MGN Posted March 2, 2019 Report Share Posted March 2, 2019 Hey everyone. I have a question about the French Language Proficiency standards required of McGill medical students. I am an international medical graduate who applied to the 2-year advanced standing program at McGill. For those of you who are not familiar with this program, it is basically a program for people who have already completed medical school abroad and wish to re-do medical school in Canada. Applicants admitted to this program are exempted from the Fundamentals of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) component of the MDCM program and enter the program in the Transition to Clinical Practice (TCP) component, starting in April of Med-2. I have just completed my interview a week ago and I am waiting for decisions to be released on March 25th. If I were to be accepted, I would join the class of 2021 and start TCP in the second week of April of this year. On my interview day, there was a presentation given by the Assistant Dean of Admissions who explicity stated that all students need to have a working knowledge of French by the time they reach TCP. My problem is that I don't speak a single word of French and, although I am willing to learn, there just isn't enough time for me to be functional in French by the time I start TCP. I was wondering how strict is McGill about this policy? Would it be possible for me to ask to be assigned to English sites until my French improves? Will I be the only one in class who doesn't know French or is it normal to find other anglophone students who are not yet comfortable with French? Any input on this matter would be greatly appeciated, especially from current medical students at McGill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamteam22 Posted March 2, 2019 Report Share Posted March 2, 2019 18 hours ago, MGN said: Hey everyone. I have a question about the French Language Proficiency standards required of McGill medical students. I am an international medical graduate who applied to the 2-year advanced standing program at McGill. For those of you who are not familiar with this program, it is basically a program for people who have already completed medical school abroad and wish to re-do medical school in Canada. Applicants admitted to this program are exempted from the Fundamentals of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) component of the MDCM program and enter the program in the Transition to Clinical Practice (TCP) component, starting in April of Med-2. I have just completed my interview a week ago and I am waiting for decisions to be released on March 25th. If I were to be accepted, I would join the class of 2021 and start TCP in the second week of April of this year. On my interview day, there was a presentation given by the Assistant Dean of Admissions who explicity stated that all students need to have a working knowledge of French by the time they reach TCP. My problem is that I don't speak a single word of French and, although I am willing to learn, there just isn't enough time for me to be functional in French by the time I start TCP. I was wondering how strict is McGill about this policy? Would it be possible for me to ask to be assigned to English sites until my French improves? Will I be the only one in class who doesn't know French or is it normal to find other anglophone students who are not yet comfortable with French? Any input on this matter would be greatly appeciated, especially from current medical students at McGill. I am pretty sure you can email admissions.med@mcgill.ca asking them your questions. Given that you're IMG, I'm assuming they might already be aware that some IMGs might not be fully proficient in French. They might consider it sufficient for you to enrol yourself in a French class once you're admitted to show them that you're learning the language and doing your part while completing TCP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGN Posted March 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 On 3/2/2019 at 3:47 PM, dreamteam22 said: I am pretty sure you can email admissions.med@mcgill.ca asking them your questions. Given that you're IMG, I'm assuming they might already be aware that some IMGs might not be fully proficient in French. They might consider it sufficient for you to enrol yourself in a French class once you're admitted to show them that you're learning the language and doing your part while completing TCP. Thank you for your reply. I am very hesitant to contact the admissions office about my lack of French Language Proficiency at a time where they are selecting candidates for offers. Oh well, I guess it is better to wait and see if I would be accepted from the first place .... then take it from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vendar Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 Hi MGN, I think given your case, I am sure they will be somewhat understanding of your case. I feel that as long as you give them an good plan on how you plan to improve your french over the next one year before you start clerkship, you should be fine! I think you will be fine for TCP, and don't forget it starts in January. So I do believe you will have about more than 6 months to start practicing and learning french! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amoserlie Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 On 3/1/2019 at 11:00 PM, MGN said: Hey everyone. I have a question about the French Language Proficiency standards required of McGill medical students. I am an international medical graduate who applied to the 2-year advanced standing program at McGill. For those of you who are not familiar with this program, it is basically a program for people who have already completed medical school abroad and wish to re-do medical school in Canada. Applicants admitted to this program are exempted from the Fundamentals of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) component of the MDCM program and enter the program in the Transition to Clinical Practice (TCP) component, starting in April of Med-2. I have just completed my interview a week ago and I am waiting for decisions to be released on March 25th. If I were to be accepted, I would join the class of 2021 and start TCP in the second week of April of this year. On my interview day, there was a presentation given by the Assistant Dean of Admissions who explicity stated that all students need to have a working knowledge of French by the time they reach TCP. My problem is that I don't speak a single word of French and, although I am willing to learn, there just isn't enough time for me to be functional in French by the time I start TCP. I was wondering how strict is McGill about this policy? Would it be possible for me to ask to be assigned to English sites until my French improves? Will I be the only one in class who doesn't know French or is it normal to find other anglophone students who are not yet comfortable with French? Any input on this matter would be greatly appeciated, especially from current medical students at McGill. Hi MGN. Current student, here. I looked at what was online in terms of documents for your program. You don't have to provide any sort of proof of your level of proficiency in French, so I don't think they can hold you to that. The issue is what you mean by an "English site". At the McGill hospital sites you'll be able to speak with staff in English and chart in English, but I would say that half of the patients I see are francophone. I have friends who started the program with little to no French and they've been going to courses every Saturday morning that are organized by McGill. They are starting to manage, but it is difficult for them at times. In 3rd year there's a rural family medicine rotation, so people people do rank sites based on which ones are more anglophone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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