IMG, in US residency, coming to Canada

[pk401133]

Hi folks,

I am new in this forum. I am an IMG, graduated in China, finished USMLEs and matched to internal medicine residency in US, currently a 2nd year resident. My wife lives in Canada, so I am planning to move to Canada after residency. I already submitted my permanent resident application and should be getting it soon. There are some questions concerning moving to Canada that I wonder if anyone can help me. I just started studying the Canadian policies and have a lot of questions, some of which may seem ridiculous. Thank you for your time of reading and I really appreciate your help!


Fellowship:

1. I know it is highly competitive, but how is the possibility of an IMG who finished residency in US to match fellowship in Canada?


2. I already finished all the USMLEs, from step 1 to step 3, and I’m ECFMG certified. Do I still need to take the MCCEE and MCCQE before applying for fellowship? Some of my friends told me that Canada now recognize USMLEs and no further exams are needed, however, some told me that I still need to sit for all the exams, so I am very confused…


3. I know IMGs are also required to take the language exam (TOEFL or IELTS) if the medical school education was not in English. But do I still need to take it after residency in the US?


4. What else exams do I need to take before I can apply for fellowship?


Practice:

If I am not able to match into fellowship, am I able to practice in Canada after residency in US? I know I have to be assessed and certified by Royal College before I can sit for the exam. But internal medicine training in US is 3 years, however, in Canada, it requires 4 years of training. Someone told me that I have to practice under supervision in Canada for 1 year before I can be eligible to sit for the exam. Then where and how can I get this opportunity to practice under supervision in Canada? Is there a specific organization to organize this or do I have to find it by myself?

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[NewCanadian]

'practice under supervision'.
you have to find a supervisor. there is no list of doctors clamouring to be your supervisor for a year.

as for the rest of your questions, Advisors at Health Force Ontario are qualified to respond in detail about certification and licensure, and the possibility of completing a PGY4 (training) in an ontario medical school.
there are advisors at SaskDocs for saskatchewan. that's just to mention two organizations willing to help shepherd you through the process.

 

[Medstart108]

Hi folks,

I am new in this forum. I am an IMG, graduated in China, finished USMLEs and matched to internal medicine residency in US, currently a 2nd year resident. My wife lives in Canada, so I am planning to move to Canada after residency. I already submitted my permanent resident application and should be getting it soon. There are some questions concerning moving to Canada that I wonder if anyone can help me. I just started studying the Canadian policies and have a lot of questions, some of which may seem ridiculous. Thank you for your time of reading and I really appreciate your help!


Fellowship:

1. I know it is highly competitive, but how is the possibility of an IMG who finished residency in US to match fellowship in Canada?


2. I already finished all the USMLEs, from step 1 to step 3, and I’m ECFMG certified. Do I still need to take the MCCEE and MCCQE before applying for fellowship? Some of my friends told me that Canada now recognize USMLEs and no further exams are needed, however, some told me that I still need to sit for all the exams, so I am very confused…


3. I know IMGs are also required to take the language exam (TOEFL or IELTS) if the medical school education was not in English. But do I still need to take it after residency in the US?


4. What else exams do I need to take before I can apply for fellowship?


Practice:

If I am not able to match into fellowship, am I able to practice in Canada after residency in US? I know I have to be assessed and certified by Royal College before I can sit for the exam. But internal medicine training in US is 3 years, however, in Canada, it requires 4 years of training. Someone told me that I have to practice under supervision in Canada for 1 year before I can be eligible to sit for the exam. Then where and how can I get this opportunity to practice under supervision in Canada? Is there a specific organization to organize this or do I have to find it by myself?

I think it isn't easy but it depends on how competitive your application is for fellowship. If you are doing IM at a university hospital you'll stand a better chance than if you were doing it at a community hospital.

Otherwise, you can practice in Canada. I think if you did USMLE and residency in the states you just need to practice supervised for a year and then you can practice on your own.

 

[MontereyMD]

To be honest, the US has way more opportunities for physicians and the US process for licensing and fellowships is transparent and open.
You will find attempting to practice in Canada as an IMG very frustrating, expensive, deceptive and futile.
First of all Canadian medicine is a closed shop with priority first of all given to Canadian citizens and graduates of Canadian medical schools for any fellowships or advanced training.
70-80% of physicians in Canada are primary care GP's or FM. 20% are IM or surgeons. The corresponding government funding is allocated for primary care. So there is not a lot of funding for IM or subspecialties and of those IM's who get fellowships the priority is given to Canadian citizens who intend to live in Canada.
You have a lot of strikes against you first of all not being a citizen of Canada and then not even living in Canada. The Canadian IM training programs would probably think you will just go back to the US after they spend their money training you as you have such weak links to Canada.

