Edict Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 How much French is needed in order to do residency at Ottawa and/or McGill? Also, is it possible to match to these places without knowing French (learnt french in elementary and middle school in ontario) but being willing to learn? If you are interested in potentially doing residency here will they very much prefer you to know French? I know these answers are probably different between Ottawa and McGill. For services like Cardiac Surgery at Ottawa, where the referral region includes Western Quebec, does the need for French go up dramatically? I've heard from someone that you don't need french to do residency at McGill. I've heard something like 30-40% of patients at MUHC speak French on another thread, but is this number referring to patients who speak only French or the number that are bilingual? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 well I am Ottawa and have extremely poor french skills - no issue at all actually. when necessary there are translation services available. Not to mention free french lessons actually - so if you want to learn french that certainly is not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmarshmallow Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 It's possible to do residency in both universities without knowledge of French, but it's an amazing opportunity to perfect a second language! And plus it's an amazing career asset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 It's possible to do residency in both universities without knowledge of French, but it's an amazing opportunity to perfect a second language! And plus it's an amazing career asset. I agree - although to be honest I have had a hard time finding the time for it with everything else going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amichel Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 How much French is needed in order to do residency at Ottawa and/or McGill? Also, is it possible to match to these places without knowing French (learnt french in elementary and middle school in ontario) but being willing to learn? If you are interested in potentially doing residency here will they very much prefer you to know French? I know these answers are probably different between Ottawa and McGill. For services like Cardiac Surgery at Ottawa, where the referral region includes Western Quebec, does the need for French go up dramatically? I've heard from someone that you don't need french to do residency at McGill. I've heard something like 30-40% of patients at MUHC speak French on another thread, but is this number referring to patients who speak only French or the number that are bilingual? Thanks! Some of the McGill residency programs test your French at the interview, so be aware of that. Check the CaRMS program descriptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Did 3 weeks of elective time in Ottawa and I barely speak any French. Never an issue. The hospital is English and the majority of the patients are anglophone or English second language (no French at all). I only encountered one patient who only spoke french. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted February 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Thanks for the replies everyone, so it seems Ottawa is definitely ok in terms of not speaking French. In terms of McGill, would they have a preference for someone who speaks French fluently? So, would it be worth applying/ranking McGill if your chances are going to be low if they prefer those who are bilingual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralk Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Thanks for the replies everyone, so it seems Ottawa is definitely ok in terms of not speaking French. In terms of McGill, would they have a preference for someone who speaks French fluently? So, would it be worth applying/ranking McGill if your chances are going to be low if they prefer those who are bilingual? It's never going to hurt to apply. Worst they can do is not give you an interview or rank you low, neither of which should change your actions when going through the application process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indefatigable Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmarshmallow Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I agree - although to be honest I have had a hard time finding the time for it with everything else going on. Nothing better than total immersion to learn, and the younger you learn a language the better it is (yay brain plasticity!). Honestly I've more trouble learning languages now compared to when I was a teenager (I speak 5 languages and working on a 6th). Thanks for the replies everyone, so it seems Ottawa is definitely ok in terms of not speaking French. In terms of McGill, would they have a preference for someone who speaks French fluently? So, would it be worth applying/ranking McGill if your chances are going to be low if they prefer those who are bilingual? Language knowledge (or unknowledge) cannot bump you down, but it's just definitely a plus when your portray your language skills as an important part of your career development, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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