Canadian in US medical school planning to apply back home for residency

[nori_323]

Hi,

I'm a Canadian citizen who's currently studying medicine at a US allopathic medical school. I would like to go back to Canada for residency as that's where I want to ultimately practice medicine. Although there are a lot more locations and opportunities in Ontario, I have a lot of friends and family in Vancouver, BC, so that would be the preferable location (not that I wouldn't be happy in Ontario either…). However, seeing as there's only one school in all of BC, I'm a bit worried about my chances.

For anyone who has even the slightest insight into all this, I have a few questions:

1. Does my USMLE step 1 score matter at all in the Canadian match? I know I should aim for a decent score still, incase I want to stay in the US, but how much does it actually matter for Canada?

2. If the above doesn't play a major role (if any), how else can I make myself competitive? Does research play as big a role for Canada as it does in the US?

3. I know that US med students can apply in the same round as students in Canada, but would I still be in anyway at a disadvantage? Do I need to stand out in a particular area, outside of the usual rotations grades and letters of recommendation?

4. Is it unrealistic to aim for a single school to match to? Especially coming from the US?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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[Medstart108]

1. Supposedy UofT will consider it if you have it, I think they will look at if you are coming from a US school. There isn't really a set formula for residency applications, they'll likely look at anything that is relevant. Don't expect them to place too much emphasis on them though because your score won't be useful in comparing you to other candidates as most won't have a step 1 score.

2. You can make yourself competitive by getting Canadian electives at places you want to match. Also getting LoRs from the physicians you do your elective with. Research will be a positive but probably more so at a more research focused school like Toronto or UBC.

3. You probably will be at a disadvantage if you look at the stats. Only about 50-60% of US applicants to Canadian programs matched through CaRMS if i'm right, this is much lower than the numbers for Canadian medical schools. You probably will need to stand out to get a better chance of matching especially if you are going for a competitive specialty.

4. It definitely is unrealistic to aim for a single school, you can't even do that as a Canadian grad these days. Depending on your specialty of choice, the competitiveness of your application you really should apply broadly. If you want to match in Canada do your electives in Canada, simple as that.

 

[bearded frog]

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[MontereyMD]

depends on the residency and be careful not to burn any bridges.

For example FM in Canada is 2 years while FM in the US is 3 years. Realistically if you want to practice in the US you need to be board certified through ABFM and they require a 3 year US program. Your Canadian 2 year program won't be recognized in the US so you will not be able to practice FM in the US just with a Canadian residency.
However the opposite is not true. A 3 year US FM program is recognized as equivalent to a Canadian program so you can practice immediately in Canada after becoming certified by ABFM.
It seems everyone in Canada wants to do their FM residency in Vancouver so there is a lot of competition. Canadians as usual are very parochial so they always give preference for residencies to their own medical school graduates and then to Canadian graduates.

 

[Medstart108]

Is this number all USMDs applying to CaRMS or Canadian citizens studying at american schools? Because as a Canadian you'd probably have a better shot somewhere where you have a vested interest in staying, and don't require a visa.

This is some distant stat I have from the back of my head. I checked CaRMS. 40 applicants from US schools applied and 25 matched. 13 US grads matched to their 1st choice program. It doesn't distinguish between MD and DO but the majority of applicants are probably MDs.

https://www.carms.ca/assets/upload/pdfs/2013R1_MatchResults/Table_15_En.pdf

 

[nori_323]

Hey guys, thanks so much for the replies, especially Medstart108!

I'm a bit bummed at the stats for US med school grads, but I'm glad for the info because the advisor at my school gave the impression that it was "easy" to get matched back into Canada and completely brushed aside my concerns. I'm not set on any one specialty yet since I'm still in the pre-clinical years, but I'm not too picky...definitely willing to compromise based on my overall stats and, of course, my desire to match to UBC. We'll see how it goes... Thanks again!

 

[bearded frog]

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[AStark]

1. Not really. You can include it, especially if you get a good score, but residency matching in Canada is mainly determined by elective performance and interviews.

2. Research is relevant but not essential. Do you know what specialty you'd like to do? It will be key to do electives of 2-3 weeks in at least 2-3 centres to get face time with staff. Try to meet with program directors and get to know residents. Better yet, get a strong letter of reference from preceptors. I don't know much about the US match.

3. You'll be at a slight disadvantage since you won't have the same connections at your home school. That's not absolutely essential, though, and people match to programs where they haven't even done electives all the time. The CaRMS stats don't look quite as good for US grads, but I'm not sure whether that's confounded by people matching in the US (i.e. they apply to CaRMS and ERAS but match to the latter instead).

4. Yes. It is always unrealistic to assume you'll be able to match at a particular program. However, you certainly can impress upon staff and program directors that you really want to go to that spot. I would recommend against applying to more than one program at a single school, but you certainly can try to make a strong impression at your preferred program. That's sound advice for everyone.

It seems everyone in Canada wants to do their FM residency in Vancouver so there is a lot of competition. Canadians as usual are very parochial so they always give preference for residencies to their own medical school graduates and then to Canadian graduates.

I've known a few people who've matched to UBC FM in Vancouver, but the Kelowna site is arguably a lot more sought after. I don't think a large urban centre is a particularly good place to train in family medicine. Your second statement is absolutely false. There are some programs which even specifically prefer to rank people from elsewhere.

 

[Medstart108]

1. Not really. You can include it, especially if you get a good score, but residency matching in Canada is mainly determined by elective performance and interviews.

2. Research is relevant but not essential. Do you know what specialty you'd like to do? It will be key to do electives of 2-3 weeks in at least 2-3 centres to get face time with staff. Try to meet with program directors and get to know residents. Better yet, get a strong letter of reference from preceptors. I don't know much about the US match.

3. You'll be at a slight disadvantage since you won't have the same connections at your home school. That's not absolutely essential, though, and people match to programs where they haven't even done electives all the time. The CaRMS stats don't look quite as good for US grads, but I'm not sure whether that's confounded by people matching in the US (i.e. they apply to CaRMS and ERAS but match to the latter instead).

4. Yes. It is always unrealistic to assume you'll be able to match at a particular program. However, you certainly can impress upon staff and program directors that you really want to go to that spot. I would recommend against applying to more than one program at a single school, but you certainly can try to make a strong impression at your preferred program. That's sound advice for everyone.



I've known a few people who've matched to UBC FM in Vancouver, but the Kelowna site is arguably a lot more sought after. I don't think a large urban centre is a particularly good place to train in family medicine. Your second statement is absolutely false. There are some programs which even specifically prefer to rank people from elsewhere.

Regarding point 3. CaRMS gets first pick, so if you match in CaRMS you are automatically withdrawn form ERAS. So it shouldn't be affecting the stats.

https://www.carms.ca/en/application-to-us-eras Under Step 2

 

[AStark]

What I meant is that the CaRMS match rate does not really reflect whether those individuals ended up matching in the US instead.

Anyway...

 

[nori_323]

What I meant is that the CaRMS match rate does not really reflect whether those individuals ended up matching in the US instead.

Anyway...

Thanks AStark! I'll definitely try to do as many electives as I can back home.

And I get your point on the match rate stats: because I have the opportunity to match in America as well, depending on my step scores, I would definitely narrow down the places I'd be applying to in Canada - e.g. I want to go back to the west coast and be closer to family so if I don't get UBC, Cali and Washington are close seconds, so I wouldn't want to apply TOO broadly in Canada...something like that.

Anyways, thanks again for the insight!