some thoughts for your neighbour in the North

[northern one]

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Hey guys: found an article that may be of interest to some
http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/economy/medicare_doctor_costs/?hpt=P1

Anyway, a quick intro - I'm a Canadian born recent graduate of a Canadian university. (think Olympics for my hometown). Have been researching podiatry as a potential career path for the past half year.

I've perused the pod boards and have done numerous seraches, but haven't found too much on future outlooks for Canadian pod graduates in the states.

I am above the GPA averages for pod matriculants. I am writing my MCAT in the summer. Aiming for the best score I can achieve (first writing, will not be taking this lightly). I am also currently a graduate student and will be full-time while studying/writing the mcat (amongst other things).

I'd like to practice in the states if I graduate from pod school. Currently I would like to live / practice in California. In addition to CSPM and Western, I am also interested in SCPM and AZpod. Have never lived in the states. Been a few times to a few states. Eventually, I would like to return to my hometown and practice here.

I am a realist - could I get some thoughts / points about my major concerns in pursuing pod school / residency / half my career in the US (specifically california). Am I overlooking some aspects / downplaying potential hurdles?

Much appreciated!

PS - the link I shared is not too related to this post and the discussion I am hoping to spark. However, though I admit I havent searched in depth-about this, I'd also like to get a few thoughts on Obama's healthcare proposal and the impact it may have on young podiarists (especially for non-citizen pods).

 

[GeauxT]

I am writing my MCAT in the summer

yes you are from Canada!

 

[Shireiqiang]

Hey fellow northern one, I am a canadian as well, you will have no problem getting into school if your grades and your MCAT is above the avg. Good to hear about your MCAT focus. Don't shoot for the pod avg's on the MCAT get a good score. Getting loans for school is very doable as well, your options will be limited though. As far as residency goes, you will have a very difficult time getting any of the VA residencies being a non-american, but there are lots of other residency options. Overall if this is what you really want to do you will be fine. Don't be afraid to shadow some pods in your area. Ask them what they think and ask them about their options for working in the US when they graduated. If you want to find out more opinions about medicaid and the current issues with US healthcare use the search function, that kind of stuff is everywhere. As far as Obama's system, I haven't heard anything in particular about how it will affect foreign pods. Feel free to PM me if you need.

 

[dtrack22]

Why don't you want to be a doctor in Canada??

 

[Shireiqiang]

I know you are just joking dtrack, but seriously by the time we all graduate we might as well be practicing in Canada anyways. Don't get me started on the future of podiatry in Canada. We have a lot of work to do.

 

[dtrack22]

Amen brother...you might just see me jump ship. I hear the maple syrup is to die for. Seriously though, I firmly believe that in our country the doctors' have the power. I wish I could dig up the article but a group of OBGYN's went on strike essentially (in Texas i think?) to get their way. Things changed, in favor of the docs, in a real hurry. If Dr.'s are unhappy, a swift and organized movement should be all it takes to get things going in their favor. Plus, no reason to be real worried until Obama actually passes one of his crazy ***** plans through the house and senate.

 

[darazon]

Shireiqiang brings up a good point about the VA residencies, but it's not just the VA that will be a problem, it is also the country hospitals as well. FYI, out of the 13 available residencies in Southern California for 2010, 5 of them require US citizenship. Being a Canadian as well, I spoke to a faculty member, who used to be the residency director for Olive View-UCLA (DVA) and she mentioned that more residencies might be going for the US citizens only. From what I understand, it comes down to where they get the money to pay the residents (i.e. government). If you have your dual, no problem.

I am currently looking into getting my green card, and hopefully that might help open more doors than are currently available. The wait is much longer in California than in other states due to the huge demand for green cards and citizenship.

From what I hear, U of A is still on track to open up a podiatry school in 2012. That would also mean residencies on Canada, and hopefully, better funding under Alberta Health Care and possibly other provinces. I would assume that the tuition would be much less than any of the current podiatry schools (i.e the medical school at UofA is around $10k/year), but I wonder what they will do for entrance requirements being that you basically need a 4.0 to get into UofA Med.

California is great though. I plan to do my residency here and possibly set up shop after I am done -who knows...

The landscape might change dramatically in Canada and the US for podiatry within the next few years --hopefully for the best!

 

[heeltoe]

I am currently looking into getting my green card, and hopefully that might help open more doors than are currently available. The wait is much longer in California than in other states due to the huge demand for green cards and citizenship.

