SOCASMA’s goals are basically about going back to fundamentals:  that all Canadians live under a democracy that honours equality, fairness and freedom.   Read the overview below and become aware of how our fundamental rights are being violated.

Listed below are questions frequently asked about SOCASMA.  Read and learn about what we do, why we do it and how we work.  If you have any additional questions, please send us an email so we can answer your questions and then post them here.

Do CSAs pay substantially higher tuition for medical schools? The average annual tuition cost ranges from $12,250 (CDN) in Poland to $66,369 (CDN) in Australia.  Some CSAs chose to study abroad because tuition costs were lower than Canadian medical schools.  (Source:  2010 CaRMS survey)

Are CSAs less qualified to practice medicine than CMGs? In all probability some are less qualified, some are equally qualified, and others are more qualified. National medical knowledge and skills (MCCEE) and clinical skills (NAC OSCE) examinations are designed to ensure that IMGs including CSAs have the knowledge and skill necessary to work as resident […]

Do CSAs study abroad because they cannot get into Canadian medical schools?   Some yes.  Some no. 1.  In 2010 the CaRMS CSA survey reported: 26.7% of CSAs have never applied to a Canadian medical school 37.0% of CSAs applied only one time to Canadians medical schools (The survey results do not set out how many […]

Are CSAs and their families fully aware of the barriers to resident positions when they choose to study medicine abroad? No.  In December 2011, a briefing document released by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Advanced Education, and UBC’s Faculty of Medicine stated they were aware of this lack of knowledge.  The brief states […]

Isn’t it in the public interest to make sure that our medical school graduates get jobs? Some people think that enabling CMGs to get postgraduate training is necessary to capitalize on tax payers’ investment.  This argument may appear appealing at first glance but careful consideration will likely lead to a conclusion that a merit based […]

In a briefing document dated December, 2011 UBC, the BC Ministry of Health, and the BC Ministry of Advanced Education provided two explanations:  “Canadian Medical Graduates (CMGs) also compete for residency positions and expect to be able to complete medical education, and become eligible to be licensed to practice medicine in Canada.  The common practice […]

We will use B.C. as an example: I.  CMG (Canadian and American Medical School Graduate) stream in 2013: *CSAs and other IMGs can only compete for leftover positions after CMGs have completed their first round (iteration) of competition. 274 residency positions : 107 family medicine residencies  167 specialty positions 256 UBC graduates 252 UBC graduates […]

Has the residency selection process always been the same? Up until just over 10 years ago, all residency positions in Canada were open to competition by all qualified Canadians.  After the universities of Canada gained full control over residency selection and training in 1993, province by province, they created a system of competition for residency […]