Canadian citizen at a US med school hoping to return for residency

[Topo]

Hi,

I am a Canadian citizen currently attending an American medical school in MA. I was just wondering what my chances are of getting a residency position at a Canadian medical school - specifically at UBC. I'm only an MS1 at the moment, so I still have quite a few years ahead of me, but I want to begin all and any preparations necessary to increase my chances. I heard that, while in the States your Step 1 score means almost everything, not only does Canada have a different test, but due to different schedules a US applicant probably won't even have time to take the test by the time they apply, so everything actually depends on clinical grades and research? Can someone clarify that?

Thanks!

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[jayceee]

Do you have any connections at UBC?

I'm in a similar situation, but a few years behind. I spent 20 years in Vancouver, did my undergrad at UBC, and spent 5 years working at one of the main hospitals in Vancouver. While I hope to get into UBC med, I moved to the US to establish residency here and give myself a larger chance at med admission. I'm hoping that if I end up at a US MD, I'll be able to schedule as many electives and away rotations at UBC as possible.

But back to my question, do you have connections there? Start now. There are a lot of Canadian kids studying abroad right now who will be vying for those away rotations and elective spots.

I don't have any data to back up my claim, but I would start my getting involved in research and position yourself to get stellar recommendations. You'll be competing with the best of the best. Vancouver is a very desirable city. I'll post some CaRMS info for you as well.

 

[jayceee]

You'll be able to get better info by asking here if you haven't already: http://www.premed101.com/forums/index.php

You should contact someone at UBC for the most accurate info.

http://med.ubc.ca/students-learners...anning-program/residency-program-information/

Number of spots available in Canada: https://w1c.e-carms.ca/pdws2012R1-1/jsp/pd.do?p=p2&m=1

Number of spots by specialty at UBC: https://w1c.e-carms.ca/pdws2012R1-1/jsp/pd.do?s=968&p=p4&m=1

 

[Topo]

Hey, thanks so much jayceee.

I grew up in Vancouver (ever since I was 2). However, I had left for the States for about 3 years for grades 7-9. So, I was back in Van for grades 10-12, and then I went to U of T for college. That resulted in me not being able to apply as an in province student simply because I hadn't been in BC consecutively for I think it was 4 (?) years within the past ten years. I missed the mark by one year and basically, to get into UBC as an OOP is impossible. That's why I'm banking on residency since - well at least I'd like to think that - being a citizen is enough to equalize the playing field.

 

[AStark]

The real issue is whether your school is LCME-accredited. If so, it will appear on this list: http://www.lcme.org/directry.htm

Canadian citizens attending LCME-accredited schools in the US can apply for residency positions in the first round of CaRMS with students at Canadian schools. So it should be fine; you'll just have to arrange many electives in Canada. Otherwise you will need to write the LMCC Part 1 prior to starting residency, but this is usually done *after* the match.

 

[Topo]

Yes, my school is LCME accredited. How many electives, exactly, do you think I would need to arrange? I don't want to keep all my eggs in one basket, so to speak, especially if the odds are low, so I would also want to stay competitive for American residencies just in case.

Also, in case you know the details: are students from LCME-accredited schools exempt from taking any sort of tests? Do Canadian schools look at Step 1?

Thanks!

 

[Medstart108]

I think you should arrange 1 or 2 4 week electives in your specialty of interest at the university or universities you want to apply to. Since you are trained in a US medical school, US schools won't care if you do US electives since you do your rotations in the US.

 

[AStark]

Yes, my school is LCME accredited. How many electives, exactly, do you think I would need to arrange? I don't want to keep all my eggs in one basket, so to speak, especially if the odds are low, so I would also want to stay competitive for American residencies just in case.

Also, in case you know the details: are students from LCME-accredited schools exempt from taking any sort of tests? Do Canadian schools look at Step 1?

Thanks!

The number of electives varies, but generally you'd want 3-4 electives of 2-3 weeks in length in the specialty of your choice. You can have more variety if you're going for family medicine and a bit of variety (but not too much) for IM. For something hyper-competitive like plastics, you want to max out your plastics elective time.

Students from LCME-accredited schools do not have to take the MCCEE (for IMGs), but I would suggest checking the provincial eligibility requirements on the CaRMS website: http://www.carms.ca/

I don't really know whether Canadian schools will look at Step 1, but you do have the option of including your scores.