As an IMG you have to take MCCEE and all the Canadian exams. However if you were a US medical school graduate just the USMLE would be fine. Remember that Canada and US consider their medical schools equivalent and anyone trained at a medical school outside North America is a IMG.

US IM residency is not sufficient to qualify for Canadian Royal College IM certification. You have to have a 4 th year before you can even apply to be considered to take the Royal College exam. To get that 4th year is very restrictive and impossible for a IMG.

The year of supervision can be done if you go to a rural area. But remember this is not just 12 months. You have to apply and be accepted and sign a contract. Because your license is provisional you can only practice in a rural area. And you are still a IMG without Royal College certification. So you then have to apply for a 4th year somewhere and there is no guarantee that you will ever be accepted anywhere. There are some IM IMG's who are stuck in rural areas for years and years and still have a provisional licence and unable to practice in urban areas.

So if you want a rewarding, happy IM practice I would stay in the US, become a US citizen and move your family down to the US. You will find Canada very expensive and frustrating as an IMG.

 

[pk401133]

'practice under supervision'.
you have to find a supervisor. there is no list of doctors clamouring to be your supervisor for a year.

as for the rest of your questions, Advisors at Health Force Ontario are qualified to respond in detail about certification and licensure, and the possibility of completing a PGY4 (training) in an ontario medical school.
there are advisors at SaskDocs for saskatchewan. that's just to mention two organizations willing to help shepherd you through the process.

Thank you so much! The information you provided was very useful!!

 

[pk401133]

To be honest, the US has way more opportunities for physicians and the US process for licensing and fellowships is transparent and open.
You will find attempting to practice in Canada as an IMG very frustrating, expensive, deceptive and futile.
First of all Canadian medicine is a closed shop with priority first of all given to Canadian citizens and graduates of Canadian medical schools for any fellowships or advanced training.
70-80% of physicians in Canada are primary care GP's or FM. 20% are IM or surgeons. The corresponding government funding is allocated for primary care. So there is not a lot of funding for IM or subspecialties and of those IM's who get fellowships the priority is given to Canadian citizens who intend to live in Canada.
You have a lot of strikes against you first of all not being a citizen of Canada and then not even living in Canada. The Canadian IM training programs would probably think you will just go back to the US after they spend their money training you as you have such weak links to Canada.

As an IMG you have to take MCCEE and all the Canadian exams. However if you were a US medical school graduate just the USMLE would be fine. Remember that Canada and US consider their medical schools equivalent and anyone trained at a medical school outside North America is a IMG.

US IM residency is not sufficient to qualify for Canadian Royal College IM certification. You have to have a 4 th year before you can even apply to be considered to take the Royal College exam. To get that 4th year is very restrictive and impossible for a IMG.

The year of supervision can be done if you go to a rural area. But remember this is not just 12 months. You have to apply and be accepted and sign a contract. Because your license is provisional you can only practice in a rural area. And you are still a IMG without Royal College certification. So you then have to apply for a 4th year somewhere and there is no guarantee that you will ever be accepted anywhere. There are some IM IMG's who are stuck in rural areas for years and years and still have a provisional licence and unable to practice in urban areas.

So if you want a rewarding, happy IM practice I would stay in the US, become a US citizen and move your family down to the US. You will find Canada very expensive and frustrating as an IMG.

Thank you so much for the reply and information! I know it is very difficult! But I still wanna give it a try!

