Steps to Follow to Practice Medicine in Canada as an IMG

Step 1: Before coming to Canada -

1. Search the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDMS) for your medical school to confirm your medical degree is recognized in Canada. If recognized then open an account on https://physiciansapply.ca/

Pay a one-time, non-refundable fee of $298 CAD to set up your physiciansapply.ca account.

2. Submit your Medical Credential for verification ( Final Medical Diploma- must, additional documents that can be verified are Transcript, Internship Certificate, Post Graduation Training Certificate etc.)

Document fee: $ 175 CAD/ medical credential

3. Educational Credential Assessment report fee to complete your Express Entry: $111 CAD

Step 2: Before coming to Canada/After coming to Canada -

1. Prepare for MCCQE1 examination and buy online practice test here https://mcc.ca/examinations/mccqe-part-i/preparation-resources/preparatory-products/ to check your readiness for exam.

Cost for all test : around $1555 CAD

2. Take the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part I in Canada or other countries

Fees: $1,330 CAD

Step 3: After coming to Canada -

1. Take National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Examination. This exam is offered only in Canada.

Fees: $2,830 CAD

2. Apply to the CARMS (https://www.carms.ca/) for getting Residency Training Spot and take additional exams require by programs. 

There are several fees for registration and match participation.

3. Take the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part II if eligible

Application fee: $2,780 CAD

Administrative fee: $1,390 CAD

4. Join Practice Ready programs (PRA) if eligible and do not want to take CARMS pathway.

5. Take Therapeutic Decision Making (TDM) exam if it is required for PRA program.

 Fee : $1945 CAD

6. Seek Liability Protection: If you are practicing or completing your medical training in Canada, you will need medical liability protection. Check here for more information https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/en/home?splash=true

Thank you for reading it. See you soon in my next post.

P.S. All the fees can be changed anytime. So, check them again before applying.

Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part I Overview

What is it?

MCCQE1 is a one day computer based test. It is one of the exams for Canadian Medical License.

How many parts of this exam?

It has two parts. MCQs and CDM.

In the morning session (4 hours):  210 multiple choice questions. Among this 210 MCQs, 35 are pilot questions that will not be marked. However, you cannot identify pilot question during examination. In new rule the options would vary from three to five, you have to choose one best answer.

You will get one hour break after finishing the morning session. After one hour, automatically CDM part will start in your computer screen.

In the afternoon session (3.5 hours) : 38 clinical decision making cases ( 60 to 70 questions). Among this 38 CDM cases, 8 are pilot questions that will not be marked. However, you cannot identify pilot question during examination.

What is the total marks?

400

What is the pass marks?

226

What is considered good score?

Aim for Higher. At least above 240. 

How many attempts you may take if you fail MCCQE1?

Up to four times. After the 3rd attempt, you must wait one year before reapplying. But if you pass once, you cannot retake it to improve the score.

Where you can take your exam?

From 2020 June, you can take exam at home or at Prometric center in Canada. Also, now it is offered in overseas. Therefore, before coming to Canada you can complete this exam. 

Exam results will be available approx. 7 weeks after the last day of the exam session.

How can you apply for the exam?

You need to apply it through physiciansapply.ca account.

What is the exam fee?

$1330 CAD ( It can be changed in every session)

How many times per year exam is offered?

In 2021, exam will be held in five times.

What is the syllabus?

This exam will test your knowledge about Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Orthopedics, Gynecology & Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Eye and ENT, Public Health and Canadian ethics. In MCC website you will find a list of MCC objectives which is really important to cover.

Preparation time period?

5-6 months to 1 year

Do you need any coaching to pass MCCQE1?

No, you do not. But this exam is different than any other licensing exam. Hence, a guidance or mentor is important to take the exam in short time.

There are several expensive coaching for it. Choose wisely according to your need.

Best preparatory question for MCCQE1?

MCC Practice Test

What are the other resources to use for preparation?

1. U world Question Bank ( Step 2 CK)/ Canada Question Bank

2. Master the board 2/ 3 book, Toronto Notes

3. For ethics: CMPA website

4. For Public Health: Shah Public Health/ AFMC primer on Population Health

How long your MCCQE1 pass result will be valid?

If you pass once, the validity is unlimited.

Do you need Permanent Residency to take MCCQE1?

No

Important link to get authentic information about MCCQE1: 

https://mcc.ca/examinations/mccqe-part-i/

https://www.youtube.com/user/medicalcouncilcanada

Preparation materials links:

https://mcc.ca/examinations/mccqe-part-i/preparation-resources/preparatory-products/

https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/serve/docs/ela/goodpracticesguide/pages/index/index-e.html

https://phprimer.afmc.ca/en/

Thank you for reading it. Do not forget to comment if you have any question.

Pathway to Practice Medicine in Canada

Canada is a beautiful country to live in but it is the worst country for a foreign doctor who wants to be a practicing physician. I am not here to demotivate you, I am just telling the fact. You can pass the exams but there is no guarantee to get into residency position. Hence, may be at the end of the day you will never be a practicing physician in Canada after spending huge amount of money and time. However, still we have to try if we are already in Canada because if we do not try, there is 100% chance that we cannot practice medicine here.

There are several pathways to become a practicing physician in Canada but today I am only writing about CARMS pathway as I am using this pathway. I will write about other pathways when I will know better.

This pathway looks simple but it is complicated in different ways. It will cost you not only huge amount of money, but also mental peace and time. But if you are successful, you will get a respectful, better and secured life for you and your family in Canada. Therefore, we should be positive during this whole journey.

