| So this is a very bad news to Canadians.
There have been significant new changes for who and who can't get a SON.
Are you Canadian in an Internal Medicine residency on a J1 based on a SON from Canada? Well you can't subspecialize now in any specialty starting 2017.
Please read this carefully:
NEW: 2016 is the last year the following will be supported under category B. As of 2017, physicians undertaking the training below must apply under category C.
* additional training after meeting RCPSC Specialty Training Requirements
* an ACGME-accredited sub-specialty program
Category C:
Physician specialist licenced in Canada who wishes to pursue postgraduate training in the United States.
This category comprises physicians who possess a current full medical licence ("Canadian Standard") and who are currently practising in a medical specialty or subspecialty or family medicine in a Canadian province or territory. These physicians are certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Collège des Médecins du Québec or the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
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| I just want to let you know that your emails/calls to these people make a difference.
Here's what SOCASMA said:
"I spoke to the Deputy Minister of Health today. She hears us. I was pitching grandfathering and my sense was that she was understanding and listening. She got that the options Tammy Simpson is saying are available are not as available as she is selling them to be. She said that it appears that they did not really appreciate the implications and that there has been a huge outcry, even to the minister of health which has never happened before in regard to this program... Don't be disheartened. We are far from finished yet."
We can't back down until we get equal freedom as to the rest of IMGs from other countries who have the freedom of career choice, or at least a shot at it.
They should also understand that these limitations on the number of SONs that they give out does not take into consideration the fact that many of the Canadians go into these fields not just to be clinicians for the community, but also to be academics and researchers in their desired fields of choice. Health Canada or the Ministry of Health cannot quantify this. By doing that they are preventing many successful and smart people, who would have signed a written intent to return to Canada if they were granted the SON, from making Canada a hub for medical research and new medical advancements. Why should other counties be able to do that and not Canada?
Also, their quantification of how many subspecialtists/specialtists they need is completely arbitrary. How can they go from unlimited number of SON for Cardiology one year for Category B, to zero in one year.
Also, the program administrator themselves admitted that there is no way to get through this new process using Category C without any interruption in training. They should understand that (1) With interrutions, our chances of getting the fellowships and specialties of our choice becomes minimal, as USA and Canada prefers NEW graduates over older ones. (2) We are not getting any younger. We are driven people who spent years if not over a decade to reach our goals no matter what, so why make it harder for us. Canada did not give us the least bit of support with our attempt to study medicine in Canada nor with our education abroad, and now they are standing in our way with this program when we try to return. We feel literally in exile at this time.
PLEASE KEEP FIGHTING THIS! |
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