Panel Doctor to Canada?

[dbliss93]

Someone who has been a Panel Doctor in Peru...

What are his best options for finding a job in the medical field? Even if it's medical liaison or helping with medical research...

It's clear that someone wanting to practice Medicine is a long and uncertain road -- especially for newcomers

Thank you kindly!

 

[Naturgrl]

Someone who has been a Panel Doctor in Peru...

What are his best options for finding a job in the medical field? Even if it's medical liaison or helping with medical research...

It's clear that someone wanting to practice Medicine is a long and uncertain road -- especially for newcomers

Thank you kindly!

Has to be eligible for Express Entry to get invited first. Job without license is next to impossible. Can’t take another job if job is licensed or needs specific work experience that cannot be filled within Canada. What is a medical liaison?

 

[RSub]

Someone who has been a Panel Doctor in Peru...

What are his best options for finding a job in the medical field? Even if it's medical liaison or helping with medical research...

It's clear that someone wanting to practice Medicine is a long and uncertain road -- especially for newcomers

Thank you kindly!

You don't need to be a licensed person if you want to work for Pharma companies as Medical Liaison Officer. The pay is real good. But you won't get the job right away. Try to work in Life Sciences related Start Up companies (Look for companies listed in Creative Destruction Lab) and any entry level Buisness Dev job in life sciences. With couple of yrs experience, you can move to Medical Liaison role. Also, there is massive scope for folks like you in US.

 

[canuck78]

Someone who has been a Panel Doctor in Peru...

What are his best options for finding a job in the medical field? Even if it's medical liaison or helping with medical research...

It's clear that someone wanting to practice Medicine is a long and uncertain road -- especially for newcomers

Thank you kindly!

When it comes to medical research it will depend on your background. Lots of masters and PhD graduates so jobs typically go to those grads. Everything comes down to previous job experience. If you have some experience already that will help you to try and get in the doctor. In terms of getting licensed as an IMGyes it is very difficultl. It is easier if you want to be a GP, pathologist, psychiatrist, work in public health and maybe a few other specialties that aren’t preferred by Canadian med school graduates. Willingness yo practice in rural or smaller communities increase your chances and being fluent in French will help a lot. Still a very large number of IMGs competing. Being young also helps because programs are looking for MDs that will practice for a long period of time.

 

[MGE]

Someone who has been a Panel Doctor in Peru...

What are his best options for finding a job in the medical field? Even if it's medical liaison or helping with medical research...

It's clear that someone wanting to practice Medicine is a long and uncertain road -- especially for newcomers

Thank you kindly!

I am a physician from Peru, currently living in Ontario with a PR. I worked at a very well known clinic in Peru who is accredited by Accreditation Canada (which means it has passed Canadian standards). My English is excellent as I lived in Florida for 12 years from age 10-22. I can tell you that from experience, it is extremely difficult to get into jobs like medical liaison or research. For medical liaison, most ask for a license to practice in Canada, at least 5 years of experience and/or research experience. As for a job in research itself it is hard to land as like someone else mentioned, there are lots of people with Masters and PhD graduating and have experience in the field so they are usually the first ones to be considered.

I applied to A LOT of jobs when I arrived here, and was turned down by most of them. I landed a job as a medical assistant, which pays very little but that gave me the Canadian work experience I needed that later on landed me a job in the CRC and TOH as a research assistant (though the latter was also by a friend of mine who is an IMG and an IM resident there). So it's far from easy for us IMG physicians here, regardless of what path you want to take within the field, and I try to make that clear to anyone that asks me for advice on this topic.

I am currently working on getting my license here, which is also a hard and expensive road. But that's a different story and the CARMS stats speak for themselves...

 

[canuck78]

I am a physician from Peru, currently living in Ontario with a PR. I worked at a very well known clinic in Peru who is accredited by Accreditation Canada (which means it has passed Canadian standards). My English is excellent as I lived in Florida for 12 years from age 10-22. I can tell you that from experience, it is extremely difficult to get into jobs like medical liaison or research. For medical liaison, most ask for a license to practice in Canada, at least 5 years of experience and/or research experience. As for a job in research itself it is hard to land as like someone else mentioned, there are lots of people with Masters and PhD graduating and have experience in the field so they are usually the first ones to be considered.

I applied to A LOT of jobs when I arrived here, and was turned down by most of them. I landed a job as a medical assistant, which pays very little but that gave me the Canadian work experience I needed that later on landed me a job in the CRC and TOH as a research assistant (though the latter was also by a friend of mine who is an IMG and an IM resident there). So it's far from easy for us IMG physicians here, regardless of what path you want to take within the field, and I try to make that clear to anyone that asks me for advice on this topic.

I am currently working on getting my license here, which is also a hard and expensive road. But that's a different story and the CARMS stats speak for themselves...

IMGs need to be prepared to pursue other careers and likely further training. The one caveat is if they speak fluent French they may have a much easier time securing a residency spot especially if they want to be a GP. Most IMGs think passing the licensing exam is the big hurdle to practicing in Canada when it is really securing a residency spot and fundoing. There are Canadian med school graduates that can’t find full-time jobs after finishing their residencies in Canada (and often a fellowship which is basically a requirement these days as a specialist). In some specialties there will never be a leftover residency spot after Canadian graduates get matched unless someone has to drop out of there residency spot due to illness for example. Even if the number of residency spots increases (number of med school spots are also increasing) or licensing for IMGs get easier there is still a major budget issue for hospitals. Most don’t realize that specialists would like significantly more OR time for procedures and surgeries but are only given a fraction of the time they want/need due to budget issues and lack of support staff. That is a roadblock that is not well understood given recent healthcare announcements and that is not known by the public. Most Canadians will say wait lost are only due to shortage of doctors.

