Postgraduate medical training for overseas doctors in Canada

In order to access all Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY1) residency positions including Family Medicine, International Medical Graduates (IMG's) must apply to the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) and compete for available positions. To be eligible to apply to CaRMS you must be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident. Please visit the CaRMS website at www.carms.ca to review the full list of eligibility requirements

When applying to CaRMS, IMG's also have to decide whether or not to get assessed at the PGY1 level through the Centre for the Evaluation of Health Professionals Educated Abroad (CEHPEA). It is not mandatory to be assessed; however, most of the program information that is available through CaRMS states that IMG's are highly encouraged or recommended to be assessed. The PGY1 assessment exam that is offered by CEHPEA is called Clinical Examination 1 (CE1). It is a general broad based clinical exam that uses standardized patients. It is often referred to as a clinical OSCE - Objective Structured Clinical Examination. Please visit the CEHPEA website at www.cehpea.ca for further information including eligibility requirements. For IMG's who have Postgraduate training experience it may be possible to apply and compete for Postgraduate Year 2 (PGY2) and/or Practice Ready Assessment positions through CEHPEA. To access any PGY2 residency position or PRA position in Ontario it is mandatory to apply to CEHPEA. As an IMG applying to either PGY2, PRA or both, the option to also apply to CaRMS for a PGY1 residency position is possible as long as a an applicant meets all of the eligibility requirements. Please visit the CEHPEA website at www.cehpea.ca for further information including eligibility requirements. CEHPEA provides assessment at the PGY2 level and Practice Ready Assessment (PRA) level to those IMG's who meet the basic eligibility requirements. For PGY2, applicants need to have 1 year of postgraduate training in the specialty to which they are applying. To be eligible for PRA you must be fully board certified in any jurisdiction and you must have practised within the last 5 years in the specialty to which you are applying. Once you are deemed eligible by CEHPEA at the PGY2 and or PRA level you will participate in a program specific Specialty Written Examination (SWE). Program Directors will then decide based on many criteria whether to extend an invitation for an IMG to attend Clinical Exam 2 and possibly an interview. Selections would then be made