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Old 03-01-2008, 10:58 AM
tenordoc tenordoc is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: St. Maarten
Posts: 130
No one can tell you what to do. You have respectable stats, but not amazing ones. Unless you're sleeping with the right people, your chances in Canada are negligable. But you know that.

I can't say about US schools, but I do know that my stats are similar, and I have colleagues who thought that had I applied to US schools, I might have gotten in. That should definately be your next step.

IMO, your rank of offshore schools should be:

US
UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ
Caribbean
Other

But there are a lot of factors that play into this. Carib schools are designed for training students for the US system. If that's what you want, then consider that. The Commonwealth schools don't have the same focus on USMLE, so there is more independent work required. IMO, you should write the USMLE's so you can apply for US residencies. There are so few Canadian ones available for IMGs, you'd be stupid to have that as your only option.

You should plan on writing the MCCQE's as well. They are fairly similar to the USMLE 2 and 3, so won't require much extra studying, and will make your application much easier.

From what I understand, it's pretty difficult, if not impossible, for a non-resident to get a residency spot in Australia and the UK, but not as difficult in NZ.

You need to do your own research, look at a bunch of websites, read a bunch of policy documents.

As for residency in Canada, it's certainly possible but unlikely. Somewhere around 10% of IMG's that applied for a residency spot in Canada last year got one. So you have approximately a 1 in 10 chance of doing a residency in Canada. I have been told that your chances go up if you are a native Canadian who went abroad for training (rather than an immigrant), speak English or French fluently, understand the culture, and have connections, but have no data or evidence to back up that assertion. YMMV Your chances definately go up if you do rotations in Canada during medical school (which is a major pain in the rear to set up, but which can be done).

These are a few random thoughts. Do keep asking questions, but remember, the right decision is going to be different for everyone. Trust your instincts, and when it comes to Carib schools especially, caveat emptor.
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