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IMG in Canada : How are you surviving?

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
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What are the options of doing doing Mphil in basic sciences (anatomy,physiology etc)for IMG?
Is it easy to get admission in university? After becoming PR can we get domestic fee? What are job opportunities after completing Mphil? Can we get Teaching jobs in medical schools easily?
P.s i have MBBS degree only.
There is no masters in philosophy in basic sciences. Masters in sciences will be MSc. Masters are also never in basic sciences they are much more specialized which is the whole point of a masters degree. It will likely be impossible to teach at a medical school in Canada. Most lecturers are actually practicing physicians that also do a bit of teaching or PhDs in a certain subject like anatomy.
 

saani

Hero Member
Jul 29, 2017
237
48
There is no masters in philosophy in basic sciences. Masters in sciences will be MSc. Masters are also never in basic sciences they are much more specialized which is the whole point of a masters degree. It will likely be impossible to teach at a medical school in Canada. Most lecturers are actually practicing physicians that also do a bit of teaching or PhDs in a certain subject like anatomy.
It means we can’t do Masters or PhD either?
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
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It means we can’t do Masters or PhD either?
Sure you can if you get in. It is unlikely to lead to a teaching job in a medical school. Most professors are actually practicing doctors or have practiced medicine in Canada or the US for at least a decade but probably a lot more. Most IMGs arrive and have to retrain in another career or get the work they can even though some have actually been practicing medicine for some time. Canada is not a good place to move for IMGs who want to remain in medicine. Somewhere like the UK is much better.
 

saani

Hero Member
Jul 29, 2017
237
48
Sure you can if you get in. It is unlikely to lead to a teaching job in a medical school. Most professors are actually practicing doctors or have practiced medicine in Canada or the US for at least a decade but probably a lot more. Most IMGs arrive and have to retrain in another career or get the work they can even though some have actually been practicing medicine for some time. Canada is not a good place to move for IMGs who want to remain in medicine. Somewhere like the UK is much better.
Thnx for your reply.. so there are chances that we can get admission in Master program,,, what sort of jobs we should expect after completing Master?
Sorry i m asking alot,,
Uk is not an option now as we already have PR
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
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Thnx for your reply.. so there are chances that we can get admission in Master program,,, what sort of jobs we should expect after completing Master?
Sorry i m asking alot,,
Uk is not an option now as we already have PR
What kind of marks did you get? What type of masters? Would say you probably need in the 80s to get admission as a PR. High 70s if you are really lucky. It will also depend on the school. Did you not research job opportunities for IMGs before deciding to immigrate somewhere? Lots of tales of IMGs that regretted moving to Canada.
 
Dec 8, 2018
14
14
What are the options of doing doing Mphil in basic sciences (anatomy,physiology etc)for IMG?
Is it easy to get admission in university? After becoming PR can we get domestic fee? What are job opportunities after completing Mphil? Can we get Teaching jobs in medical schools easily?
P.s i have MBBS degree only.
Well, If you want to stay in Canada than play by the local system. IMG's have hard time to become MD's here. If they are becoming MD's they get mostly in rural locations(as per my knowledge, may be some are getting into better positions) and they get stuck there for many years. Not good for families as your children will miss on a lot of opportunities, also there will be isolation and lower cultural diversity.
Best things is to quickly choose a profession you want to proceed here anything but Medical Doctor. You will be fine. If not than look for other countries.
Msc for basic sciences is good but you need to have an Phd and many research papers to become an Assistant professor. May be you can get lecturers position.... I am not very sure on this. Its highly competitive here and teaching positions are difficult to come by. Nothing is easy in Canada, it takes years to get properly settled here because of the highly skilled immigrants coming from all over the world.
Do not get discouraged and try your best, choose the right profession and get Canadian education and build up on it.
 
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Dec 8, 2018
14
14
A naturopathic doctor is very different than a GP. In terms of coverage naturopaths aren’t covered by provincial healthcare so you are reliant on people paying cash or having coverage through their extended health benefits. Naturopaths incomes are variable depending on where you practice. GPS don’t make a tremendous amounts after their costs contrary to what people may think. Would imagine that 100-120K is probably on average what GPs make after expenses although they can structure their business to pay less tax versus the maximum tax rate. That is before taxes.
There isn’t much you can do with a medical degree especially since it is an undergraduate degree. You are looking at further studies or doing a residency. As mentioned before I would look at various countries. You could likely easily go to the UK and become a junior doctor. Likely one of your easier options.
Hello Canuck78, Good job man ! You got my admiration.... Quiet focused and ready to help everyone. You have a lot if time for this. Are you just passionate in helping IMG's ? Or is it a paid job ? It is mind boggling that you are so focused/obsessed in this forum. Anyway good job and keep up with the good work. May God bless you !
 