 

[MGE]

IMGs need to be prepared to pursue other careers and likely further training. The one caveat is if they speak fluent French they may have a much easier time securing a residency spot especially if they want to be a GP. Most IMGs think passing the licensing exam is the big hurdle to practicing in Canada when it is really securing a residency spot and fundoing. There are Canadian med school graduates that can’t find full-time jobs after finishing their residencies in Canada (and often a fellowship which is basically a requirement these days as a specialist). In some specialties there will never be a leftover residency spot after Canadian graduates get matched unless someone has to drop out of there residency spot due to illness for example. Even if the number of residency spots increases (number of med school spots are also increasing) or licensing for IMGs get easier there is still a major budget issue for hospitals. Most don’t realize that specialists would like significantly more OR time for procedures and surgeries but are only given a fraction of the time they want/need due to budget issues and lack of support staff. That is a roadblock that is not well understood given recent healthcare announcements and that is not known by the public. Most Canadians will say wait lost are only due to shortage of doctors.

Yes, I agree. Except for the part that IMG get "leftover" spots in the CARMs. The problem is not that we get leftover spots, the actual problem is that the system here separates Canadian grads from IMGs, so we never really compete for the same spots like in the USA. We are given VERY limited spots (like 300 for almost 2000 applicants) in the matching process and most of them are for internal medicine and family medicine. Say you want to apply to ENT? You literally have a 0% chance of getting in because they don't even offer IMG spots. Match rate for IMG as of a couple of years was at about 20% here in Canada as opposed to 60% in the USA. A big part of the problem for that is budget and another one is that there isn't enough medical schools/hospitals to even consider opening up for spots. Healthcare in Canada is extremely complex because it is completely government funded. Add to this that you have to have a PR or Citizenship to even be able to apply to the CARMs...which is not the case of most people who come here - I have a friend who has taken the exams and is ready to apply but can't because he isn't a PR yet.

And for all of these reasons I usually tell people to think about it twice (maybe three) before coming to Canada as an IMG. It CAN be done (I know a few IMGs who are in residency now), but it takes a lot of time, effort, money and stress and you have to be well informed before making such a huge decision that will for sure impact your life (and your family's life if you have one). In my case, I took my risks and have a plan B (a Canadian Masters degree), and have accepted that maybe my plan B will be what I do for the rest of my life.

 

[canuck78]

Yes, I agree. Except for the part that IMG get "leftover" spots in the CARMs. The problem is not that we get leftover spots, the actual problem is that the system here separates Canadian grads from IMGs, so we never really compete for the same spots like in the USA. We are given VERY limited spots (like 300 for almost 2000 applicants) in the matching process and most of them are for internal medicine and family medicine. Say you want to apply to ENT? You literally have a 0% chance of getting in because they don't even offer IMG spots. Match rate for IMG as of a couple of years was at about 20% here in Canada as opposed to 60% in the USA. A big part of the problem for that is budget and another one is that there isn't enough medical schools/hospitals to even consider opening up for spots. Healthcare in Canada is extremely complex because it is completely government funded. Add to this that you have to have a PR or Citizenship to even be able to apply to the CARMs...which is not the case of most people who come here - I have a friend who has taken the exams and is ready to apply but can't because he isn't a PR yet.

And for all of these reasons I usually tell people to think about it twice (maybe three) before coming to Canada as an IMG. It CAN be done (I know a few IMGs who are in residency now), but it takes a lot of time, effort, money and stress and you have to be well informed before making such a huge decision that will for sure impact your life (and your family's life if you have one). In my case, I took my risks and have a plan B (a Canadian Masters degree), and have accepted that maybe my plan B will be what I do for the rest of my life.

So you are getting the leftover spots as I said. Canadian med school graduates match first then IMGs can compete for any leftover spots in round 2. Canada subsidizes med school educations so it makes sense for Canadian med school grads to get first chance at residency spots. Canadian students essentially go through a very long interview process (ie clerkships) so programs has a sense of what student is the best match for their program. The USA has a ton of residency spots as a much bigger country so that’s why they can compete for residency spots together. You will still find that most of the top residency programs and the top residency sites go graduates from US medical schools.

In some specialties there will never be a leftover residency spot after Canadian graduates get matched unless someone has to drop out of their residency spot due to illness for example. The not having enough residency spots has to do with the size of the US. They have a much bigger ratio residency spots to US med school grads. They also have a much larger population and covering a large part of the US when the majority of the Canadian population lives close to the US border.

Only allowing PRs and Citizens to apply for residency spots comes down to government partially or fully funding medical school and residency. Canada wants to train people who are guaranteed a history in Canada. That part is just common sense.

I regularly recommend that people look at places like the UK, Ireland or US if they looking for the best chance of securing a job or residency. This forum is full of me discouraging IMGs from coming to Canada if they can’t see themselves doing anything but being a doctor. Most haven’t done the research that you have done and most seem to think this will be an easy process or they are so skilled that they won’t have the problems other applicants have. Some have just read that there are waitlists and assumed it will be easy to become an MD. After I point out the difficulty an IMG will have getting relicensed many say they have started the paperwork for PR and tell me it is too late to consider other countries…. That just doesn’t make sense to me.