How Does Residency Matching Work In Quebec?

[Guest]

Hey PM101!

 

Although I was born and raised in Montreal, I am more familiar with how matching works in the US than in Quebec... Weird. Anyways, since McGill Med is Pass/Fail and the francophone med schools use grades ( I believe they still use the GPA on 4.33?), how do they rank the students? Is there a standardized exam like the USMLE step1?

Would going to a francophone school (if most of my higher education has been in english) be a disadvantage? Since medical school is already a huge adjustment, and having to adjust to the french language could lower my performance and affect my chances of getting into my first choice residency?

 

Thanks

[indefatigable]

Hey PM101!

 

Although I was born and raised in Montreal, I am more familiar with how matching works in the US than in Quebec... Weird. Anyways, since McGill Med is Pass/Fail and the francophone med schools use grades ( I believe they still use the GPA on 4.33?), how do they rank the students? Is there a standardized exam like the USMLE step1?

Would going to a francophone school (if most of my higher education has been in english) be a disadvantage? Since medical school is already a huge adjustment, and having to adjust to the french language could lower my performance and affect my chances of getting into my first choice residency?

 

Thanks

There are no standardized exams in Quebec or Canada for residency matching purposes. If you grew up in Montreal with good receptive and expressive French, then an adjustment to the linguistic environment may not be that serious. But, if your exposure to French was more of a distant second language then you could find med school in the French space fairly challenging. Some people who are successful in the linguistic screening tests do still find it's difficult to adjust to the setting. Matching is more based on grades (pre-clinical and clinical) than possible research and ECs (like anglo faculties) in some competitive specialties. Personally, I think one needs essentially native-like fluency, but if you're from Montreal it may all be worth it. If you're really interested in all the nitty-gritty details - here's a link to the residency guide for each specialty.

[Jm8888]

But if we decide to go to go to med school in French, would we be able to get into residencies at English schools? Would it be pass fail in that case?

[indefatigable]

But if we decide to go to go to med school in French, would we be able to get into residencies at English schools? Would it be pass fail in that case?

You would still be eligible to apply to English residencies as a CMG. It may be technically slightly more difficult due to program structure and other reasons in some cases. You would not apply as a pass/fail student, and in most cases it would likely be at the discretion of the program director and resident selection committee on how to consider the academic record. McGill programs likely have policies since the situation arrives relatively frequently judging by CaRMS matching data. In general, there is very little exchange between anglo and francophone programs, though.