From what I hear, U of A is still on track to open up a podiatry school in 2012. That would also mean residencies on Canada, and hopefully, better funding under Alberta Health Care and possibly other provinces. I would assume that the tuition would be much less than any of the current podiatry schools (i.e the medical school at UofA is around $10k/year), but I wonder what they will do for entrance requirements being that you basically need a 4.0 to get into UofA Med.


The landscape might change dramatically in Canada and the US for podiatry within the next few years --hopefully for the best!

Some of the residency's that state a US citizen requirement will help cdns get the needed requirements if they choose a cdn for their program. This is unique to each program so you would have to find out which programs are willing to do this.

Do you have any sources as to the U of A rumor? Dont get me wrong I would love to see this happen but I have never seen anything that would indicate a school opening up at U of A to be true not to mention anyone I have spoke to on staff at U of A has no clue about this. You can PM any info if you don't feel comfortable posting it. I would love to get some light shed on that subject.

Hopefully Ontario goes the way of Alberta in terms of scope of practice and such soon.

 

[northern one]

I know you are just joking dtrack, but seriously by the time we all graduate we might as well be practicing in Canada anyways. Don't get me started on the future of podiatry in Canada. We have a lot of work to do.

Feeling a little thick atm - can somebody clarify the joke for me please 😳?

I originally didn't think I'd practice in Canada right out of res as I thought I'd most likely be doing a residency in the States. I found a short blurb in a forum somewhere about a 2-yr PM&S at the largest hospital in my city, but have heard rumours that it has since been disbanded. Additionally, I am under the impression that pods have a larger scope of practice in the States - and I currently see myself employing the surgical aspects of pod in addition to the clinical ones.

But I must admit I know very little about how it works here in Canada - will post again on here once I start shadowing.

 

[Shireiqiang]

The residency you are talking about has been closed. There are currently no residencies in Canada. You will have the opportunity to do surgery in Canada, so don't stress about that. This is still at least seven years away, so don't stress too much about it now. It can change.

 

[zloetakoe]

Amen brother...you might just see me jump ship. I hear the maple syrup is to die for. Seriously though, I firmly believe that in our country the doctors' have the power. I wish I could dig up the article but a group of OBGYN's went on strike essentially (in Texas i think?) to get their way. Things changed, in favor of the docs, in a real hurry. If Dr.'s are unhappy, a swift and organized movement should be all it takes to get things going in their favor. Plus, no reason to be real worried until Obama actually passes one of his crazy ***** plans through the house and senate.

Welcome to Obama's crazy *** plan buddy!!!!! By the way, Pods in Canada aren't included in the socialized medicine and are therefore not taking the state insurance that the other physicians are required to take. Translation? Canadian pods are doing awesome. I don't even think you can practice podiatry in Canada unless you are a born citizen. For this reason, I've been wondering if getting the hell out of the government plan (not being included as part of medicaid/medicare) would be a good thing. Everyone is pushing for it, but I don't see the benefit of being involved in the socialized medicine business. Especially with the amount of loans I figure I'm going to be paying back. Sorry, but until the schools aren't charging as much, don't complain about how much medicine is costing. And until the government refuses to pay so much for Student Loans (or just let the private sector take over the market), the cost will keep rising.

 

[Shireiqiang]

I don't even think you can practice podiatry in Canada unless you are a born citizen.

False.

 

[heeltoe]

By the way, Pods in Canada aren't included in the socialized medicine and are therefore not taking the state insurance that the other physicians are required to take.

Also false.

This varies from province to province. For the most part the ones that are included in the socialized medicine are doing better than those that aren't.

 

[zloetakoe]

Hey, I'm just going with what the dean of admissions told me a year ago at NYCPM. So someone is wrong here. I'd love to see what is really going on.

 

[northern one]

bump.

Shirei - how are you enjoying year one? Hope everything's going smoothly.

Still plugging away at my M.Sc.

Wrote the mcat early sept. scored a 32Q...

Actually couldn't find anything on school-based scholarships for Canadians, but I know that a lot will give half-year scholarships to someone with a ~3.5 ogpa and 32Q mcat?

But I have no idea if Canadians qualify for these...

 

[347932]

I'm a Canadian Citizen, who went to Podiatry School at Temple University in Philadelphia and currently practice in the States.

PM me and we'll chat about what's going both here in the States and how your training will translate in Canada. I can also clue you into how the immigration process goes to become a student and then a resident and how difficult it is to get a Green Card. It took my wife and I (she's also Canadian) almost 6 years to get our Green Cards and cost us several tens of thousands of dollars after all was said and done.

I stayed in the US for a multitude of reasons. Let me know if you want to "chat".