Canadian Programs

Hi, just wondered,
There are 17 canadian ortho residency programs. For obvious reasons they prefer Canadian med school graduates, but many admit US and international applicants. If one would finish one of those programs, what are the chances of getting licensure and board certification in the US to practice orthopaedic surgery?
Thank you.

Hi, just wondered,
There are 17 canadian ortho residency programs. For obvious reasons they prefer Canadian med school graduates, but many admit US and international applicants. If one would finish one of those programs, what are the chances of getting licensure and board certification in the US to practice orthopaedic surgery?
Thank you.

I think you have to do two fellowships following Canadian residency since their residency programs are significantly shorter than in the US for ortho. I know a guy who did his residency in CA and is now practicing in academics in the US, so its certainly possible after the additional training.

I am not sure if they are significantly shorter. I went onto their websites and they are all 5 years in length. Intern year is almost identical with general stuff + 3 months of ortho. They however spend more time on medicine and other supbspecialties in the second year (6 months of ortho + 6 months of other rotations). The rest (years 3-5) are all ortho. So I would say, that they give the same basic education with slightly more general medicine focus (extra 6 months in year 2) than a US program, but everything else is virtually the same. Same rotations in same subspecialties.
What I am not sure is how that translates into becoming a US certified orthopod. Any input appreciated.

I am not sure if they are significantly shorter. I went onto their websites and they are all 5 years in length. Intern year is almost identical with general stuff + 3 months of ortho. They however spend more time on medicine and other supbspecialties in the second year (6 months of ortho + 6 months of other rotations). The rest (years 3-5) are all ortho. So I would say, that they give the same basic education with slightly more general medicine focus (extra 6 months in year 2) than a US program, but everything else is virtually the same. Same rotations in same subspecialties.
What I am not sure is how that translates into becoming a US certified orthopod. Any input appreciated.

Well I guess I never looked into how long the residencies are in CA, but all I know is that the few orthopaedic sugeons I know of who did residency in CA had to complete two years of fellowship (in the US) before they could be certified in the US.

Thank you for your input. Going to the Board of Orthopaedic Surgery web page answered the question. Here is the quote if anybody wondered:

"The Process of ABOS certification:
In order to be allowed to begin the process of becoming ABOS certified, a surgeon must have met the following educational criteria.

1. Be a graduate of an accredited 4 year medical school
2. Have successfully completed a minimum of 5 year (60 month) accredited orthopaedic residency program in the US or Canada, and have appropriate yearly documentation from the program director. The final 24 months of the training must be obtained in a single program. The minimum acceptable content of the residency training program is available in the Rules and Procedures. "

I'm a current Canadian orthopaedic resident who spent time in the US so let me try and clarify.

To be eligible for orthopaedic residency training in Canada, you must be a Canadian permanent resident or citizen. The only exceptions I know of are:
1. McGill has one spot per year for US citizens that do not have Canadian resident/citizen status.
2. Some programs have training arrangements with a few (primarily Middle Eastern) countries to train their residents. These are funded by the home countries' governments and you must be nominated by that country. These programs have been cut back substantially in the last 5-10 years, at least in ortho.

The length of residency training is the same as in the US - 5 years. There are a few programs that have 6 year options with an intercalated Master's degree, although you apply for this track once you are already a resident in the program.

There is no requirement in Canada to do 2 years of fellowship. However, many folks do two years to be more marketable (especially if they want to practice in a bigger city or in academics), since the ortho job market is more competitive as compared to the US. Doing a fellowship in Canada as a Canadian tends to be more financially rewarding as compared to the US, since in most programs you bill directly just like any board-certified specialist.

In my program, you do 6 months ortho/6 months off-service in each of the 1st two years. Then all ortho. I imagine others are broadly similar since these things tend to be mandated by the Royal College of Surgeons. That being said, you are considered an ortho resident from the 1st day (no separate internship per se) so you attend all the ortho half days etc starting in 1st year.

Going to the US is not a problem. Canadian training is fully recognized and very well regarded in the US, and there are many private practice and academic attendings in the US who are Canadian board certified (look for the initials FRCSC - Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada). However, to work/do a fellowship in the US you must complete all steps of the USMLE, and get the appropriate work visa if not American. You don't need ABOS to do fellowship in the US, although I think most insurance companies will want you to have it once you start working independently?

Canadian residency training is of uniformly high quality. Unfortunately, because of the way our health care system is structured, it is really only accessible to Canadians.

Hope this helps.