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Yads

Newbie
Oct 22, 2019
9
2
Hi good day. Hope everyone is good. I’m not a graduate yet but I’m currently a medical student in my home country Nigeria. In my school, the medical course lasts for 8 years (due to some issues they had way back, but normally, it’s supposed to be 6). I just finished my 4th year and still have 4 years to go before I become a graduate. After which, I intend to move to Canada to do my residency and then practice (because I have family there). My question is, is it worth it? Is this route possible? I have been hearing some really bad things about the possibilities of having a residency slot with my degree.
I have an option now of just going to Canada to start a fresh again (get a Bsc degree and then enter medical school proper since I’m still young). Please which route will be the best for me? I really just want to do the right thing. Please help.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,775
Hello Canuck78, Good job man ! You got my admiration.... Quiet focused and ready to help everyone. You have a lot if time for this. Are you just passionate in helping IMG's ? Or is it a paid job ? It is mind boggling that you are so focused/obsessed in this forum. Anyway good job and keep up with the good work. May God bless you !
I have a lot of free time on my hand these days and know a lot about health professionals and the healthcare system. Not a paid job. Can only watch so much tv.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,775
Hi good day. Hope everyone is good. I’m not a graduate yet but I’m currently a medical student in my home country Nigeria. In my school, the medical course lasts for 8 years (due to some issues they had way back, but normally, it’s supposed to be 6). I just finished my 4th year and still have 4 years to go before I become a graduate. After which, I intend to move to Canada to do my residency and then practice (because I have family there). My question is, is it worth it? Is this route possible? I have been hearing some really bad things about the possibilities of having a residency slot with my degree.
I have an option now of just going to Canada to start a fresh again (get a Bsc degree and then enter medical school proper since I’m still young). Please which route will be the best for me? I really just want to do the right thing. Please help.
Getting into medical school is extremely hard in Canada. It is not unusual for people to try 3-4 times and do at least a masters degree before getting in. The Canadian students who don’t get admitted sometimes chose to attend medical school abroad. I would not count on getting a residency spot in Canada either there are very few spots for IMGs. You would have a much better shot in other countries.
 

Yads

Newbie
Oct 22, 2019
9
2
Getting into medical school is extremely hard in Canada. It is not unusual for people to try 3-4 times and do at least a masters degree before getting in. The Canadian students who don’t get admitted sometimes chose to attend medical school abroad. I would not count on getting a residency spot in Canada either there are very few spots for IMGs. You would have a much better shot in other countries.
Thanks for your reply. Please can you be specific on which other countries I should try that’ll be better for me?
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,775
Thanks for your reply. Please can you be specific on which other countries I should try that’ll be better for me?
UK would my top English speaking country for international medical graduates. Ireland would be another one. US may be possible but you would likely have to go to a rural area. Australia or NZ may be an option. You must do the research all I can tell you is that Canada is not the best option.
 

adanac2020

Newbie
Nov 7, 2019
3
0
India
Category........
FSW
NOC Code......
3112
App. Filed.......
26-06-2019
AOR Received.
04-11-2019
IELTS Request
04-01-2019
Med's Done....
25-09-2019
Hi
I am a doctor from India who shifted careers from medicine to work in the field of Medical Science and Technology. I work on implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Medical Imaging. I work with a tech company as a Medical Advisor in projects related to use of AI in Microscopy. I have done projects and code to implement AI solutions and also have publications in this field. I am also trying to widen my expertise by getting into data science and informatics. I have just got my AOR and background verification is under process and hopefully will immigrate to Canada in the next 6-10 months, given the usual timeline. I do not wish to practice medicine in Canada. Does anyone have any idea about jobs in this field? Would any corporate company or tech start ups working in AI in healthcare/medical imaging hire IMGs as medical advisors in their healthcare division? Which province has most research happening in this field?
 
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canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,775
Hi
I am a doctor from India who shifted careers from medicine to work in the field of Medical Science and Technology. I work on implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Medical Imaging. I work with a tech company as a Medical Advisor in projects related to use of AI in Microscopy. I have done projects and code to implement AI solutions and also have publications in this field. I am also trying to widen my expertise by getting into data science and informatics. I have just got my AOR and background verification is under process and hopefully will immigrate to Canada in the next 6-10 months, given the usual timeline. I do not wish to practice medicine in Canada. Does anyone have any idea about jobs in this field? Would any corporate company or tech start ups working in AI in healthcare/medical imaging hire IMGs as medical advisors in their healthcare division? Which province has most research happening in this field?
Have no idea how many jobs are available in such a specialized field. Did you not research this extensively before deciding to immigrate and leaving what must have been a good job? No offence but I find it so surprising how little research some professionals do before immigrating. Most of this thread has people already approved to immigrate that haven’t done research on whether they can practice medicine and how difficult it will be or not having done research on what other careers would be possible and whether that would require further schooling. Many will make less and pay more taxes when they arrive in Canada and then blame Canada for luring them away to take a job that is beneath them.

