I don't understand. What can each of these allow me to become?

Undergraduate Medical Program
Postgraduate Medicine
MD/PhD Program


And what is the order that I should take these?

If I want to become a doctor which one do I need to do? What do the other programs allow me to do?

So at the end of Undergraduate Medical Program, I become a general doctor?

Thank you!

Originally Posted by FutureMEDRAD

I don't understand. What can each of these allow me to become?

Undergraduate Medical Program
Postgraduate Medicine
MD/PhD Program


And what is the order that I should take these?

If I want to become a doctor which one do I need to do? What do the other programs allow me to do?

So at the end of Undergraduate Medical Program, I become a general doctor?

Thank you!

MD/PhD is exactly what it says...combined MD and PhD. You would do this OR the general medical program, not both.
You need an MD to practice medicine.
Post-grad is obviously after you graduate so you'd do that after. That's residency and fellowships and all of that, which you also need to practice medicine. The length depends on your specialty. This info is explained very well on the Mac FHS/med school website, which I found through google.

Undergrad ---> medical school (MD). Is probably the most efficient route in Canada. You might also want to note that you don't have to be in a "medical" undergrad program to reach medical school. Theres many other routes you can do your Masters or even PhD after your undergrad and then apply to medical school.

Originally Posted by FutureMEDRAD

I don't understand. What can each of these allow me to become?

Undergraduate Medical Program
Postgraduate Medicine
MD/PhD Program


And what is the order that I should take these?

If I want to become a doctor which one do I need to do? What do the other programs allow me to do?

So at the end of Undergraduate Medical Program, I become a general doctor?

Thank you!

Undergrad Medical Program is the MD program. In Canada, a MD is an undergrad professional program, after your Undergrad med education, you become a doctor and a MD, but you need to specialize. The postgraduate program is what happens after getting your MD, this allows you to become a family physician, specialist physician or a surgeon. This is generally known as residency. After residency, you become a fully capable practicing physician. The MD/phD is a physician scientist program is generally a 7-8 year program where you are able to obtain both a MD and a phD. This program allows you to research and practice medicine at the same time, which is good if you want to be practice medicine at a major hospital affiliated with a research intensive university.
The general order most doctors take is Undergrad med education-> postgraduate-> practice. However, you can also do MD/phD-> postgraduate-> practice

So I can't work as a general doctor after the Undergraduate Medical Program is done? In order to work as a doctor I need to continue onto Postgraduate Medicine?

And I have to apply for Postgraduate Medicine, which means I could get rejected, right? Which would leave me with an MD.

And you can specialize into radiology (for example) during Postgraduate Medicine.

Is there a list of how long each specialty takes to achieve?

And residency includes in class learning and then real world applications right?

Originally Posted by FutureMEDRAD

So I can't work as a general doctor after the Undergraduate Medical Program is done? In order to work as a doctor I need to continue onto Postgraduate Medicine?

And I have to apply for Postgraduate Medicine, which means I could get rejected, right? Which would leave me with an MD.

And you can specialize into radiology (for example) during Postgraduate Medicine.

Is there a list of how long each specialty takes to achieve?

Well to work as a general doctor ( a family doctor) you still need to specialize in family medicine. Just having the 4 years of classes doesn't mean you're competent to diagnose and treat people. That post-grad education is in the form of residency, and then a fellowship if you want to specialize further done in a health care setting, so it's practical experience, and not in a classroom setting. There's also a whole bunch of licensing exams you need to do in order to practice and call yourself a doctor.

Originally Posted by FutureMEDRAD

And residency includes in class learning and then real world applications right?

Residency is done outside of the classroom, working with doctors in a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, etc.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Well to work as a general doctor ( a family doctor) you still need to specialize in family medicine. Just having the 4 years of classes doesn't mean you're competent to diagnose and treat people. That post-grad education is in the form of residency/fellowship done in a hospital, so it's not in a classroom setting. There's also a whole bunch of licensing exams you need to do in order to practice and call yourself a doctor.



Residency is just in a hospital.

Residency isn't just in a hospital, it can be in other healthcare settings where doctors work - a typical family doctor's office, a family health team, etc, if that's what your residency is in. Obviously if you want to do a residency in neurosurgery that won't work
You attend lectures and stuff and you do research projects and give presentations as a resident, so in that sense it's sort of academic, but it's mostly practical.

Fellowships happen after residencies and aren't mandatory to practice, but they are basically further practice/specialization that makes you more competent in certain areas and are probably a job requirement in certain fields/types of jobs.

Originally Posted by starfish

Residency isn't just in a hospital, it can be in other healthcare settings where doctors work - a typical family doctor's office, a family health team, etc, if that's what your residency is in. Obviously if you want to do a residency in neurosurgery that won't work
You attend lectures and stuff and you do research projects and give presentations as a resident, so in that sense it's sort of academic, but it's mostly practical.

Fellowships happen after residencies and aren't mandatory to practice, but they are basically further practice/specialization that makes you more competent in certain areas and are probably a job requirement in certain fields/types of jobs.

Correct, I meant that it's practical, not just in a classroom and lecture-style. Good point, I should change it to avoid confusion.

Think of residency as an entry-level doctor position.
You know...the crazy-long shifts, nights filled with coffee and aspirin, all of the patients the attendings don't want...
And your first taste of autonomy as a practising physician.
But, as a Mac prospective, you have a long way to go until then...so don't worry about it!

Any undergraduate program (2-4 years) --> Undergraduate Medical Education
Any undergraduate program +/- more graduate education --> MD/PhD

After either of the above, you need to do your residency (2-5 years depending on specialty). This is post-graduate medical education. They got rid of the rotating internship year which would help qualify you as a GP a while ago, so if you want to do family medicine you need to complete a residency in family medicine.

You get practical/clinical experience in years 3/4 (2 in 3 year programs) of undergraduate. You can develop your management skills, work fairly independently with patients - you typically have to review these with your resident/attending and can't sign orders.

Residency - clinical experience, but you're allowed to sign orders. This and the above paragraph depend on the school and/or the attending you're working with.

Originally Posted by FutureMEDRAD

So I can't work as a general doctor after the Undergraduate Medical Program is done? In order to work as a doctor I need to continue onto Postgraduate Medicine?

And I have to apply for Postgraduate Medicine, which means I could get rejected, right? Which would leave me with an MD.

And you can specialize into radiology (for example) during Postgraduate Medicine.

Is there a list of how long each specialty takes to achieve?

A lot of answers re: applying to postgrad can be found here: http://www.carms.ca/.
In short, there's a complex process whereby final-year med students are "matched" to residency training spots across the country.

Yes, it's possible to be "rejected" (unmatched). It happens to some applicants every year for a variety of reasons. You can still graduate and get your MD, but its essentially a useless degree without residency. You aren't eligible for licensure, and you can't practice.

thank you guys so much!

an MD/PhD means you'll be completing an MD, and a PhD. they only accept 1-3 people per year at Mac, and you'll be in school for a lot longer than everyone else (if i remember right, 7 years). your schedule will be different from everyone else, as you'll be alternating between your research and classes. this is a good path for someone who wants to practice medicine and is interested in doing further medical research in their future.

also, i wouldn't suggest medrad as a route towards medicine. it's possible, but because of the curriculum for medrad, it's very demanding as it's meant to train you to be a medical radiation technologist. that being said, it's a lot more difficult to do well and get the competitive GPA for med applications.