People mention the 10 year moratorium (which I hear can be lessened to 1 year). That includes working in a remote area. So what. What makes you think that if you got into medical school in the USA or Canada you won't be working in a remote area? Nice cities are extremely competitive to find work no matter which country you're in. Several of the people I know now who graduated from medical schools in Canada cannot find work except in remote areas. Salaries in Alberta are very high for doctors now. My dad is a doctor in Calgary, and last year, 2 Harvard Medical School graduates applied for positions in his department and the Canadian medical school residents were told: "there's no chance in hell you'll stay. Look for work in Red Deer and Lethbridge." The department chair only interviewed the 2 Harvard graduates.
You are responsible for your own happiness so make decisions wisely. Honestly, there's something about the Caribbean Medical Schools that are so shaddy. I wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole. I'd do pharmacy school or something.
Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, & Perth beats all the cities in North America in terms of living conditions except for maybe San Francisco, Vancouver, and Toronto, and maybe Montreal (if you don't mind the cold weather in Canada). Honestly, if you take the weather into consideration, only San Francisco is the peer.
In regards to the 10 year moratorium - I've done extensive research on this, and even if you are unable to reduce this to less then 10 years there are a few points to keep in mind.
0) If your aim is to work in Canada, then keep in mind many provinces now have rural contracts (RoS), especially if you get a 2nd round match in CaRMs with most being 1:1. So for every 1 year of training you must commit to 1 year of RoS. This can be as "little" as 2 years for FM, but >5 years for speciality training. Even returning to a province may require a "rural" contract, there are some provinces that do not require this currently, but I'll leave that for you to find out.
1) This is from the time you first get your PR or are first registered (even conditionally)
2) Hospitals are exempt from the 10 year moratorium. Hospital based salaries are actually as good if not better then private practise salaries in Canada, especially at the consultant level. All insurance is covered, and you get perks such as cars, laptops, travel expenses and conferences paid. Private practise is typically used to supplement salaries, but it can also be done 100% and often pays more but has it's own drawbacks
3) All of your training is counted in the 10 year moratorium, and for most speciality training this is at least 5 years.
4) I spoke to the Department of Health & Aging and was told that they are in negotiations with the current govt to reduce this for graduates of Australian medical schools. They were in the same process with the previous govt, but because of the change they now have to renegotiate the deal. I have contact details but for obvious reasons will not post them here.
5) If you would like to undergo private practise within the scope of your moratorium you can practise in Districts of Workforce Shortages, and not just rural areas. Again there is a website you can use to search for these areas (and some are quite large cities) but I'll leave that up to you to find.
6) Doing training in rural areas attracts significant govt incentives as well as tax breaks, currently these incentives are only offered in Canada for people willing to
practise in these areas, and not for people undergoing
residencies in these areas.
Finally in regards to North America vs. Australia lifestyle is also an important factor. Training programs in NA are generally more poorly paid and have worse working conditions. That generally holds true for consultancy jobs as well, though of course there are exceptions. In Australia in general, for many doctors lifestyle options are better.
This however does not mean one choice is better then the other, and of course there are disadvantages in both systems. However if you choose to come to Australia for medical school, there is a possibility that you may not match in Canada or the US (more specifically Canada). You should thus understand the possible implications of this and make your decision knowing all the facts/possibilities.
