How hard is it to get a GP residency in Canada as Canadian from an Irish med school?

[EdmontonOilers]

Hi

Im a Canadian who decided go to Ireland for medical school. Im in my second year here at UCD and Im in my early 20’s. Im starting to think ahead towards whether or not Im going to try to focus my energies on trying to get a GP residency in Canada or a GP or IM residency in the US. I want to decided between one country or the other now because it will influence where I will decide to do my electives during the summer (in Canada or the US) and which exams Im going to write. I don’t feel like I have time to prepare strong applications to both countries as I have only so many summers to do electives and so much time to study properly for exams. At this point I would much rather practice as a GP in Canada than practice in the US. One of the reasons for this is because of the visa issues I would have to deal with if I pursued a residency in the US on a J-1 (difficult and stressful process). However, Im worried that its much harder to obtain a GP residency in Canada than a GP or IM residency in the States. Upper years at my school are confident that a UCD graduate can get a GP residency in Canada (and many of them have been) but I get the general impression from researching the web that it isnt even worth an IMG’s time to apply for a residency in Canada. I am just hearing that it’s so hard and you’re chances arent that good. Is it really an unrealistic goal for a Candian IMG or did I just stumble on some old or biased sources? Any websites or sources I can read to get reliable info on this? If this is the case then I don’t want to waste my time and energy focusing on trying to get a residency in Canada but go for the US. So my question is, does anybody know if its much harder for a Canadian Irish grad to get a GP residency in Canada vs. a GP or IM residency in the US on a J-1 visa. Its really bothering me and I want to make a decision soon. Thanks so much guys.

I find this website very helpful. Does anyone know of any other good websites with medical forums that would be helpful for a Canadian studying at an Irish medical school.

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[firetown]

Just briefly on Canada. IMG's are allowed in the second iteration in Canada. Most of the positions in the second iteration are in family medicine. Being a grad from Ireland, you stand a pretty good chance of getting into a family medicine residency. I know for a fact that many Canadian graduates from Ireland, UK and Australia do much in the second iteration in Canada. Some match unto other specialties like surgery and the like. Check the CARMS site for the statistics.
www.carms.ca
In addition, most of the provinces also have programs to allow IMG's to enter into residency. Check this site.
http://www.img-canada.ca/

Howwever it is much, much easier for IMG's to get a residency in the US than in Canada though IMG's from Ireland, UK and Australia have huge advantage over IMG's from other countries.

 

[Mike59]

Definitely do-able....I'm pretty sure that in most provinces you can enter the first iteration if you're a Canadian citizen (they changed the rules).

There are plenty of open family medicine spots even after the first round so it's up for the taking.

One thing to consider however is that GP salaries are LOW in Canada and that you may have lots of debt to pay back coming from Ireland. Do your math 'cause it's not worth living like a student into your late 30's....

 

[firetown]

Definitely do-able....I'm pretty sure that in most provinces you can enter the first iteration if you're a Canadian citizen (they changed the rules).

There are plenty of open family medicine spots even after the first round so it's up for the taking.

One thing to consider however is that GP salaries are LOW in Canada and that you may have lots of debt to pay back coming from Ireland. Do your math 'cause it's not worth living like a student into your late 30's....

I am not sure about what rule changes you are talking about. At the CARMS (Canadian Matching) website, it is stated explicitly that IMG's can only apply to the second iteration (Except for Quebec, if you passed the french exam and are cleared by their coucil to apply). Maybe you mean US grads. US grads are not considered as IMG's and are allowed to enter the first iteration.

Not much of plenty of positions in family medicine for grabs considering number of candidates that apply and the number of positions available. In 2005, only 12.6% IMG's matched in the second round (80 out of 629) with 54 matching in family medicine. For 2006, the results are not yet in but you can read this article
http://www.cma.ca/index.cfm?ci_id=10033173&la_id=1&topstory=1
Only 208 spots for 1,150 applicants in the second round (which includes unmatched Can grads + all IMG's). It will not be easy to secure a residency in family medicine as an IMG but as I wrote before IMG's from Australia, Ireland and UK have a huge advantage.

For salaries, some rural ontario positions offer guaranteed incomes of $300,000 plus other benefits. http://www.medhunters.com/job/8365.html