Do Canadian USMGs have to submit Step 1 scores in CaRMS?

[blueskyguy]

Hi all,

I am currently a second year Canadian medical student at a U.S. medical school with interests in possibly returning to Canada for residency. Since I will have to write the Step 1 exam, I was wondering whether or not my score will have to be submitted into CaRMS as a USMG. Can I choose not to submit my score? Or will I be required to submit my score?

If I have a low Step 1 score, will that negatively impact my chances at Canadian residencies? Or do Step 1 scores not matter for Canadian residencies?

Any clarification would be wonderful. Thanks for your time!

 

[la marzocco]

19 minutes ago, blueskyguy said:

Hi all,

I am currently a second year Canadian medical student at a U.S. medical school with interests in possibly returning to Canada for residency. Since I will have to write the Step 1 exam, I was wondering whether or not my score will have to be submitted into CaRMS as a USMG. Can I choose not to submit my score? Or will I be required to submit my score?

If I have a low Step 1 score, will that negatively impact my chances at Canadian residencies? Or do Step 1 scores not matter for Canadian residencies?

Any clarification would be wonderful. Thanks for your time!

 

You are not required to submit USMLE scores for CaRMS even if you are USMG. For some programs, they say you can submit it if you want, but it's optional. 

No, a low Step 1 score would not negatively impact your chances at Canadian residences as submission is voluntary and the majority of PDs don't care/won't know what the scores actually mean. Since it is not uniformly required of all applicants for a program, it is often not looked at to ensure a level playing field. 

[JohnGrisham]

Wont affect your chances, but definitely try and do much better on Step 2 and make sure you apply broadly in the US for residency. Can't rely on CaRMS.

[blueskyguy]

On 1/18/2019 at 8:28 PM, JohnGrisham said:

Wont affect your chances, but definitely try and do much better on Step 2 and make sure you apply broadly in the US for residency. Can't rely on CaRMS.

What if I am interested in doing something like FM in Canada? Would I have a good chance at matching somewhere in Canada if we are talking about something like FM?

(I've noticed Canadians that match back to Canada from my school in previous years match into FM)

[JohnGrisham]

7 hours ago, blueskyguy said:

What if I am interested in doing something like FM in Canada? Would I have a good chance at matching somewhere in Canada if we are talking about something like FM?

(I've noticed Canadians that match back to Canada from my school in previous years match into FM)

Regardless you should still make sure you make yourself competitive to match FM in the US.  FM is not a gaurantee in Canada either for you.

[blueskyguy]

2 hours ago, JohnGrisham said:

Regardless you should still make sure you make yourself competitive to match FM in the US.  FM is not a gaurantee in Canada either for you.

Of course nothing is guaranteed, but I am curious of my chances. If my goal was to match anywhere in FM in Canada, would I have a good chance at doing so, despite being from a U.S. med school?