Society for Canadians Studying Medicine Abroad

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Langley, BC
Society for Canadians Studying Medicine Abroad

To remove barriers in the medical residency access to enable Canadians who have studied abroad British Columbians cannot find family doctors. To bring B.C.

Society of Canadians Studying Medicine Abroad (SOCASMA)

Societal Issue:
British Columbia, like most Canadian provinces, has a significant shortage of doctors. British Columbians must endure long waiting periods to see specialists, many times to the detriment of their health. Political agendas seem to get in the way of capitalizing on readily accessible doctors who have graduated from medical schools overseas. Increasing the number of residency positions in British Columbia and giving qualified British Columbians and other Canadians who have studied medicine overseas access to these residency positions would go a long way to reducing the doctor shortage and improving the quality of medical care in the province. Values: SOCASMA believes in the fundamental value of equal opportunity to all Canadians. Allowing entry into a profession based
on one’s ethnic heritage, what university he or she attended, or some
other criteria irrelevant to the characteristics and knowledge required or that profession, will inevitably reduce the quality of care. SOCASMA strives to make the parties involved accountable to ensure the following values:

1. That all medical graduates who are permanent residents or citizens of Canada who have passed the national examinations have the right to compete on an equal footing on the basis of merit for the residency positions presently reserved for graduates of Canadian and American medical schools;

2. Fair competition requires that admission criteria and process be transparent and open to public scrutiny;

and

3. Successful applicants should be selected by those best able to identify the best qualified candidate. Goals :
SOCASMA has the following goals:

1. To work towards the development of a system of selection for medical residents in British Columbia that
a. is based on merit with no preferential treatment; and
b.is accessible to Canadians studying abroad in the year that they graduate from medical school;

2. To improve the quality of medical care by putting selection of residents in the hands of program directors and other working
doctors who are most experienced, knowledgeable, and best able
to select for characteristics and skills most suited to the area of practice the medical graduate is applying for;

and

3. medical graduates who have just graduated from medical school overseas home to help fill the doctor shortage that is negatively affecting British Columbia’s quality of life. Facilitating Goals:
1. Increase the number of residency positions in British Columbia;

2. Make available qualifying exams that allow Canadians studying abroad to take these exams in time to be eligible to compete in the CaRMS match in the year that they graduate;

3. Provide all British Columbians, who are first time trainees and have passed the qualifying exams equal and unfettered access to the first iteration of CaRMS;

4. Mandate that the selection of residents is to be determined on the basis of merit with no preferential treatment to any group;

5. Mandate that the selection of residents is to be determined by the program directors and other supervising medical practitioners who are most knowledgeable, experienced, and best suited to identify the characteristics that are necessary to determine the best candidate for the particular areas of practice that is being applied for;

and

6. Establish an oversight mechanism to ensure that these recommendations are carried out consistently, fairly, and transparently within British Columbia.

01/30/2026

01/30/2026

01/28/2026

If healthcare hiring is on your agenda for 2026, now is the time to act.

The Healthcare Job Fair is designed for organisations that want to move faster by meeting qualified healthcare professionals face to face and having real recruitment conversations.

Why employers keep coming back:
✔ Real conversations with qualified candidates
✔ Faster hiring decisions, better fit
✔ Proven results across Canada year after year

Join us in 2026:
📍 Calgary, February 28
📍 Toronto, March 7

Exhibition space is now available for both events.

👉 View exhibition options and enquire here:
https://hubs.ly/Q03_Sx430

01/28/2026

U.S. Match

Looking for a detailed schedule of Match Week and SOAP? We have calendars and specific resources for each user in !

Residency applicants: https://ow.ly/ztl750Y1Y50
Residency programs and institutions: https://ow.ly/xAXA50Y1Y57
Medical Schools: https://ow.ly/kZyB50Y1Y4Y

01/28/2026

Anti-Indigenous Racism in Health Care Conference
Moving beyond land acknowledgments

February 18-19, 2026
Radisson Hotel, Downtown Winnipeg, MB

This conference centres Indigenous-led perspectives and critically examines how Anti-Indigenous Racism operates across health care, health education, research, and policy— calling for accountability, allyship, and meaningful action to create change.

Register for Conference Here: https://www.fnhssm.com/

01/28/2026

Register Now: Northeastern Ontario Palliative Care Conference

🗓️ March 27, 2026 | 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST
📍 NOSM University Sudbury Campus or online
🔗 event.fourwaves.com/pcconf2026

Join us for a day of learning focused on advancing palliative care in rural and remote contexts—designed for physicians, nurses, social workers, volunteers, and spiritual care providers.

Topics:
• The importance of humor in end-of-life care
• Technology in palliative care
• Pediatric palliative care
• Caregiver education and support
• Grief and bereavement
• And more!

Cost: $75 in-person / $60 virtual
Don't miss this opportunity!

•
Inscrivez-vous maintenant : Conférence sur les soins palliatifs dans le Nord-Est de l’Ontario

🗓️27 mars 2026 | 8 h – 16 h 30 HNE
📍 Université de l'EMNO sur le campus de Sudbury ou en ligne
🔗 event.fourwaves.com/pcconf2026

Joignez-vous à nous pour une journée d’apprentissage axée sur l’avancement des soins palliatifs dans les milieux ruraux et éloignés. Conçue pour les médecins, le personnel infirmier, les travailleurs sociaux, les bénévoles et les fournisseurs de soins spirituels.

