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Any CMGs/residents apply to the US for a second residency?


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I think the difficulty would be obtaining a visa.  The J-1 visa is normally the easiest one to obtain but depends on a statement of need from the Canadian government.  

I'm not sure whether Category B would allow one to leave a residency training program - but it DOES seem to allow training in a new discipline for licensed physician.  

In that case, it would be question of doing well on Step 2 CK and completing other US MLEs, research..  

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/health-human-resources/statements-need-postgraduate-medical-training-united-states.html

"Applicants must identify on their application which category of Statement of Need they fall under:

Category A
A Medical graduate currently enrolled in a Canadian specialty or subspecialty residency training program who wishes to pursue a fellowship in the U.S.

NOTE: Effective in 2016, Category A/Short-Term training no longer exist as an option for postgraduate medical trainees seeking short-term elective experience in the U.S. This change was put in place by ECFMG. For more information, visit the ECFMG website.

Category B
A final year medical student currently enrolled in any medical school, or a medical graduate of any medical school, who has not yet completed a medical specialty training program in Canada or the US who wishes to pursue medical specialty training; or a medical graduate currently enrolled in U.S. specialty or subspecialty residency training program who wishes to pursue a fellowship in the U.S.; or a licenced physician who wishes to pursue a new field of practice in the U.S.

Category C
A physician specialist licenced in Canada who wishes to pursue postgraduate training in a fellowship in the same field of practice in the U.S."

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Since you've graduated, you can take all three Steps, which would enable you to get an H1B. Most programs dislike this visa for residency because the short timeline between the match and the start of residency forces them to shell out for lawyers and extra money for express processing.

@indefatigable already talked about J1 eligibility so I won't cover that but you should also be aware of the two year return to Canada requirement after finishing your training.

Any particular specialty you'd be interested in?

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2 hours ago, zoxy said:

Since you've graduated, you can take all three Steps, which would enable you to get an H1B. Most programs dislike this visa for residency because the short timeline between the match and the start of residency forces them to shell out for lawyers and extra money for express processing.

@indefatigable already talked about J1 eligibility so I won't cover that but you should also be aware of the two year return to Canada requirement after finishing your training.

Any particular specialty you'd be interested in?

Interested in psych. I know there are combined adult/child & adolescent psych 5 year programs in the US, but in Canada, it's 5 years + 2 years of fellowship. If I were to return to Canada afterwards, would the fellowship be recognized?

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28 minutes ago, mdlifecrisis said:

Interested in psych. I know there are combined adult/child & adolescent psych 5 year programs in the US, but in Canada, it's 5 years + 2 years of fellowship. If I were to return to Canada afterwards, would the fellowship be recognized?

I suspect that if your primary goal is to save time, then going to the US will not be that beneficial.  

You will end up having to sit the Royal College Exam, but it will be harder, given that your US training won't have prepared you very well.  

I think the hassle and work of figuring out licensing issues, writing exams could easily take 1-2 years.. so better to stay in Canada if that's where you want to end up ultimately.  

If you want to work in the US, then US training is probably both more efficient and better.  

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On 5/11/2021 at 6:14 PM, indefatigable said:

I think the difficulty would be obtaining a visa.  The J-1 visa is normally the easiest one to obtain but depends on a statement of need from the Canadian government.  

I'm not sure whether Category B would allow one to leave a residency training program - but it DOES seem to allow training in a new discipline for licensed physician.  

In that case, it would be question of doing well on Step 2 CK and completing other US MLEs, research..  

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/health-human-resources/statements-need-postgraduate-medical-training-united-states.html

"Applicants must identify on their application which category of Statement of Need they fall under:

Category A
A Medical graduate currently enrolled in a Canadian specialty or subspecialty residency training program who wishes to pursue a fellowship in the U.S.

NOTE: Effective in 2016, Category A/Short-Term training no longer exist as an option for postgraduate medical trainees seeking short-term elective experience in the U.S. This change was put in place by ECFMG. For more information, visit the ECFMG website.