I think you should arrange 1 or 2 4 week electives in your specialty of interest at the university or universities you want to apply to. Since you are trained in a US medical school, US schools won't care if you do US electives since you do your rotations in the US.

For Canadian electives, I would not recommend doing any longer than 3 weeks. Anything longer is harder to arrange and many schools are also fine with 2 week electives. Having said that, there are some areas (like ID) which, for whatever reason, require 4 week electives. But generally 4 weeks is "too long" because it limits time for other electives at different programs.

 

[stillmed]

I'm at a Canadian med school so I am not technically in your situation, but some general comments:

- Our career advisor told us that if you want to apply to UBC you should do a rotation there. Many of their departments are often very adamant about only interviewing people who have rotated at UBC (interestingly, it doesn't matter in what specialty, just that you have been there)

- UBC electives fill up crazy-effin-fast. Book far in advance, like 6 months +

 

[lungdocCA]

I am a US citizen trained in the US and certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care
My parents came from Canada and my relatives still live in Canada (mainly Alberta). My older children live in Northern Washington near BC where I am interested in living.
I am sick of medical practice in the US and fascinated about the possiblity of practice in Canada but assumed in would be impossible.
When I was born my mother was a Canadian citizen; according to the Canadian Immigration website I believe I would qualify for Canadian dual citizenship.
I wonder how hard it would be to get licensed to practice my specialty in Canada? Impossible?

 

[Knightmd]

To the OP. Your chances are way better of just completing your residency in the US and then coming to Canada to practice.

 

[AStark]

That's only really true for certain specialties, and not (for example) something like Anesthesiology.

 

[IGotGas]

That's only really true for certain specialties, and not (for example) something like Anesthesiology.

Why? Is it particularly difficult to practice anesthesiology in Canada after a US residency?

 

[AStark]

The residency in Canada is a year longer. I'm sure it wouldn't be impossible but far from automatic.

 

[0nsp]

The real issue is whether your school is LCME-accredited. If so, it will appear on this list: http://www.lcme.org/directry.htm

Canadian citizens attending LCME-accredited schools in the US can apply for residency positions in the first round of CaRMS with students at Canadian schools. So it should be fine; you'll just have to arrange many electives in Canada. Otherwise you will need to write the LMCC Part 1 prior to starting residency, but this is usually done *after* the match.

This is not true. Unless something has changed, IMGs can only apply to the first round of CaRMS in Quebec and Manitoba regardless of LCME-accreditation. This is going protect graduates of Canadian medical schools, to make sure there is a position for them. In all other provinces, IMGs are relegated to the second round, where competition is fierce if any spots are available at all. I know that UofT never has any second rounds spots left. UBC will sometimes, but it depends which specialty you want. As an IMG, if your 're look at rads, optho, derm or plastics, forget about it. If you want family, internal, psych, gen surg, there will be spots but you really need to make your application stand out. At our institution, we receive 130ish applications for 1-2 spots in the second round, and this is in an "undesirable" province. If you really want to come back to Canada, I would say aim for an "undesirable" province for residency, then after you can move wherever you want when you're staff. UBC has been known to cancel electives at the last minute and barely has enough room for their own students.

Edit: things have changed since I did CaRMS. Apparently the above poster was right about LCME-accredited schools. See here :
http://www.carms.ca/eng/r1_eligibility_e.shtml

This changes everything because now the playing field is level and your chances are MUCH better. Definitely do lots of electives in your field, especially at UBC, and get solid research and recommendations related to that field.

 

[NewCanadian]

I am a US citizen trained in the US and certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care
My parents came from Canada and my relatives still live in Canada (mainly Alberta). My older children live in Northern Washington near BC where I am interested in living.
I am sick of medical practice in the US and fascinated about the possiblity of practice in Canada but assumed in would be impossible.
When I was born my mother was a Canadian citizen; according to the Canadian Immigration website I believe I would qualify for Canadian dual citizenship.
I wonder how hard it would be to get licensed to practice my specialty in Canada? Impossible?

If you are certified in the US in IM and pulmonary medicine, you should contact the licensing authority directly to see if you qualify for a medical licence to practice in BC. You should contact Health Match BC to see what practice opportunities are available. The licensing authority is the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. You must be either a Canadian Citizen or a Permanent Resident of Canada.