Canadian, US Med Grad

[dystorsion]

Hi! If a Canadian citizen graduates from a US medical school, what are the different paths that he/she could take?

Will matching in the U.S. be a problem (due to citizenship issues)?

Will matching in Canada be possible?

I would appreciate any input, especially from those who have already been through the process.

[Alastriss]

Hey dystorsion.

 

No one responded to your thread, so I will!

 

For going to the States, I think that its not going to be an issue to get an H1B visa given that the program you want to match into is not comp - mod competitive. It depends on:

a) the discipline

the location (Best program for IM might be very competitive)

 

Too many shades of grey to give you a clear cut answer, but give that you aren't going for ENT, Plastics, and the like you should be fine. Then again, you can never know prior to actually going to med school so its always good to keep the options open.

 

For coming back to canada, looking through the premed101.com archives, there has been evidence Program directors that say: going to a US med school will (by and large) not hurt your chances to come back, but it is in you best interest to do at elective with them.

 

Try going through the premed101 archives, The old moderator, moo(d), was very helpfuL!

[Sergie]

I completely agree with Alastriss: an American med graduate with Canadian citizenship is in a better position than any other IMG. However, IMG is IMG. You will be competing against Canadian graduates as well as other IMGs here. As a rule of tumb, in Canada, there are approximately as many positions as many people graduate every year - few are left for IMGs. Among IMGs are graduates from Au, UK, Caribbeans etc who also tend to be competitive enough. Moreover, the policy towards these countries' med grads are gradually changing.

All this said, I would vote for doing residency in the States - bigger choice, almost 100% chance to find a position at first shot. After finishing residency there will be a choice: either to work for additional couple of years to fulfill requirements for some specialties (there could be a difference in the number of years) and come back to Canada as a practicing doctor (would you?) or return right after that and try to apply for a job here that could be of some challenge but obviously doable. Coming to Canada without a residency experience is not recomended!

As for the citizenship issue, you will be applying either for H1B or for J1 visa depending on your own situation and the program requirements. Not every program sponsors residents as well as not every one wishes to become an American citizen (H1B leads to Green card and citizenship in future).

Also, take into account that if you decide to have your residency in the States, you might be asked to take MCCEE as well as pass all three USMLEs and\or get the Statement of need from the Ministry of health - the last one is a real headache.

So, read more about what you should do in future to avoid bad surprises and good luck!

s.