street_med Posted December 17, 2007 Report Share Posted December 17, 2007 Hello everyone I am a second year canadian medical student wondering if I need to write the USMLEs in case I decide to do a fellowship in the states. I have absolutely no interest in doing residency in US but don't want to rule out doing a fellowship there since there is a wider variety of programs. So does anyone know if I would still need USMLEs for a fellowship? happy holidays!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted December 17, 2007 Report Share Posted December 17, 2007 Hello everyone I am a second year canadian medical student wondering if I need to write the USMLEs in case I decide to do a fellowship in the states. I have absolutely no interest in doing residency in US but don't want to rule out doing a fellowship there since there is a wider variety of programs. So does anyone know if I would still need USMLEs for a fellowship? happy holidays!! Hi there, Some US centres do require the USMLE for fellowships and others do not. Those that do not simply require the MCCQE parts 1 and 2 as well as Royal College membership (once residency is complete). Anecdotally, I've heard that more and more centres are willing to accept Canadians without USMLE scores. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icebox Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Bumpin'. Anyone have good information on this? I can't find a single source of consolidated information - the best I could do was http://usmleforcanadians.wikidot.com/fellowships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cupofwater Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 Bumpin'. Anyone have good information on this? I can't find a single source of consolidated information - the best I could do was http://usmleforcanadians.wikidot.com/fellowships. thanks for the info. does anyone have any idea if it matters what score is on the USMLE for fellowships? or if fellowship programs just want to know that you've completed it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostintime Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Anyone know anything about this? I know money isn't the key, but $500 is still a lot to dish out for a test when I 95% probably won't be doing a residency in the US. Plus, I heard learning all that material isn't even that helpful for clerkship, etc. versus just doing self review rather than devoting a summer towards USMLE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blinknoodle Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 It really is program and university dependent. I didn't write the USMLEs and don't really feel compelled to, either, as I know many fellowships in my area of interest are available with full Canadian licensure. I wouldn't normally entertain gallivanting to the US, but the fellowship opportunities in my residency are much better down south. Best to check things out yourself.... or write the USMLEs in residency like a few of my colleagues, once you know what you want to do for a living . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Talk to people in your field of interest, especially staff who have recently completed fellowships. It does require a significant investment of money and time to write the USMLE sequence, but it would be more difficult to fit in during residency as compared to writing them under the conventional timeline. I did find the material helpful for my residency.. things stay in long term memory better when they have been reviewed several times. I talked to several staff when I was in pre-clerkship, and the consensus was to do the exams, if writing them would not mean a significant hardship. Bottom line: how important it is to you to keep as many options open as possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostintime Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Thanks for the help! I guess it's not only the hardship and money, but the risk of doing poorly and how that'll reflect. Of course, for the US, I guess it's bye-bye fellowships (unless they only care about passing). But I heard there's a question on CARMS that asks if you've written the USMLE's. Do they get to see your score? It's pretty bad if they don't even get to see your grades if you're in a pass/fail school and then suddenly see this USMLE score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 There is a space in the CaRMS application to enter other exams you have taken, so it would show up as 1) pass 2) date taken 3) score. USMLE is not scored on a percentile basis so it is not apparent how you have fared unless you are familiar with the scoring system. Even then (and you can ask your local PDs about this) I think the simple fact of having written it (implying discipline, initiative) would be a boost to your application - they know the score is not as important if you aren't applying to the US for residency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostintime Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 So there is no absolutely no way to get past this? You have to report your score? Would it serve negatively in that they may think you do not want to stay in Canada --> brain drain? I could probably answer that question during an interview, but hopefully they don't screen you out or red flag it based on that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Well, the NBME does not report the score directly to CaRMS - you enter it in yourself. That being said, I was told by my faculty advisor that there would not be any negative repercussions to having the USMLE on the CaRMS application, and as I noted above, several staff advised me to write it. There are many Canadian medical students who have written Step 1, and it is not uncommon for people who write during residency for fellowship purposes - programs are aware that fellowship options are plentiful in the US and this is a very valid reason to write the USMLE. You probably know people at your institution who have completed US fellowships and returned to practice in Canada. Don't worry too much about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krgregg Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Hi there, Some US centres do require the USMLE for fellowships and others do not. Those that do not simply require the MCCQE parts 1 and 2 as well as Royal College membership (once residency is complete). Anecdotally, I've heard that more and more centres are willing to accept Canadians without USMLE scores. Cheers, Kirsteen was told by a preceptor this summer that fellowships in the US are required to pay you a substantial increase in wages if you have the USMLE...that might be part of the reason (like >20k +) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physiology Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Officially - many fellowships do require the USMLEs. Unofficially - if you are Canadian and are Canadian-trained, they may make an exception. But by not writing the exam, you are giving them a reason to decline your fellowship application. The prospect of having to fly down to the US for the OSCE part of the USMLE step 2 is obviously unappealing, but keeping "doors open," costs money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetballKing Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Is there an expiration date to these USMLEs once you have written them? (like how MCAT is only good for 3-5 years depending on the school). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostintime Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 You need to finish all 3 steps in like 7 years or something like that. But otherwise if you're done all 3 steps, no expiration date I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamP Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Digging this up. Do you need all 3 steps to do a fellowship? So if I write this summer (m2) I will have basically all of residency to do the writing and clinical part of step 2, and step 3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_015 Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 If you are going to do step 2, you might as well do it in M4, as you are preparing for the MCC's anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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