Likelihood of matching in a different province/across the country from where I would attend med school + what increases the odds?

[Scinapse]

I am wondering how difficult it is to match into a residency that is in a different province/across the country from where I'd attend med school? I understand it would depend on competitiveness of the specialty. Do residency programs favor students from their home province or institution? Is it difficult to get some 4th year electives across the country to show interest in doing residency there? 

[bearded frog]

If you want to stay at the same institution it's probably easier since you can get to know the department and they will know you well. That being said, it generally will be about the same difficulty to match to the next province over and on the other side of the country. It will depend on how competitive the program/city is (obviously Toronto is more competitive than Winnipeg, etc). I recommend doing early electives at your target school, and more than one, possibly in a related field, if possible (IE two different family sites or two different medicine subspecialities).

[Scinapse]

44 minutes ago, bearded frog said:

If you want to stay at the same institution it's probably easier since you can get to know the department and they will know you well. That being said, it generally will be about the same difficulty to match to the next province over and on the other side of the country. It will depend on how competitive the program/city is (obviously Toronto is more competitive than Winnipeg, etc). I recommend doing early electives at your target school, and more than one, possibly in a related field, if possible (IE two different family sites or two different medicine subspecialities).

Thank you! Is it difficult to get electives across the country?

[bearded frog]

Depends on the school/program. No different in difficulty across the country at the next school over.

[garlic]

@Scinapse What year are you in, what specialty(ies) are you considering?
Adding a bit more detail would enable the rest of the forum to give you more specific answers that are appropriate to your level of training and situation 

[Scinapse]

30 minutes ago, bearded frog said:

Depends on the school/program. No different in difficulty across the country at the next school over.

Thank you!

14 minutes ago, garlic said:

@Scinapse What year are you in, what specialty(ies) are you considering?
Adding a bit more detail would enable the rest of the forum to give you more specific answers that are appropriate to your level of training and situation 

I'm not in med school. Currently an applicant with some interviews and considering which school I would most likely attend if I get an offer. I'm originally from a western province but only have interviews in Ontario this cycle. I'd like to do residency back home - hence why I'm asking how probably is it to get a residency across the country. 
I can't say with much certainty what specialties I'll be interested in once I get to that stage, but for now I'm interested in a range of specialties of varying levels of competitiveness.

[bearded frog]

You have an acceptance - that's the hard part, matching to a specific school/program can be challenging, but not as difficult as getting into school IMHO. Lots of people who go to Ontario schools match to UBC/calgary/alberta every year. Most will end up applying broadly anyway!

[garlic]

1 hour ago, Scinapse said:

Thank you!

I'm not in med school. Currently an applicant with some interviews and considering which school I would most likely attend if I get an offer. I'm originally from a western province but only have interviews in Ontario this cycle. I'd like to do residency back home - hence why I'm asking how probably is it to get a residency across the country. 
I can't say with much certainty what specialties I'll be interested in once I get to that stage, but for now I'm interested in a range of specialties of varying levels of competitiveness.

Congrats on getting multiple med school interview offers.

As beardedfrog said above, there is quite a bit of movement between provinces. At this stage I really think it is too early to be worrying about residency, and all of your possible acceptances are in Ontario anyway so it will not change anything to worry about chances of matching back home. With how fickle med school interview offers are, it is not like you'd reject any acceptances this cycle for a shot at getting accepted to a western canadian med school next time.

As someone who just finished Carms a few days ago, there is truly too much variability to even try to predict where people will end up for residency!

[ellorie]

All other things being equal, it is generally better to do medical school as close as possible to where you want to end up, for any number of personal and professional reasons. 

However just because it’s better doesn’t mean it’s the only way. If you have your eye on matching back and do the right things to achieve that, it shouldn’t be too much more awful than CaRMS is by default. 

[Lactic Folly]

On 2/11/2020 at 12:01 PM, Scinapse said:

I am wondering how difficult it is to match into a residency that is in a different province/across the country from where I'd attend med school? I understand it would depend on competitiveness of the specialty. Do residency programs favor students from their home province or institution? Is it difficult to get some 4th year electives across the country to show interest in doing residency there? 

I don't think it's necessarily more difficult to match to a different location. Many applicants match in the same province where they did medical school by choice, not because they could not match elsewhere if they wished. I had many classmates who matched to competitive specialties in other provinces. 

Residency programs may rank certain students higher because they know them better - which is not to say that they are favoured simply because they are from the same institution. The only advantage of attending school in the same province is that programs might see you as a viable prospect to want to stay in the area - but if your current province is not your home province, you can make a stronger claim for wanting to return home in your personal statement. It can be competitive to get electives, but again you will have your CV which shows all your education and other experiences to date, which would establish your connection to where you want to eventually end up.