Good News for Canadian IMGs

[Guest MDCY]

The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario

April 7, 2005 Report from Council:

 

Examination Equivalents

 

Council gave the Registration Committee direction to treat certain examinations as equivalent to the Canadian standard, the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examinations, Parts 1 and 2.

 

This initiative is part of the College’s ongoing implementation of its strategic planning goal of accelerating efforts to find creative ways to address physician resource needs without compromising registration standards. It was also one of the recommendations put forward by the College in its discussion paper, Tackling the Doctor Shortage.

 

The examinations that the Registration Committee will treat as equivalent to the MCCQE, include:

 

1. The USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examinations), Steps 1, 2 and 3 as long as the sequence includes an assessment of clinical skills as demonstrated by successful completion of either:

a. USMLE Step 2 CS (Clinical Skills); or

b. ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) CSA (Clinical Skills Assessment).

 

2. The COMLEX (Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners) as long as the sequence includes the COMLEX USA Level 2-PE (Clinical Skills Component).

 

3. The examination sequence required by the Collège des Médicins du Québec as long as it contains the Examen Clinique Objectif Structure (ECOS).

 

The Registration Committee will continue to work to determine which other examinations might be considered equivalent to the MCCQE.

 

http://www.cpso.ca

 

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I, for one, am glad to see Ontario leading the way for easier access for Canadian IMGs who practice in the US to return to Canada.

 

Take care.

[Guest rpcattrall]

Sounds great. But don't buy that condo in Toronto quite yet. CPSO has a nasty tradition of screwing up any well-meant process imposed upon them by the goverment. They WILL find a backdoor to keep you out of their turf.

 

A word creation like 'enhanced specialty-specific assurance programs' makes me worry that this is another ruse (it will turn out that there are something like 3 spots province-wide in these programs and that you need a 25 year contract with a clinic serving a first nation community before you are eligible to apply for the program)

 

Read the links!

 

CPSO REALLY never intends to license ANYONE with third country medschool and ACGME accredited training.

 

This is most likely another ploy to get the politicians off their backs who are looking for sufficient physician supply for their constituents.

 

By introducing program after program they can pretend to work on the issue without doing anything in reality. In large organizations this type of behavior is known as 'brownian motion'.

 

(If you want to know how they work, just ask them how many physicians they have registered through the 'registration by practice assessment pathway' so far.)

 

Oh, one more thing. They require you to be board certified. In some American specialties, this is not until 2 years after you finish your residency. Only a few allow you to finish your board exams during residency. You WILL need some way to stay in the US legally for that time period until you finish your boards (may it be a fellowship, waiver employment or an H1b job).

 

So, I stand by my statement: don't buy that condo in Toronto quite yet.

 

These are just proposals, that never pass into laws.

[Guest MacMD]

These days you have to be careful. Anyone contemplating a foreign med school should be prepared to stay in the US. You never know what the situation is going to be in Canada. I would do everything to come back to Canada, but wouldn't count on it.