Working in Canada

Are you a medical student that have dreamt to do your specialization in Canada but are clueless on how to… well, we got you covered. Below discusses all the steps necessary to achieve those dreams of specializing and working in Canada.

 

To be eligible to apply for specialization in Canada must:

  1. Be a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada

  2. Written and passed the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam Part I (MCCQE1) Written

  3. Written and passed the National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Examination

 

MCCQE 1:

Application process and time limit:

You can apply up to 15 months prior to your expected date of graduation. Once your application is approved, however, your eligibility window will begin 12 months from your expected date of graduation. For example:

  • Expected date of graduation: June 1, 2022

  • Application date: As of March 1, 2021

  • Eligibility window: June 1, 2021 to June 1, 2022

 

The MCCQE Part I contains:

  • 210 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) and 38 Clinical Decision-Making (CDM) cases (65-75 questions).

  • Score range is 100-400, approved passing score is 226

  • The MCCQE Part I is a criterion-referenced exam. This means that those of you who meet or exceed the standard will pass the exam regardless of how well other candidates perform on it

  • As it depends on each person individually, usually 6-12 months are recommended of preparation before you take the exam.

210 MCQs

  • 4 hours for 210 mcqs, but 35 of them are pilot questions that will not have an effect on your total score, however, they are not identified as pilots on the test.

  • The exam is presented on a single page that you can free scroll up and down through whole test

  • You are able to change your answer at anytime during exam; except when you have submitted your final answers.

  • Exam includes topics on:

    • Medicine

    • Surgery

    • Obstetrics and Gynaecology

    • Paediatrics

    • Psychiatry

    • Population Health

  • Objectives for the exam are listed at the bottom of the objective page as well as in the form of pdf https://mcc.ca/objectives/expert/

  • Basic science questions

    • e.g. how many “how many atps are produced from aerobic or anerobic respiration” will not be included on this exam

38 CDM

  • 3.5 hours for 38 CDM questions

  • A case presented to you followed by 1-4 questions based on the case

  • In total, you will be asked from 60 to 70 questions related to 38 CDM cases.

  • Answers include both short-menu (list) and short-answer write-in questions

  • Of the 38 CDM cases, eight are pilot cases that do not count towards your total score, that will not be identified as pilot questions on the exam.

 

Resources:

  1. Medical school notes, as the exam is based on medicine questions rather than basic science questions

  2. Toronto notes

    1. Pdf or hard copy

  3. Canada qbank (online exam bank)

  4. uWorld questions for step 2 ck

  5. practice exam that can be bought directly from mcc.ca website 🡪 examination 🡪 preparatory products

NAC: National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Examination

  • One-day exam that assesses your readiness to enter a Canadian residency program. It is a national, standardized examination that tests the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for entrance into postgraduate training in Canada.

  • The exam is held twice a year at the months of March and October, you can apply at least 5 months before date of exam.

  • The NAC Examination is an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

  • This exam is based on 10 different stations where each station contains a standardized patient with specific clinical case.

  • You must preform tasks such as: taking history, preform a physical examination, counsel a patient, interpret test results… this will allow you to asses the specific diagnosis for the patient

  • Each station is 11 minutes long with 2 minutes rest between each station

  • An OSCE includes a series of stations where you are presented with typical clinical scenarios. It includes problems in:

    • Medicine

    • Surgery

    • Pediatrics

    • Obstetrics and Gynecology

    • Psychiatry

    • Preventive Medicine and Public Health

  • You are assessed by physician examiners on up to seven different competencies per station. These competencies include:

    • History taking

    • Diagnosis

    • Management

    • Communication skills

    • Physical examination

    • Investigations

    • Data interpretation

Resources:

  1. Medical school notes and books regarding history taking and physical examination.

  2. NAC OSCE: A Comprehensive Review

  3. Canada QBANK: MCCQE 2 question banks

  4. Uworld-USMLE Step 2 CS question bank

Written by: Talal Al-atassi

LF2 Aims