US Schools vs Carribean vs Australia etc

[Guest skiboot]

Hi,

 

For anyone who has been through the application process, I was wondering if you have any feedback on applying to the states, carribean and elsewhere regarding to the following issues:

 

 

(1) Coming back to Canada

 

I know how hard it is to come back after studying outside of Canada, but would IMGs from one place have a better chance of practicing in Canada than IMGs from another (ie) US vs Carribean vs Australia, etc).

 

(2) Practicing in the States

 

Is it easier to come back to the States from an american school in the carribean, or from elsewhere such as Australia, etc?

 

(3) Top 10 choices outside of Canada

 

I have yet to apply in Canada, but am not confident as far as my GPA is concerned. Does anyone have a top five or ten list of places to apply outside of Canada based on a not so great GPA (US,abroad).

 

I'm starting to do my research on american and carribean schools, but after reading other posts on this forum, Australia seems like it might be an option as well.

 

Sorry about the longwinded post. I thought it might be better to put it all in one as opposed to separate posts.

 

Any feedback would be a great help.

 

Thanks!

[Guest moo]

First, US schools should always be an option above Caribbean, Irish or Australian schools if you want to practice back in Canada. As a US grad, you will be considered in the first round of CaRMS in most Canadian provinces, thus you are already at a distinct advantage compared to other IMGs. (USMGs are not even considered IMGs in Canada.)

 

Second, if you want to practice in the US, even if you are not a US citizen, a US school in infinitely better than an international school. In fact, if your goal is to practice in the US, a US school is the best choice (even better than going to a Canadian school). This is not to say you can't get that derm residency coming from a Canadian school, just that you might not get your first or second choice. Also the visa problems are simplified by graduating from a US school, as you don't need to take a year off to apply for an H1b (because you can just extend your student visa). Some people argue that programs do not care where you did med school, if you are Canadian, you are Canadian and the program doesn't want to go through the hassles of obtaining the H1b visa*. This is NOT true that IMGs and USMGs are equal when it comes to being Canadian. Applying to residency now, I can tell you that many, many programs will go to bat for you if you are an USMG (even though you are Canadian) and will bend over backwards to get the H1b for you. For example, I can tell you that UCSF (one of the premier institutions in the country) will not offer H1bs to IMGs from the Caribbean, Australia, Ireland, etc. But they WILL offer H1bs to US grads. Likewise for Mass Gen/Brigham/Beth Israel (Harvard affiliated hospitals) and many other hospitals in the country.

 

*The H1b is the better visa as it allows you to stay in the US after graduation from residency, whereas the J1 is easier to get but you have to return home to Canada for two years before you are allowed to come down again.

[Guest skiboot]

Thanks for the info Moo.

 

I was at an infosession put on by Ross University (carribean) a couple a weeks ago. It was apparently the first time they had held one in Canada and it seemed as though they were unaware of many of the issues as far as coming back to Canada was concerned.

 

A friend of a friend also recently completed their studies at Ross and scored in the 90th percentile on the board exams, which would obviously help in getting a first or second choice of residency.

 

The whole visa issue is another hoop altogether. If you can't get an H1B visa, do you essentially have to put your career on hold for 2 years waiting for a J1??