Good Morning Bryan! That is fantastic. I am currently in the midst of recruiting a physician who is a Canadian Citizen and doing in residency in the US. He has already written both of his Canadian equivalency exams and will finish his residency and write his American Boards in May. Once this is completed he will be able to apply for his CPSO license and will NOT be required to have supervision.

Hi Bryan – lucky you – I’ll carry your luggage!
I love Marie’s answer and she’s an expert on these questions. I wholeheartedly agree that residents are best to complete the Canadian exams so that supervision is not a requirement. It’s next to impossible for me to find supervisors – and if I do – they’re (usually) not at the clinics they’ll want to practice at. Definitely worth it to have the independent registration. While graduation may be at the end of June, I’ve yet to have a US resident be approved by the CPSO before November and often later on in December or January. So watch your finances as you’ll likely be 4-5 months without an income.
Another issue with supervision is the inability to work at multiple locations (even having hospital privileges and working at a clinic often isn’t allowed) and if issues arise at the clinic, it’s difficult and sometimes impossible to change supervisors.
Finally, don’t think you can do something like a 3 year internal medicine residency and return to Ontario to practice as a family doc. I had one like that who was given permission to practice, but there were so many restrictions impacting him financially (and where he could practice) that ultimately he returned to the US. He couldn’t see any one under 18, no well-women exams, no pregnant women – it was a nightmare logistically for the clinic who took him on. Bottom line to med students is to choose a residency that is easily transferable to Canada and in demand in the geographic location you’re interested in.

Bryan do you also know about this Program??

https://www.trentu.ca/premedicalstudies/stgeorges

I concur with my colleagues – excellent opportunity. Going to the beach for CASPR – well someone has to do it!! WE have recruited 3 Internal Medicine docs through Pathway 4. We did find the training in that specialty to be a bit of a challenge once here, but we do not hae an ICU or vented patients. As a small site, you just need to ensure you have enough supervisors. The supervisors need to be aware of any training limitations. One of our 3 docs then wrote the exam and passed, so her supervision was then finished early. It’s a great way for a community to ask for a contract in return for the work involved in the Pathway 4 avenue. We are entertaining another candidate through the same route with CPSO for next year.

Bryan – this is great news (I have been trying, in a joking way, to have my organization send me to the Caribbean in the winter, lol). I have one family doctor in my community who trained Caribbean and then U.S. Residency. He was able to receive an independent licence by the end of October in his graduating year. He had applied for a supervised licence, however was able to submit all his documents, including a letter of exemption from CFPC, in time for the CPSO October meeting so they granted him an independent licence. In Ontario, as Marie noted, most licences issued for family doctors (I can’t speak to specialists) include supervision for 12-18 months. Looking forward to hearing how the presentation goes!