Sujets :
• L’importance de l’humour dans les soins de fin de vie
• La technologie dans les soins palliatifs
• Les soins palliatifs pédiatriques
• Éducation et soutien des aidants
• Chagrin et deuil
• et d’autres!

Coût : 75 $ en présentiel /60 $ en ligne

01/28/2026

Public Health 2026: The Preliminary Program for Public Health 2026 is now available, offering a look at the breadth and depth of content that will shape this year’s national conversation on population and public health.

Explore the program and start planning your conference experience today!

https://www.cpha.ca/publichealth2026-program

01/26/2026

01/26/2026

Recently published paper re Canadian IMGs as a resource for addressing current physician crisis.

01/25/2026

U.S. article, but nonetheless very pertinent.

U.S. physician shortage drivers include training inflation, aging demographics, and declining reimbursement. This analysis explores the multifactorial causes.

01/23/2026

Pour un meilleur accès pour les patients - Québec annonce 1 008 postes de résidence en médecine pour la prochaine rentrée universitaire
22 janvier 2026, 08 h 10

24 additional residency positions announced for Québec

QUÉBEC, le 22 janv. 2026 /CNW/ - Le gouvernement du Québec annonce l'ouverture de 1 008 postes de résidence en médecine pour l'année universitaire 2026-2027 afin d'améliorer l'accès aux soins pour l'ensemble de la population et de répondre de façon plus é

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Langley, BC

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http://www.socasma.com/

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What is Going On?

We all hear that most Canadian provinces have a significant shortage of doctors and that many Canadians cannot find family doctors and often endure long waiting periods to see specialists, too often to the detriment of their health. What most Canadians don’t know is the extent that our public universities, elected governments and supporting professional agencies go to sustain current systems that favour and protect graduates of Canadian universities. Their lack of transparency is not aligned with Canadian values for inclusion, diversity and fairness. Canadians deserve new, transparent oversight mechanisms to ensure that system changes like those recommended below are carried out consistently, fairly, and transparently within each province, and nationally.

GOOD NEWS - We have enough doctors: There is a readily available pool of qualified Canadian and Permanent Resident doctors who have graduated from medical schools overseas (IMGs). They are more than eager to serve as evidenced by the number who apply each year to limited numbers of medical residency positions.

BAD NEWS - many are blocked from obtaining Canadian medical licences: The many layers of entrenched bureaucracy and politics, combined with unclear accountabilities, prevents these qualified doctors from serving Canadians as licensed physicians. The key reason is a system of exclusion comprised of barrier after barrier that, collectively, prevent fair and equal access by IMGs to Canadian post-graduate medical residency positions and thus access to the primary pathway to medical licensing in Canada. Government support this system, perhaps because it supports their over-simplified belief that controlling physician numbers and limiting access to residency positions will reduce health care costs. These policies drives poor patient outcomes and is therefore a false economy.

SOCASMA is working to Change the System - Focus on Fair and Equal Access

SOCASMA formed to advocate for fair and equal opportunity to all Canadians and Permanent Resident qualified medical graduates to access to compete for the same residency positions on the same terms, regardless of the place of graduation. This will ensure the most qualified doctors obtain a license to practice medicine in Canada, and will motivate Canadian graduates and medical schools to compete successfully for their residency positions, instead of advocating for a non-competitive entitlement to residency positions.

FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES to the status quo system are required: 1) Equal Opportunity to Compete for Residency Positions Allow all Canadian and Permanent Resident medical graduates, who have passed the national examinations, to compete on an equal footing on the basis of merit for the residency positions presently reserved for graduates of Canadian and American medical schools; 2) Uniform examination / evaluation and timing of evaluation for all qualified candidates. Nope - this is not currently the case! This including CMGs, IMGs and USMGs (as well as Visa trainees). Today CMGs write their qualifying exams after starting their residency, whereas IMGs must write them a year before finishing medical school!

3) Ensure Consistency and Fairness in Return of Service (ROS) Contracts for all Canadians and Permanent Residents. Nope - also not currently the case! The use of ROS contracts must be applied fairly and equally to CMGs, IMGs and USMGs by offering identical program-based ROS contracts for all candidates &/OR offer optional ROS contracts, available to all, that could be used to prioritize entry to certain programs. ROS contracts should not prevent doctors from moving forward with Fellowship or specialty training (e.g. further training should not be considered a breach of contract). SUPPORTING ENABLERS will improve the overall fairness of an overhauled post-graduate medical training system: 4) Equal access to Medical Elective experiences Electives are important for all Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents regardless of location of medical school attended. Ministries of Health can direct medical schools, as public educators, to ensure both a blinded University sponsored elective assignment lottery and to permit privately arranged electives. Medical schools can still provide electives for their students.

5) Increase the number of Residency positions for Canadians and Permanent Residents. Three key funding sources for residency a) Ministries of Health fund residencies and targeted specialties focused on public future need; b) Department of National Defense - want to increase funded residencies to support future military need; c) **NEW** allow community or privately funded residency positions - e.g. municipalities, corporations, and community groups with particular needs

6) Prioritize training resources for Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents. It would help Enabler #5 if we simultaneously reduce or suspend foreign visa trainee positions to ensure adequate training resources are available.

7) Establish a formally recognized and designated role of “Supportive Physician” within hospitals & community settings for unmatched CaRMS qualified candidates.

Society for Canadians Studying Medicine Abroad

01/30/2026

01/30/2026

01/28/2026

01/28/2026

01/28/2026

01/28/2026

01/28/2026

01/26/2026

01/26/2026

01/26/2026

01/25/2026

01/23/2026

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