I have outlined the steps to apply for medical residency in a previous post. You can start by reading it HERE first. I’ll go through some of the steps again quickly but this time, this is specific to Manitoba residents.

1. Pass your Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination (MCCEE). The MCCEE was phased out in November 2018, and programs will begin accepting MCCQE1 in place of the MCCEE from 2019/20.

2. Pass your Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part I (MCCQE1) and National Assessment Collaboration OSCE (NAC OSCE).

3. Pass your IELTS. You cannot apply to a residency program if you do not have at least a score of 7 in each component (writing, reading, listening and speaking).

4. CASPer Test. All IMGs who intend to apply for a residency program in Manitoba must complete a CASPer™ (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics) test.

5. Apply to the Manitoba residency program of your choice. The University of Manitoba has programs in Northern remote areas, rural Parkland and Winnipeg. In the 2019 CaRMS cycle, there were 7 Family medicine, 2 internal medicine, 1 Pediatrics, 1 Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 1 Anesthesia and 3 psychiatry positions for IMGs. The number of positions vary slightly yearly: In 2018, there was also 1 General Surgery position but this year, it’s not available to IMGs. There were also no Anesthesia or Obstetrics positions last year.

6. You can also apply for residency programs in other provinces to increase your chances of getting accepted. However, you need to find out about province-specific assessments as these might be used to filter applicants, in addition to the usual NAC, MCCEE, MCCQE1, and IELTS.

7. Programs that like your application will send you an email inviting you for an interview. Depending on the program, it might be in any format: structured, semi-structured, or MMI. You will be given this information in better detail when you receive your interview invitation. What is an MMI?

8. After the interview, you will be placed on a ranking list and then you might be matched to one of the programs that interviewed you.

9. If you get matched, then this means you have been accepted to start your residency and you will proceed to the next step. Take note that IMGs who match to residency programs in Manitoba will be expected to fulfill Return of Service (ROS) Obligations. Read more about ROS obligations.

10. Pre-residency orientation.

All International Medical Graduates must participate in the University of Manitoba IMG Orientation Program offered by the Office of Postgraduate Medical Education. This program runs for 1-2 weeks in June, prior to the commencement of your residency.

Afterwards, there are mandatory orientation sessions for all future residents (i.e both Canadian medical graduates and IMGs) in the last week of June. There are an additional 2 full days for new Family Medicine residents.

In addition, new residents must provide proof of valid Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Provider certification before they can start their residency. The ACLS Provider course must be certified by the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation or by the American Heart Association.

11. Residency commences. Residency training begins on July 1st.

You might also enjoy reading:
IMGs Applying for Post-Graduate Medical Training/Residency Positions in Canada: Alberta

IMGs Applying for Post-Graduate Medical Training/Residency Positions in Canada: British Columbia

IMGs Applying for Post-Graduate Medical Training/Residency Positions in Canada: Ontario

IMGs Applying for Post-Graduate Medical Training/Residency Positions in Canada: Saskatchewan

If you have more questions, please leave a comment or send me an email at internationalphysiciantraining (@) gmail.com.

’til my next post……