Does Canadian clinical experience = US clinical experience???

[Mohd]

Hey guys!

I'm a "foreign medical student" and doing my residency in the US is my only goal for now I was told that doing my electives at a US med school will increase my chances, so the thing is:

I applied for 4 schools at the US and 1 at Canada "Toronto" (a member of the AAMC; Association of American Medical Colleges), 3 rejections so far from the US (no places during June) but Toronto sent me an acceptance, if I did my elective at Toronto would it count as "US clinical experience"???

Thanks!

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[Mohd]

No replies =( !!!
I contacted the NRMP they replied:
"We cannot advise you on electives. You may wish to call a few programs directly to see if they can tell you how it would be evaluated."

Any one with any experience?

 

[Mohd]

[duplicate post - sorry!]

 

[ubcredfox]

US and Canadian schools are both licensed by the same body, but the University of Toronto is in Canada. And we happen to be our own, sovereign, country, so no, your Canadian elective is not a US elective. That being said, because we are licensed under the same body, our electives are largely interchangeable i.e. Canadian students can match to US with Canadian electives and vice versa.

I'm not sure what program you are applying to, but I think the most important bit about your elective is a) what you get out of it b) what you can show for it i.e. reference letters.

I would assume that most good programs in the US would know that the University of Toronto is Canada's biggest medical school, and it's largest research center, so I don't think reputation would be an issue.

 

[Mohd]

And we happen to be our own, sovereign, country,

Just in case, I DO know that Canada and the US are different countries

I would assume that most good programs in the US would know that the University of Toronto is Canada's biggest medical school, and it's largest research center, so I don't think reputation would be an issue.

This is reassuring, thanks

 

[ubcredfox]

Actually, I made an error in the above statement; U of T isn't Canada's biggest medical school - that goes to UBC; it is, however, consistently ranked as Canada's best.

 

[Mohd]

I e-mailed UCSD residency program . . . the answer was: "yes, as far as I know"; so I guess the answer to my question would be . . . most probably yes!

If any one has a definitive answer, it will be most appreciated =) !

 

[surgs]

to the op, yes they are considered the same. i asked this to several US program directors and they said yes, they are equivalent. Hope it helps..

 

[ADDY84]

yes i have also done a few electives in canada and am looking fwd to a us residency...many prog do mention us or canadian exp as equivalent however amazingly whn i called one prog who asked for us exp as a criteria and told tht i had canadian exp instead ... they told no they just wanted us..however i just spoke to coordinator..i doubt she mite not be knwin tht canadian schools r lmce approved as well....still strongly think canadian exp shld be very close to usa .. morever canadian graduates dont even come under def of imgs and they register thru nbme for usmle exams just like us students.

 

[Dr_Kat_Lady]

So what is the verdict? Canadian electives might be accepted in the US residency application process? Would US elective experience count towards a Canadian residency? I am a Canadian studying in Europe...doing both US and Canadian electives...this can get confusing :/