The most crucial part of this journey is getting the right information. I suffered a lot just to get some information. I wasted my two years to gather all the information before starting this journey. My journey would be more easier if I could find someone reliable who would explain it properly. I started my journey without knowing the whole pathway. I am still learning but I am ready to help everyone by providing the right information that I gathered over the last two years.

Lets start with examination part. Before applying for residency training, you need to pass two exams (MCCQE1 and NAC OSCE). However, you can take them in any order. You do not need to have Permanent Residency for taking this exams. For application process, you should have an account in physicianapply.ca where you have to verify your medical degree and other degrees or training if you have any. There are several charges for it. 

After passing these two exams now you are ready to apply for CARMS if you have Permanent Residency in Canada. CARMS is Canadian Resident Matching Service. Usually, matching occurs 2 times in a year. Before COVID situation, the application deadline for first matching/first iteration was in  November and second iteration was in March for remaining seats.

There are few more additional examinations that you need to complete for CARMS application:

1. IELTS academic, must have 7 in each module ( If your medical College education and/or patient care is not in English)

2. CASPER test ( Few universities require it)

3. MMI ( to apply for British Columbia by BC CAP and Alberta)

If you are lucky plus you have a great CV with Canadian experience, high score, recency of practice, interview skill etc., you might get a residency spot. 

International Medical Graduates cannot apply for all specialties like Canadian Medical Graduates. There are very limited seats in limited specialties for IMGs such as Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Obstetric and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry etc. Among them the highest seats are for Family Medicine. IMGs need to sign Return of Service if they get residency training position (for most of the programs). It means they are bound to serve for particular period of time to the rural or under serviced areas of Canada after finishing their training.

That is all for today. I tried to write it down briefly to give you a basic idea. To learn more you can check following links.

https://physiciansapply.ca/

https://mcc.ca/

https://www.carms.ca/

https://imgbc.med.ubc.ca/clinical-assessment/

https://takecasper.com/

Thank you for reading it. Feel free to ask any questions in comment section below. See you soon in another post.

My National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Examination Experience

Today, I will write about my NAC OSCE exam experience in short. NAC OSCE is the clinical exam for Canadian licensing system. I took my NAC exam in September, 2021. Due to COVID 19, the exam was uncertain. But in July, MCC decided to take this exam in September with little modifications. This modifications were first tested on us!!! I always feel nervous during any clinical exam. I have performance anxiety so, I was extremely worried about my exam performance. However, I was not worried about my clinical knowledge. But, this exam actually totally different because it not only tests about clinical knowledge, but also tests on multiple other things such as personality, communication, attitude, body languages, Canadian ethics etc.

In this new exam system, we did not need to perform physical examination on patients as there was physical distancing rule. We needed to tell to the examiner about physical examination steps and what findings we were looking for. Also, we always needed to wear a surgical mask. Another new change was about pass marks. Before there was marking system but from our exam time it was pass, fail or pass with superior performance.

My journey in short:

Preparation time : 1.5 months (as I had MCCQE1 in July,2021)

Preparatory Course : I did not attend any preparatory course as I had no time.

Practice Course : I practice cases with a Private instructor . We were 3 in group and he gave us total 20 hours (2 hours per session/ twice in a week) for online practice session. We 3 got equal opportunity to practice different cases.

Mock : I attended one online mock which was okay, not great. (Not value for the money)

Personal practice: Initially I got one online partner who took a preparatory course before so she gave me a total idea about NAC exam during our practice time. Later, I got another online partner in mid August who already appeared NAC before. She wanted to practice like mock exams. So, we took each other mocks, 10 cases at a time. This mocks practice helped me a lot.

Exam day : Real exam experience was totally different. I would say it was a tough exam and I was not fully satisfied with my performance. However, I am lucky that by the grace of Almighty, I passed with superior performance. 

Note that I followed: OSCE guide (only)

Recommendation: Practice.. Practice..  Practice..

Find a partner or a mentor who can judge you properly. Try to improve everyday until your exam day. You cannot know everything but you can try to know many things. Try to take as much as mock exams if possible. Prepare very well.

How could I took exam in 1.5 months preparation?

1. I had residency training in Internal medicine back home so I knew how to take history effectively to get the diagnosis.

2. I got very supportive partners.

3. I did not waste my time in large group for listening to others, I only focused on my performance in front of a teacher or my partners.

4. I worked really hard, did not take any breaks.

Thanks for reading this. If you have any further question please feel free to comment below.

My Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part I Experience

I have decided to start my blog by writing my experience about MCCQE1. I took my MCCQE1 exam in July, 2020 during COVID 19 pandemic. My exam got cancelled for three times, thanks to Covid 19!!! But I am happy I could clear this exam.

This journey was tough and depressing. Everyone discouraged me and I did not have any guidelines but I was determined to pass this exam. I was confident about passing it but after taking exam I got to understand it was a difficult exam.

MCCQE1 is one of the Canadian Licensing Exams to practice medicine in Canada for International Medical Graduate.

What resources I used to prepare mccqe1?

1. U world question bank (Step 2 CK)

2. Master The Board 3

3. CMPA website for ethics

4. Shah's public health

5. MCC full practice test

6. Toronto notes as reference.

Time frame to prepare for mccqe1:

It depends on person to person. Average time frame if  someone study fulltime : 4 to 6 months. For me it was around 6 months with lots of breaks.

I will write about my NAC OSCE experience in the next post.