Can an American MD in internal medicine get a job in the Vancouver area?

[jomm]

Hi all,
I'm in the third and final year or internal medicine residency in the US. My husband and I love the Vancouver area and my husband has a potential job opportunity in the area (ie Burnaby). What is required for me to work in internal medicine in Canada? And how easy is it to find jobs in this area? Lastly, how much would I expect to make, considering how expensive the Vancouver area is?

Thanks....

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[tussy]

I'm not sure as far as job availability, however, i can tell you that internal medicine is 4 years in canada, so to be eligible here you would either have to do another year of training or a fellowship.

 

[ninjapenguin]

You have a few hurdles to jump in order to obtain licensure from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC.
1. You'll probably need to write the Canadian MCCQE Part 1 and 2 exams (similar to USMLE Steps 2 and 3).
2. As tussy mentioned, your IM residency is only 3 years whereas those in Canada are 4. This means you'll either need to do a PGY-4 year at a Canadian institution if you want to be a general internist, or begin a fellowship if you want to be a specialist. On the bright side, BC is known to have the highest resident salaries in Canada, which is significantly higher than American programs as well given the recent strength of the Canadian dollar.
3. You're not a Canadian citizen. Your prospective employer will have to sponsor you for the appropriate visa and documentation that will allow you to work in Canada.
If you should manage to get past all of that, then finding a job may still prove to be difficult. The Vancouver metro area is somewhat saturated, and there is a far greater demand for physicians in rural areas of BC, where you are likely to be paid much more.

 

[tantrum]

I agree with most posts. If you are board-certified in IM in the US, they may allow you to take their equivalent RCPCS exam without the other exams. However, you still have to undergo one more year of training (they also consider any fellowship) as their IM programs are 4 years.

 

[super67]

How about if someone has four year of US training? do they still need to get Canadian training and sit in the exam? I am board certified internist and US board certified in geriatric medicine (total of 4 years of training).
Please be advice.

 

[Gyric]

Maybe it is because Canadian pathology is in shambles, but I get occasional recruitment letters. I think if you are well trained and they need you, there is quite a bit of flexibility, certainly no med school exams, at most the specialty exam and fast-track to citizenship is what I have seen.

 

[Renovar]

I am kind of in the same shoe. Canadian citizen, US trained (IM residency + renal fellowship, will be finishing with renal fellowship this year) looking at potentially working in Canada. Total training of 3 years IM+ 2 years renal. Wondering what kind of hoops I need to jump through to get there...