FM certification in US

[Knovecc]

Hi guys

Does anyone know someone who finished his/her FM residency here in Canada but ended up practising FM in US? Just got a question regarding the accreditation at ABFM from the quote on their website:

 

"(Canadian 2-yr FM graduates) may apply for ABFM certification upon the successful completion of a third year of accredited Family Medicine residency. The third year of training must be satisfactorily completed in an ACGME-accredited Family Medicine program or, if taken in Canada, must be approved by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. The third year must have prior approval of the American Board of Family Medicine ... "

https://www.theabfm.org/moc/reciprocityagreements.aspx

 

My question is, does R3 in Emerg (CCFP-EM) count as such a year? well it's approved by CCFP...

 

Thanks!

[spontaneouscombustion]

I think this is the type of question you'd have to actually ask the ABFM. You probably wouldn't be able to practice EM in the states with a 2+1, so I imagine there aren't many CCFM(EMs) that have gone south.

[Knovecc]

I think this is the type of question you'd have to actually ask the ABFM. You probably wouldn't be able to practice EM in the states with a 2+1, so I imagine there aren't many CCFM(EMs) that have gone south.

 

no no I am asking about practising FM, not EM in US with a Canadian 2+1 training (coz they are asking for an additional R3)

[spontaneouscombustion]

I know. I'm saying not many 2+1s would have gone to the states, since most 2+1s want to practice EM and you can't do that in the states. Obviously they wouldn't be practicing FM either.

[leviathan]

It should be fine and count as your third year, but obviously fire them an email or phone call and see what they say.

[Methodnike]

no no I am asking about practising FM, not EM in US with a Canadian 2+1 training (coz they are asking for an additional R3)

I agree with Leviathan on this one.

You may want to review also the curriculum requirements for ACGME FM requirements.

http://www.acgme.org/acgmeweb/Portals/0/PFAssets/ProgramRequirements/120pr07012007.pdf

 

As long as your 2 years program + 1 year (approved by CCFP) meets the requirements for this long pdf, you should be fine.

 

I know a guy at U of Ottawa who did a third year, completely filled with electives of his choice to fulfill this third year (meeting the requirements of course) in order to be board eligible for ABFM.

[DennisRaphael]

I apologize for bringing this up again, does anyone have any information about the second route:

 

Physicians who have passed the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Certification Examination in Family Medicine may apply to sit for the American Board of Family Medicine MC-FP Examination, if they:

• are certified by exam and a member in good standing of the College of Family Physicians of Canada at the time of application;
• have satisfactorily completed two years of post-graduate residency training in family medicine accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada;
• have been a resident of the United States for at least six (6) months;
• hold a valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States; and,
• are actively involved in Family Medicine in the United States for at least six (6) months

 

How would someone who has completed 2 years of family medicine residency in Canada be able to get actively involved(?practicing) in family medicine in the US?

[jackson]

Licensure in the US works much differently than Canada. For virtually all states, the training requirement for LCME graduates to obtain a full, unrestricted, license is 1 or 2 years of residency training. This is probably a throwback to when people only did an internship then went into practice, which has just never been changed. Most states will accept Canadian residency training as equivalent to US training, and there is no requirement to be Board certified to obtain a license.

 

Note however, that this is only for LCME graduates. For IMGs from outside North America, you typically have to have 3 years of (US or Canadian) residency training.

 

Hence, with Canadian family practice training, you are eligible for full licensure in most states, and can obtain jobs in walk-in clinics, community health clinics, etc, to obtain the 6 months of involvement in Family Medicine.

 

Many standard Family Medicine practices would also likely however hire you with the understanding that you will be eligible for ABFM certification shortly. The reason ABFM certification is an issue at all, is that the insurance companies that pay for medical services in the US "credential" you as a provider with them, and most of these do want to see Board certfication, although this is less of an issue in more rural/underserved areas.

 

While your Board certification/insurance company credentialing is in flux, an existing Family Practice can hire you and just label you as a locum, and submit your billings under a physician who is already credentialed with all the insurance companies. I'm not sure what the maximal amount of time is that you can do this, or if there even is a maximum. There are also certain time limits for submitting bills, such that the practice could also just hang on to your billings until you do get credentialed with the insurance companies, and then submit them at that point.