Statement of Need (SON) for a 2-year fellowship position.

[krok]

I am a Canadian IMG on a J1 visa in the US, finishing my residency and applying for fellowships. My field has 1 and 2-year fellowships. (The 2-year ones let you become highly specialized and essentially prepare you for an academic career). I am applying for both 1 and 2-year spots, but I really want to go the 2-year path.

According to the Health Canada website, they will not give statements of need for anything but 1-year fellowships.

My question here is such: how realistic it is to receive the SON for a 2 years position?

I personally know of 1 (one) precedent, where a person not fulfilling the official criteria went through a few circles of Hell until they reached somebody with enough executive power in the ministry to get that darn piece of paper released.

I would like to know if this scenario is realistically reproducible. In other words, how strictly are the SON rules being enforced, is there a loop? Have there been other precedents of getting or not getting SONs in similar circumstances? I really need to gauge the risks before I submit the rank list. Please help. You can PM me if you don't want to publicize details.

On a more elegiac note: Here I am, applying to the best medical institutions in this world. My dreams almost came true! But, no, wait, dear Health Canada is ready to destroy everything because some bureaucrat thinks that 2 years is too much and 1 year is OK.

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[ConfusedChemist]

That is, as far as I know, the reality of not having done your residency in Canada and applying to fellowship in the pathway B option.

 

[Suture15]

If you started residency 2015 or earlier, the rule does not apply to you. If it is later, which it might be, since you're probably going into PGY3 in 2018 (assuming you started in 2016). Then no way out as of yet. The only way to know is your uppers (current PGY3, who started in 2015) and if they were able to match...since this is such a fresh rule.