost nine years—almost a third of my life.”
Foreign doctors can compete with Canadian medical school graduates for residency positions, but in order to do so, they have to register with CaRMS. And there is a catch: Foreign doctors will only be considered after Canadian-trained graduates have found residency positions. They can compete in the second round—for the leftovers. The competition is stiff. In 2003, 625 international graduates competed. Only 67—about ten percent—found a position.
In every province the situation regarding residency positions varies: the number of positions available, the rules about how to get them and how long a doctor has to train. Each province sets aside a few positions for foreign doctors, but in no province is the number of residencies available equal to the number of doctors seeking to fill them.
In Manitoba, the shortage of doctors has been particularly severe. But the province recently changed its regulations, creating a new program that allows a foreign graduate to receive enhanced training for up to one year to qualify as a doctor.
Mahmoud Ebadi immigrated to Canada from Iran in 1999 with his wife and two boys. He had studied medicine at the University of Tabriz and been a GP for five years. However, both Citizenship and Immigration and the Canadian embassy in Iran warned him there were no positions for immigrant physicians in Canada. They were right.
Then, in 2001, the Manitoba government announced its new program and Ebadi was accepted. After his skills were assessed, he was told he needed to complete a one-year training program. At the end of November 2003, he finally started working as a doctor for the Burntwood Regional Health Authority in Thompson, Man. “Four years is a long time to wait,” says Dr. Ebadi. “But it’s fantastic to be back in practice again.”
Admitting qualified doctors makes economic sense. If a foreign-trained doctor requires additional training to come up to Canadian standards, it is far cheaper to provide it than to educate a doctor entirely from scratch. Herb Emery, an associate professor of economics at the University of Calgary, says it costs Alberta taxpayers about $300,000 to put a student through three years of medical school. This would be saved if immigrants who already have medical degrees were accepted for residencies.
Joan Atlin, executive director of the Association of International Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, estimates that Ontario has between 2,000 and 4,000 immigrant doctors looking for a practice. “Doctors are coming with thousands of dollars of training and experience in their pockets,” says Atlin. “They have a right to be assessed, and if found to be qualified, they should be allowed to practise their profession.”
Patrick Coady, co-ordinator of a group that assists the Association of International Medical Doctors of British Columbia, agrees. “We have people who have been the heads of emergency medicine in hospitals servicing a population of a million, anesthetists who have been practising for 20 years. After they pass all the exams, go through all the hoops, they can’t even mop a floor in a hospital let alone work as a medical professional.”
Vancouver MP Dr. Hedy Fry, a medical doctor and the parliamentary secretary to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Judy Sgro, believes that we have to look at fast-tracking. “Do we always have to have doctors come in and spend a year in residency?” she asks. “When do we start valuing foreign experience? Europe is ahead of us on this. You can be trained in Italy and work in the United Kingdom. We’re lagging.”
The Medical Council of Canada’s Dr. Dale Dauphinee is more blunt: “We are shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Still wanna go to Europe to do your 6 years of med-school??

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[marbok3891]

Thank you for the valuable information... I've been considering going to Canada and have done some research on obtaining a medical license there. From what I gathered, it sounded like achieving that would be bleak. However, based on your post now it seems even bleaker... 🙁 I do hope they change their policies in answer to their shortage of doctors.