 

[NewCanadian]

..... But internal medicine training in US is 3 years, however, in Canada, it requires 4 years of training.

here is the information for the Ontario Repatriation Program.

http://www.med.uottawa.ca/postgradu...epat Info Sheet _2013-06-18_ CheungT HWPB.pdf

http://meds.queensu.ca/postgraduate/admission/canadian_repatriation_program

http://www.pgme.utoronto.ca/content/additional-residency-training-streams

information about assessment of IMGs

http://www.cehpea.ca/

 

[Medstart108]

To be honest, the US has way more opportunities for physicians and the US process for licensing and fellowships is transparent and open.
You will find attempting to practice in Canada as an IMG very frustrating, expensive, deceptive and futile.
First of all Canadian medicine is a closed shop with priority first of all given to Canadian citizens and graduates of Canadian medical schools for any fellowships or advanced training.
70-80% of physicians in Canada are primary care GP's or FM. 20% are IM or surgeons. The corresponding government funding is allocated for primary care. So there is not a lot of funding for IM or subspecialties and of those IM's who get fellowships the priority is given to Canadian citizens who intend to live in Canada.
You have a lot of strikes against you first of all not being a citizen of Canada and then not even living in Canada. The Canadian IM training programs would probably think you will just go back to the US after they spend their money training you as you have such weak links to Canada.

As an IMG you have to take MCCEE and all the Canadian exams. However if you were a US medical school graduate just the USMLE would be fine. Remember that Canada and US consider their medical schools equivalent and anyone trained at a medical school outside North America is a IMG.

US IM residency is not sufficient to qualify for Canadian Royal College IM certification. You have to have a 4 th year before you can even apply to be considered to take the Royal College exam. To get that 4th year is very restrictive and impossible for a IMG.

The year of supervision can be done if you go to a rural area. But remember this is not just 12 months. You have to apply and be accepted and sign a contract. Because your license is provisional you can only practice in a rural area. And you are still a IMG without Royal College certification. So you then have to apply for a 4th year somewhere and there is no guarantee that you will ever be accepted anywhere. There are some IM IMG's who are stuck in rural areas for years and years and still have a provisional licence and unable to practice in urban areas.

So if you want a rewarding, happy IM practice I would stay in the US, become a US citizen and move your family down to the US. You will find Canada very expensive and frustrating as an IMG.

I think about 50% are GPs not 70-80%.

 

[jd23208]

is it absolutely necessary for an IMG to apply for residency in Canada before he can practice? or is it possible for an IMG to start practicing as a GP in rural areas once he has passed all necessary exams and not apply for residency training in Canada?

 

[Gastronomy]

Hi,

First timer here, I'm new, but I can answer your question. I spoke with the Medical Council of Canada, as well as the College of Physicians of Ontario today. If you are an IMG who has completed residency in the USA, then you MUST pass the following exams (this pertains to all IMGs whether you're Canadian or PR, if your medical school was outside North America):

MCCEE
MCCQE1
MCCQE2

Note: FM residents must also do the CFPC exam (most do this at the same time as the American Family Medicine Board exam)

Thank you and please come again ;-)

 

[Ultramarathoner]

You obviously did not do any research. USMLE means nothing in Canada. You did IM, which is useless in Canada as you have 3 years and its 5 years of training in Canada so you would have to do residency in Canada which you are not eligible for. Chances you work here are close to zero even if you pass all the exams as you have to have connections to get jobs here. Bye bye

 

[UBC2014]

You obviously did not do any research. USMLE means nothing in Canada. You did IM, which is useless in Canada as you have 3 years and its 5 years of training in Canada so you would have to do residency in Canada which you are not eligible for. Chances you work here are close to zero even if you pass all the exams as you have to have connections to get jobs here. Bye bye

Erm, and you honestly didn't do any research either - as what you stated here is very wrong.

IT IS POSSIBLE to practice in Canada with US IM Training, you just need to jump through a few hoops and get some help to be put through the process (ontario is best for this, or rural areas etc).

2 posts, 50% of them useless.

 

[Ultramarathoner]

Erm, and you honestly didn't do any research either - as what you stated here is very wrong.

IT IS POSSIBLE to practice in Canada with US IM Training, you just need to jump through a few hoops and get some help to be put through the process (ontario is best for this, or rural areas etc).

2 posts, 50% of them useless.

It's possible that I will win the lottery even though I don't by tickets. I did 2 fellowships, exams in both countries and I'm working in Alberta. My research is solid

Good luck with your life!

 

[UBC2014]

It's possible that I will win the lottery even though I don't by tickets. I did 2 fellowships, exams in both countries and I'm working in Alberta. My research is solid

Good luck with your life!

Yet you don't know that you can top up your 3 years of IM, with 2 other years(1 chief r4 and 1 fellowship) and eventually be able to practice in canAda?

Good luck to you too lol.

Though with health Canadas recent changes, it may get tougher for those doing residency in the US and are CSAs.