Hi peeps, how are you doing?

These last four months have been an emotional rollercoaster! In December 2017, I got invited for a residency interview! It was so exciting to get that letter in the midst of the rejection letters I received.

Fast forward to January. I had the interview in Edmonton. I was a bit nervous, and in retrospect, I feel I could have answered the questions better than I did. In February, I submitted my rank list (for that one program) and prayed for the best.

The CaRMS match results were released on March 1st. I checked them with great trepidation and I was extremely disappointed that I didn’t get matched.

Undaunted by this, I put in for the second iteration and I was still very hopeful that I would at least get an interview. Two interview rejection letters from The University of Calgary came in 2 days ago. Another one from McMasters came in this morning. They have broken me down completely and I am so sad.

I’ve been in Canada for two years and I was really banking on starting residency in this cycle. The main odds I think against me at this point are my year of graduation, my limited clinical experience, the gaps in between, and my recency of practice. With every year that passes and I remain in Canada, these issues worsen. So, I realize I have to do something about the amount of clinical experience and recency of practice. This means that I might have to go back home for a stint at clinical practice.

At this point, I can honestly not tell you that I know what lies in the road ahead but what I do know is this: God has great plans for me so I’m glad I’ve got him in my corner and everything will eventually work out for my good and to His glory. I will not be deterred by the Canadian IMG process, CaRMS or any other obstacles in my way.

What to do if you don’t get matched in the CaRMS

I will continue blogging about the process for IMGs to practice medicine here in Canada. I’m also going to reapply during the next CaRMS cycle.

While I’m at it, I intend to prepare for the USMLE and maybe PLAB, so I just decided to go social! I started a YouTube channel and Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages where I will be sharing my experiences, materials including live and recorded videos on my exam preparations. If you are interested, please follow me. My social handle is Doctor Ufuoma (DoctorUfuoma) on all the platforms.

Still, I rise!

I am beginning again!

Journey with me!