Montreal and Ontario are basically the areas where you will find most of the tech, AI and medical research jobs although there may be others elsewhere. Yet again something you should really be researching when you were deciding whether you should immigrate.

These specialized jobs may not come up all the time and companies may take time to hire someone so you should make sure you either have promising leads before coming to Canada and make sure you arrive and leave yourself extra savings in case it takes you 6+ months to find a job. Would also remain flexible and not sign a longterm lease so you can move to where a job is if an opportunity happens to be in Vancouver versus in Eastern Ontario. Would add that if you have a family I would consider moving to Canada on your own and only having your family arrive once you have secured a job and know what city you will be working in. Much easier to rent a room and live cheaply if you are a single person.
 

nayr69sg

Champion Member
Apr 13, 2017
1,571
679
@canuck78 geez sister! Fancy that I found you here too!

I am an IMG myself. Moved from Singapore in 2010. Graduated 1998.

I did my research and knew getting back into medicine was almost impossible. Worked for me since I really wasnt keen to be in medicine anymore.

In 2010 my first job was as a general laborer at McLeod Windows in Edmonton.

In 2012 I started as a junior surface land administrator at Scott Land and Lease in Edmonton. I got promoted to Project Manager for the CNRL account in 2013.

Meanwhile I passed my MCCEE in 2011. MCCQE1 in 2012 Spring. NACOSCE fall 2012. MMI fall 2012.

I applied to CaRMS 2012 and only to the U of C family med program. I wasn't keen to do hospital rotations again and the U of C urban program is mostly community based with like 1 month of Internal Med and calls. So even though I was in Edmonton I chose not to apply to U of A.

Oh...and I did ZERO observorships. I was adamant I wasnt going to waste my time doing stuff that paid nothing.

Basically at the time in 2013 I was doing well in oil and gas. On my way to taking my Landman licensing course and oil was booming. So I didnt really care if I got into medicine again. But i really just had to take the exams and go through the whole application process as due diligence. Seriously the exams were easy. I dont understand why some IMGs say it is too difficult. When I took the exams I was about 13 to 14 years post graduating med school.

Anyway CaRMs came and I did NOT match. I told my manager at Scott Land that I didnt get it and was ready to commit to Land Admin. I had a nice pay rise and promotion.

A week later I get an email from the Residency program they asked me to call them. I did. They said that someone had pulled out of the program and I was next on the list and asked if I wanted the spot. Man when someone asks like that you better say yes!

Anyway long story cut short I moved to Calgary did my 3 month externship which was a pain. Passed. Went on to finish the 2 year family med residency and cleared the combined MCCQE2 and CCFP exam (it was combined for 2015 we did the QE2 and SAMPS). Wasnt difficult really. The SAMPS are easier than UK style actual patient type exams with long and short.

So here I am been in family medicine for the past 4 years now and it has been a ride!

So IMGs out there....really......it can be done. I would say that realistically look at Family Med Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. The other specialties are touch and go. And surgical disciplines you can pretty much forget it. I was a surgical trainee back in Singapore for 4 years then spent another 4 years as a GP before moving to Canada.

Study hard for the exams and do as many questions from the Qbanks and what not. Studying is one thing but you need to do questions. And for the clinicals practice with someone. I did it with my daughter. I gave her the marking sheets and she would mark me for the NACOSCE.

I do recommend that you find a job and work and earn a living. Dont be stubborn and have these ideas that other jobs are beneath you and that you are a doctor and what not. If you go to ghe residency interviews with your confidence shot because you have been jobless for a few years and stressed about finances it is going to show. Interview technique is paramount. And the best way to hone it is to go for all those job interviews you will need to get that first job.

Oh and of course you really need luck. I was darn lucky I will admit.

I am not sure what to make of observorships. I have heard from preceptors that observorships are useless. But then every IMG who matched that I know did some observorships in some way or another. Something about needing Canadian doctors as references?

I wish each and every one of you all the best and hope you do find success in getting back into medicine in Canada.

Financially it is very good and stable. I dont really enjoy medicine but I don't regret going back. Especially on hindsight. 2015 was when the oil patch crashed. So it was good I had become a doctor once again but in Canada.

Cheers!

@canuck78 are you a doctor too? IMG? Or CMG? CCFP? Retired?