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If you do med school in U.S., then FM residency in Canada, can you work in U.S. later?


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Hi all,

I have somewhat specific question that I was hoping to get answered.

I am a Canadian citizen who is currently an M3 at a U.S. medical school. I have interests in pursuing FM. However, I would like to keep as many options open as possible in terms of working in Canada and/or the U.S. after all of my training.

If I were to finish med school in the U.S., and then come back to Canada and complete a standard 2-year FM residency, would I be able to work in both Canada and the U.S. afterwards? How does this process work? Would I be restricted in any way?

What if I were to complete a 3 year U.S. FM residency instead?

Any clarifications on these points would be much appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you all!

 

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to answer your question yes you can work in U.S. after residency

 

I compelted U.S. residency but am a U.S./Canadian citizen...so not 100% sure how visa thing works.

my brief understanding is there are two visas available J-1 and H1b - the J1 visa requires you to return back after you complete residency but can be renewed, H1b visa I believe allows you to stay in the U.S. and work after graduating from residency.

you will need to get a green card/permanent residency, visa such as the H1b, or get married to an American

i would talk to residency programs that offer the H1b visas and ask them

 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, drake19 said:

to answer your question yes you can work in U.S. after residency

 

I compelted U.S. residency but am a U.S./Canadian citizen...so not 100% sure how visa thing works.

my brief understanding is there are two visas available J-1 and H1b - the J1 visa requires you to return back after you complete residency but can be renewed, H1b visa I believe allows you to stay in the U.S. and work after graduating from residency.

you will need to get a green card/permanent residency, visa such as the H1b, or get married to an American

i would talk to residency programs that offer the H1b visas and ask them

 

 

 

Thanks for the response!

Just to be clear- if you complete a 2 year Canadian FM residency, can you still work in the U.S. after? (Does the 2 year FM residency in Canada vs. the 3 year FM residency in the U.S. prevent you from working in the U.S., etc.?)

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3 minutes ago, blueskyguy said:

Thanks for the response!

Just to be clear- if you complete a 2 year Canadian FM residency, can you still work in the U.S. after? (Does the 2 year FM residency in Canada vs. the 3 year FM residency in the U.S. prevent you from working in the U.S., etc.?)

Not 100% sure.

As a resident, I was moonlighting at Urgent Care and some FM clinics I interviewed at in the U.S. do not require board certification (Am Board of Fam Med) Medical Director of one of our FM clinics had no board ceritification - go figure.

All you needed at these clinics was your license and DEA (prescription for controlled substances)

In fact you don't even need board certification to obtain your license in my state.

I would look into reciprocity from CFPC to ABFM....I know for sure there is reciprocity from ABFM ---> CFPC

 

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This is an interesting question because it highlights a big difference between the US and Canada.  It's not easy to give a straight answer regarding the US.

The provincial licensing bodies (e.g. CPSO) in Canada--with very few exceptions--will not let you practice without Canadian board certification (RCPSC or CFPC).

In the US, the State medical boards don't look at your specialty qualification at all.  They give the same licence for everyone who's done all 3 steps and done a certain number of post-graduate years in a recognized jurisdiction (Canada or the US).  Its up to the hospitals/clinics/physician organizations, local insurance companies,  Medicare/Medicaid, malpractice insurance providers to determine if you 'need' a US board certification to work for them or bill from them. 

Some places will therefore just not require any board certification. Some will recognize Canadian board certifications.  Some will only accept US board exams.

If your question isnt about working in the US, but is more limited to: does a Canadian residency/CFPC cert allow you to sit exams or avoid exams through reciprocity, then you should contact the board directly or see if there's an answer on the website.

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