Category B
A final year medical student currently enrolled in any medical school, or a medical graduate of any medical school, who has not yet completed a medical specialty training program in Canada or the US who wishes to pursue medical specialty training; or a medical graduate currently enrolled in U.S. specialty or subspecialty residency training program who wishes to pursue a fellowship in the U.S.; or a licenced physician who wishes to pursue a new field of practice in the U.S.

Category C
A physician specialist licenced in Canada who wishes to pursue postgraduate training in a fellowship in the same field of practice in the U.S."

I don’t understand category A - if I want to do a 1 year fellowship in the states can I not? And if I wanted to do an elective could I not? Very confused haha 

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1 hour ago, bellejolie said:

I don’t understand category A - if I want to do a 1 year fellowship in the states can I not? And if I wanted to do an elective could I not? Very confused haha 

Category A seems to allow you specifically to go to the US for a fellowship and apply while you are still in training.  Category C is exactly the same but applies when you have finished training.  

Based on the NOTE it seems that short-term electives in the US are no longer permitted through Category A.   In other words, US electives are being discouraged through bureaucracy.  

It's really difficult to parse the ECFMG website - it may be possible to get sponsored by the ECFMG for an elective.  It could mean passing both Step 1 and Step 2 CK before applying.  In other words, Canadian students may be treated almost exactly the same as other IMGs when it comes to electives.. but honestly it's hard to tell.  

"Although many universities and research institutions in the United States are authorized to sponsor exchange visitors as research scholars, ECFMG is the sole sponsor of J-1 physicians in clinical training programs."

https://www.ecfmg.org/evsp/about.html

https://www.ecfmg.org/evsp/j1fact.pdf (looks like requirement for statement of need which is no longer issued).

https://www.ecfmg.org/evsp/applying-checklists.html (see Canadian graduates)

NB US electives used to be possible.. here's some UBC student experiences

https://ubcmj.med.ubc.ca/the-utility-of-u-s-medical-electives-to-canadian-medical-student/

 

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3 hours ago, indefatigable said:

Category A seems to allow you specifically to go to the US for a fellowship and apply while you are still in training.  Category C is exactly the same but applies when you have finished training.  

Based on the NOTE it seems that short-term electives in the US are no longer permitted through Category A.   In other words, US electives are being discouraged through bureaucracy.  

It's really difficult to parse the ECFMG website - it may be possible to get sponsored by the ECFMG for an elective.  It could mean passing both Step 1 and Step 2 CK before applying.  In other words, Canadian students may be treated almost exactly the same as other IMGs when it comes to electives.. but honestly it's hard to tell.  

"Although many universities and research institutions in the United States are authorized to sponsor exchange visitors as research scholars, ECFMG is the sole sponsor of J-1 physicians in clinical training programs."

https://www.ecfmg.org/evsp/about.html

https://www.ecfmg.org/evsp/j1fact.pdf (looks like requirement for statement of need which is no longer issued).

https://www.ecfmg.org/evsp/applying-checklists.html (see Canadian graduates)

NB US electives used to be possible.. here's some UBC student experiences

https://ubcmj.med.ubc.ca/the-utility-of-u-s-medical-electives-to-canadian-medical-student/

 

Thanks so much for the info - this is so annoying because the fellowships and the states I’m looking into don’t require the step exams. All the step exam requirements are just really not even a thing anymore. Sigh. I’ll have to see. Perhaps will have to stick to site visits then instead of electives. 

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44 minutes ago, bellejolie said:

Thanks so much for the info - this is so annoying because the fellowships and the states I’m looking into don’t require the step exams. All the step exam requirements are just really not even a thing anymore. Sigh. I’ll have to see. Perhaps will have to stick to site visits then instead of electives. 

Actually, the more I think about it, the more the policy makes sense for fellowships or even US residency training.

Let's say you did a short-term elective in Program X in the US on a J-1.  Then based on the two-year home-country requirement, you would then have to stay in Canada for two years which might preclude you from applying to the US for a fellowship (or residency) on a J-1 - i.e. you get "one shot" at the US on a J-1.

Still, I think exposure to the US without residency commitment could be interesting. 

So with this policy you: i) don't have to write the Steps for a J-1; ii) won't exclude a J-1  from being-issued for fellowship based on the two-year rule.  

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