Hi all,

I just graduated from UBC here in Canada, and do not have the grades for medical school here. I have about a 3.2 GPA and 32 MCAT. I've heard so much conflicting evidence from people, and I'm wondering if I can get any definitive answers from people here.

1. If I want to go offshore to a Caribbean school, what are my chances as a CANADIAN citizen who wants to match into family medicine (FM) back in Canada? I have no preference whatsoever of where I train, I just want to do FM in Canada.

2. If I can't do FM here, how hard is it to return to practice in Canada if you do your FM residency in the United States?

3. After all of that, am I at a disadvantage if I want to apply to the CCFP-Emergency Medicine subspecialty of Family Medicine, if I did medical school abroad, but did my residency in Canada or the US?

Any help would be appreciated.

Unless things change in the next few years, you should have a pretty good shot at FM as an IMG, whether you get your training in the Carib or on the other side of the Pond.

The US route to FM back in Canada has been complicated in that Health Canada no longer offers statements of need for FM. Though, once again, these things change, without much fanfare usually, so double-check with them.

Have you even tried applying to Canada???

The thing is, I hear all about how good my chances are on ValueMD and similar forums (SDN), but then why are there all of these news articles about thousands of foreign doctors who can't work in Canada and can't find a residency spot? Why the discrepancy?

I have tried in Canada and my grades simply don't meet the cutoffs for almost all schools, and the rest of them weight too heavily on grades for me to have a shot. I applied to UBC this year with a far cry from my app. score even allowing me an interview. I'd consider boosting my GPA with grad school, but all I'm interested in is family meds + emergency med. So if I have a decent shot of Family Med through an offshore school, I figure I might as well not waste years of my life trying to improve my app without even a guarantee of going to a Canadian school.

These articles aren't new. They're recycled every few months. The fact is simple, there is a shortage of doctors in Canada and it's only going to get worse. The problem, there's a finite amount of resources (read: $$$) to keep the commie system going, and so there really isn't much incentive to change it. After all, who would back any type of reform to allow all these IMGs in and thus water down these finite resources even further? But I digress. The reason is xenophobia. A lot of IMGs trying to get into the Canadian system are foreigners who don't quite speak the language, don't quite understand the culture, etc. If you're white and speak fluent English, do a couple rotations in N.America, get a couple LORs, you definitely should have no problem getting an FM spot. If, on the other hand, English is not your forte, well, then the chances begin to diminish, big time. Also, any of the more competitive specialties, you will likely have a near impossible time getting into.

[quote=KluverB;597178]...The US route to FM back in Canada has been complicated in that Health Canada no longer offers statements of need for FM. Though, once again, these things change, without much fanfare usually, so double-check with them..../quote]

It is the provincial ministries of health - not the federal ministry of heatlh - that have decided whether the statements of need will be issued for family medicine. Most applicants are from Ontario, and Ontario allows statements of need for family medicine. The other provinces say that the applicant should have tried Canada first.

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More or less...

Requirements for Obtaining a Statement of Need from the Government of Canada for Medical Graduates Seeking Postgraduate Training in the United States - Postgraduate Training Programs in Family Medicine Commencing in 2007

Authority for Issuing a Statement of Need
The Government of Canada, through the federal Department of Health (Health Canada), issues Statements of Need based on existing recommendations of Canadian provincial and territorial jurisdictions. The provinces of Ontario and Newfoundland & Labrador have recommended that the Health Human Resource Strategies Division, Health Canada, issue Statements of Need on their behalf in support of postgraduate medical training in Family Medicine in the United States. The Province of Quebec supports postgraduate medical training in Family Medicine in the United States, and will first issue a provincial letter in support of an individual before Health Canada issues a Statement of Need.
Limited Eligibility to Receive a Statement of Need for Family Medicine

Medical graduates whose permanent residence is in a province or territory not stated above will not be considered for a Statement of Need unless they have already attempted to obtain a residency position in Family Medicine through carms, or another provincial program, and have been unsuccessful. Evidence of such effort must be demonstrated and the application would then be considered on an individual basis only. Some provinces may consider an exception on a individual basis only.

With the few number of medical schools that exist in Canada, there's a huge rejection rate (high 80's, at least) of people with decent grades like yours. Both Canada and the United States have large numbers of medical students who applied to their school multiple times.

Caribbean schools are far more accepting, but, yes, you might run into some licensing issues. In the end, as long as you're able to pass the Canadian licensing tests (I hear it's more lax in Ontario, but I may well be mistaken), you'll be fine if you're white, english-fluent, and going into FM.

What if you're not white on the outside, but white on the inside?

Hi,
Achal here from UofT. I had a similar question, only slightly more complicated. I just finished my first year and am considering going to a caribbean med school. What caribbean universities offer rotations in Canada and what is the path if Im inclined towards surgery instead of FM?

Then you must do a michael jackson