Please help understand the path back to Canada after US education

[EndoMD]

Hi all,

I would really appreciate your help. I have googled around but have not seen a straight answer.

My profile:

* Medical School: outside of North America
* Residency: 3-year Internal Medicine residency in ECFMG accredited program in the United States
* Fellowship: 2-year fellowship in ECFMG accredited program in the United States in ENDOCRINOLOGY
* Board certified in the US and have been going through residency and fellowship with H1b visa

Questions:

1- To practice in Canada, would I have to be officially assessed by Royal College of Canada?
2- Which exams would I have to take?
3- Would I be able to work as an Endocrinologist (that is to say that my fellowship is recognized) after I pass these exams?
4- Could I go and find a job as an Endocrinologist in Toronto right away? or would I have to practice under supervision or in an undeserved area for a while?


Thank you VERY MUCH in advance

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[UBC2014]

A. Are you a Canadian citizen or PR?

Yes you would have to submit paperwork and go through a process with the Royal college...you have to get licensed in Canada to practice. Check out their website for more information and to figure out the steps you need to do for your specialty.

Good luck though getting a job in Toronto, the centre of the universe, right away though without connections. You should likely be more open to working further out in the suburbs or further at least for a little while until you get experience.

 

[jnuts]

I just posted this on another thread. Might be helpful:

I wouldn't rely on help from SDN alone. There are three different bodies you need to check with directly. If I were you I'd start with the provincial licensing authorities (like State boards):


http://www.royalcollege.ca/portal/page/portal/rc/resources/provincialmra


Pick the provinces where you'd like to do fellowship and either call each college directly or explore the website to find out what type of license you'd like to get based on your plans. If you're just looking for a training license the requirements are much less stringent than for a full license. The requirements are different by province too; some will accept the USMLEs some won't. Some will want RCPSC certification some won't. It's really complicated and situation specific.


Once you've figured that out, next check with the MCC (mcc.ca). There is no real equivalent to the MCC in the States as far as I know. They create and administer the MCC exams but they also grant a license once you've successfully completed them. The MCC license is required to practice independently in Canada but it's not all you need. The provincial license is the more strictly administered one. Honestly, I have no idea if the MCC is accepting completion of all 3 Steps as equivalent to the MCCQEs or not these days. Again, I'd check with them directly.


Lastly, once you've figured all that out you may or may not need to get in touch with the RCPSC (http://www.royalcollege.ca). They are the ones who will certify your specialty training in Psych—equivalent to the ABPN I guess, except there’s only one board for all the specialties in Canada. What US training they accept or don't is again pretty complex (especially if you’re in the 4 year v 5 year situation). But again if you just want to do a fellowship you might not even need the RCPSC.


A small side note. The requirements might be different if you didn’t go to an LMCE accredited medical school. If that’s your situation, make sure you mention it up front when you talk to each of the regulatory bodies above.


Good luck and let us know how it goes; I’m sure there are a lot of people lurking around who’d benefit from your experience.

 

[NewCanadian]

Hi all,

I would really appreciate your help. I have googled around but have not seen a straight answer.

My profile:

* Medical School: outside of North America
* Residency: 3-year Internal Medicine residency in ECFMG accredited program in the United States
* Fellowship: 2-year fellowship in ECFMG accredited program in the United States in ENDOCRINOLOGY
* Board certified in the US and have been going through residency and fellowship with H1b visa

Questions:

1- To practice in Canada, would I have to be officially assessed by Royal College of Canada?
2- Which exams would I have to take?
3- Would I be able to work as an Endocrinologist (that is to say that my fellowship is recognized) after I pass these exams?
4- Could I go and find a job as an Endocrinologist in Toronto right away? or would I have to practice under supervision or in an undeserved area for a while?


Thank you VERY MUCH in advance

I chuckled about getting a straight answer.
There are Advisors at Health Force Ontario who are trained and are knowledgeable. SDN will help a bit, but please, contact them for straight answers.

www.healthforceontario.ca

 

[jnuts]

I chuckled about getting a straight answer.
There are Advisors at Health Force Ontario who are trained and are knowledgeable. SDN will help a bit, but please, contact them for straight answers.

www.healthforceontario.ca

HFO may help for Ontario but not for other provinces.

 

[NewCanadian]

Still, HFO is the best at explaining the system of certification and licensure in Canada. They will explain, for example, that the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) does not issue medical licenses.

 

[jnuts]

Ok, I found HFO pretty obtuse when I was going through the process, but fair enough things may have changed in the last few years. My issue was that you'd get to a certain point and then they'd claim ignorance as they can't address any specific circumstances and only supply general information. They pretty much advised me to take any question I had directly to the CPSO, MCC or RCPSC. As they were very fond of telling me, they are just an arms-length recruitment agency after all.

But that was five years ago; they may have improved. When did you find them useful NewCanadian?

 

[NewCanadian]

There were a number of errors in the OP's question and answers by jnuts.
HFO will describe the process of certification and licensure in Canada clearly.
If someone is actually looking for employment in Ontario, HFO is very helpful.

Summary
The MCC administers three exams: MCC EE (IMGs only), MCC QE 1 and MCC QE 2.
Upon completion of these exams, MCC issues a certificate called Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC), and the doctor is enrolled on the Canadian Medical Register. Licentiate is not a licence. MCC does not accept the USMLEs in lieu of its examinations.
The RCPSC accredits training programs in Canada, conducts assessments of post graduate training, and administers examinations in all specialties and subspecialties, except family medicine.
(Family Medicine falls under the College of Family Physicians of Canada.)
Once the RCPSC exams are completed, the doctor receives a certificate in the specialty and/or subspecialty.

Then, the doctor goes to the licencing authority in the province of choice, and applies for a medical licence.

A licencing authority can, under its own regulations, decide if it will accept the USMLEs in lieu of LMCC for the purpose of issuing a licence.