Canadian 3 year md vs. Top 20 US MD

[sillychemistry]

Hi all!

I am an incoming M1 and have been accepted to both McMaster (a 3 year canadian md) and Mayo. I am a Canadian citizen, and while my family lives in Canada, I have spent most of my adult life in the US. I am kind of at a cross roads with this decision, because it feels in large part like I am making a decision as to where to practice. I understand if I were to get my medical education in Canada, matching in the US would be more difficult, but if I got it in the US, matching in Canada and the US would be more difficult - unsure if this is mitigated by attending Mayo.

Frankly, I cannot predict the future, and I dont really know where I see myself down the line (ie. practicing in canada or us). I never thought I would actually get in in Canada, and with only a 11 days to make my decision, I am totally lost.

For mayo/US:
- My long-term SO is a US citizen, so if I were to stay in the us for medical school, it is possible I could have a greencard before residency (we have discussed this), avoiding the whole J-1 mess.
- Harder to match US residency although maybe mitigated by obtaining greencard via marriage
- More prestige within medicine - might take me a bit further
- More interesting curriculum - lots of selectives etc.
- Feels like I would be training to be a leader in medicine - but this could just be me drinking koolaid

For mcmaster/canada:
- Close to home
- No more visa headaches for me, but new visa headaches for my so
- 3 year md
- easier match process
- Medical education in canada seems alot more FM oriented - I dont want to be a family physcian
- Lower compensation for speciality physicians in canada vs us
- less expensive

If anyone could weigh in/provide insight/advice that would be great. I know advice on this out there is fairly limited, so any other considerations I should take into account would be really helpful

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[s5260205]

Coming from Mayo, I guarantee you will have no issue of matching, just that you have to be more selective if you do not obtain your green card by the time you apply for residency (applying mostly to H1-b sponsoring programs, which most Mayo residencies are).

You will also obtain similar education from Mayo and McMaster. Mayo is arguably more "prestigious" but McMaster is not unknown either. Both are very well regarded, and in reality, medical education is not too different across schools in Canada and US.

I would recommend attending the cheaper school. The $64,000 per year price for Mayo Clinic is not worth whatever it may offer. McMaster costs $19,000 USD which is a steal. Unless you come from riches, $400,000 debt is just not worth it.

The caveat would depend on where you want to practise eventually (US vs Canada), as you ideally want to train in the country you were educated. That said, plenty of Canadian physicians complete fellowship training in US after residency in Canada. You will then be able to familiarize yourself with both Canadian and US medical systems. There will be a few hoops to jump through either going from US to Canada or vice versa, but residency trainings in both countries are recognized by both.

I would choose McMaster if I were in your shoes.

 

[sillychemistry]

Coming from Mayo, I guarantee you will have no issue of matching, just that you have to be more selective if you do not obtain your green card by the time you apply for residency (applying mostly to H1-b sponsoring programs, which most Mayo residencies are).

You will also obtain similar education from Mayo and McMaster. Mayo is arguably more "prestigious" but McMaster is not unknown either. Both are very well regarded, and in reality, medical education is not too different across schools in Canada and US.

I would recommend attending the cheaper school. The $64,000 per year price for Mayo Clinic is not worth whatever it may offer. McMaster costs $19,000 USD which is a steal. Unless you come from riches, $400,000 debt is just not worth it.

The caveat would depend on where you want to practise eventually (US vs Canada), as you ideally want to train in the country you were educated. That said, plenty of Canadian physicians complete fellowship training in US after residency in Canada. You will then be able to familiarize yourself with both Canadian and US medical systems. There will be a few hoops to jump through either going from US to Canada or vice versa, but residency trainings in both countries are recognized by both.

I would choose McMaster if I were in your shoes.

Thank you so much! I have close to 75% tuiton scholarshop at Mayo - leaving my total yearly tuiton cost at about 25k usd vs McMasters 19k. While I agree at 400k it might be hard to justify, but the cost differential, holding all else equal, is not life changing.

 

[s5260205]

If two schools are financially equivalent, then it would really come down to where you want to practise eventually. While residency trainings are recognized from either countries, the process of obtaining board certification and medical licensure might still be a hurdle albeit not impossible.

A few more things to consider if I were in your shoes:
- Specialties you are potentially interested in - there are far more residency positions in US than Canada, and matching into more competitive positions might be easier in US just from a pure statistical perspective.

- Visa - I am also Canadian who studied in US and trained in US. Even for Canadians, the need for visa and the process of obtaining green card are just god awful. If you can avoid having to go this route, knowing that you will most likely stay in Canada to practise, I would highly recommend doing so. I was delayed twice with my start date of residency AND fellowship due to processing delay from USCIS and the school/hospital, and there are several co-residents who were also in my shoes, stuck in limbo for 1-2 months until F1 OPT was approved. I do not wish this for anyone.

- Practice environment - this is something students don't think as much about. Pay is certainly higher in US, especially after currency. However, you have to deal with the nightmares of private insurance. A private practice is prohibitively costly due to the stupidity of having to contract with endless numbers of insurance companies and then having to fight for your money because insurance can and do decline payment even with appropriate documentations. Midlevel encroachment is also ridiculous in US, and a referral you as a physician sent to specialists might instead be seen by a midlevel. This would affect you both as a patient and a future practising physician. It's not uncommon that residents and students have to "play nice" to midlevels during the course of their training because doing otherwise would be seen as unprofessional. Having said that though, grass is always greener on the other side, and you may want to ask someone practising in Canada how they feel as well.