Another CCFP(EM) thread

[leviathan]

Based on all of these threads, it looks like this is quite a popular program. Would that be a fair assumption that this is a competitive program to enter? Would it be any more difficult to match into this program if you went to an international medical school, but did a family medicine residency in Canada?

[Satsuma]

If you go to the carms.ca site you can look up the R-3 match stats for the last 2 years....as it is now a match done through carms.

[leviathan]

Doesn't say whether or not IMGs who finished residency in Canada are held at a disadvantage.

[BlackJack]

An IMG has a hard enough time trying to land even the most paltry of family medicine positions in Canada.

 

Also consider that the unmatch rate for CCFP(EM) is >35% according to the CaRMS website.

 

It does not say how many IMGs were included in the applicant pool.

 

In any case, with an unmatch rate that high, I'd say that IMGs would not have an easy time landing a CCFP(EM) spot.

[Satsuma]

Hmm...I don`t know.

But if you did your fam med residency in Canada does it really matter where you did your med school? I guess that is what you would need to find out if you haven`t already.

[leviathan]

Hmm...I don`t know.

But if you did your fam med residency in Canada does it really matter where you did your med school? I guess that is what you would need to find out if you haven`t already.

 

Yeah, that's kinda what I'm trying to find out. On one hand, it seems like you should be treated as an equal since you are Canadian trained...on the other, they may still be prejudiced because of the stigma of foreign medical schools.

[master_splinter]

I think that if you match to a Canadian CCFP program, ideally one that has an EM year, do well in your ER rotations, and demonstrate interest in EM during the residency, the EM program would probably take a serious look at you regardless of where you did med school.

 

You might want to write a few program directors and get their take.

[ploughboy]

I think that if you match to a Canadian CCFP program, ideally one that has an EM year, do well in your ER rotations, and demonstrate interest in EM during the residency, the EM program would probably take a serious look at you regardless of where you did med school.

 

You might want to write a few program directors and get their take.

 

Agreed. One unifying trait of every ER doc I've ever worked with is that they're very pragmatic. If you know your scheisse and work well with the staff in the ERs associated with your home programme, that's way more important than where you did your MD.

 

I haven't looked at the CaRMS R3 match stats recently, but iirc it does seem to matter where you do your family residency. There's a huge "home field" advantage (eg most Western R3s did their family residency, but not necessarily their MD, at UWO), probably due to program familiarity with the applicants. Something to keep in mind down the road.

[leviathan]

Agreed. One unifying trait of every ER doc I've ever worked with is that they're very pragmatic. If you know your scheisse and work well with the staff in the ERs associated with your home programme, that's way more important than where you did your MD.

 

I haven't looked at the CaRMS R3 match stats recently, but iirc it does seem to matter where you do your family residency. There's a huge "home field" advantage (eg most Western R3s did their family residency, but not necessarily their MD, at UWO), probably due to program familiarity with the applicants. Something to keep in mind down the road.

Good to know, thanks ploughboy. I may be attending a foreign school this January, and the ability to return to Canada is definitely important to me. Of course I may not end up liking emerg or family medicine anyhow, but that's the fields I currently have the most exposure to and quite enjoy the atmosphere.

[extrachromasome]

If your goal is to become an emergency physician, have you considered training in the USA?

[leviathan]

If your goal is to become an emergency physician, have you considered training in the USA?

I have; however, it is almost impossible to get sponsored for a visa in an emerg med program in the US. It is hard enough for American IMGs to get an EM spot in their own country, and basically impossible for a Canadian.

[hippie]

I have; however, it is almost impossible to get sponsored for a visa in an emerg med program in the US. It is hard enough for American IMGs to get an EM spot in their own country, and basically impossible for a Canadian.

 

 

EM is getting more and more competitive in the States and I i think the average step I for it is now like 215-220. The problem is not the visa which you can probably get. It is that the training is not equivalent. The FRCP route is 5 years long in Canada while the training in the USA is 3 or 4 years and is not even equivalent to the CCFP(EM) training in Canada which I personally find ridiculous.

[BlackJack]

My understand is that the ABEM is valid in Canada if you pass the FRCP exam AND adhere to any further stipulations set out by the college, such as additional training years.

 

However, the CCFP(EM) is completely invalid in the USA.