Transfers to Other Quebec Faculties

Exceptionally, transfers are permitted under unique circumstances, but these must be discussed and agreed to beforehand by the Committee of Associate Deans responsible for postgraduate medical education in the four faculties in Quebec (CVDFM). The transfer is approved officially by a letter from one Associate Dean to another. The applicant must have the transfer approved by his/her home Faculty before the transfer will be accepted by another University.
 

Transfers to other Canadian Faculties (outside of Quebec)

The Postgraduate Medical Education Offices across Canada are supportive of transfers from institution to institution. The National Transfer Guidelines are intended to provide a transparent process that is clear to both the Resident and Universities involved. Prior to engaging in discussion regarding a transfer, it is the responsibility of the Resident to review the national guidelines.

For RAMQ-funded trainees, the transfer process is as follows:

1. All RAMQ-funded trainees should send their transfer requests to the McGill PGME office between January 1 to March 31 of each year. Applications received before or after will not be taken into account, unless valid reason.
2. For For non-RAMQ-funded trainees must provide the PGME office from their sponsoring confirming support for the transfer request. Foreign Sponsored Residents may be considered for a transfer outside of the normal timeline of the national transfer process. For the deadlines, please contact Ms. Dolly Rabbath, dolly.rabbath [at] mcgill.ca
3. Transfers cannot be considered within 6 months of the applicants anticipated graduation date.
4. The following documents must be submitted before the deadline (same documents as outlined in the National Transfer Guidelines):
   • Resident consent for release of his PGME file
   • CV
   • Brief letter outlining their request and reason for the transfer
   • Other documents such as: MCCQE Statement of results, reference letters, etc.)
5. National transfers will be considered after the second iteration of CaRMS.
6. Transfer start dates are at the discretion of each University & may start as early as July 1.
7. The transfer application process is considered completed by September 30.

For any additional information, please contact Mrs. Dolly Rabbath: dolly.rabbath [at] mcgill.ca  

Changes of Program (within Québec)

For information about the process please contact Dolly Rabbath: dolly.rabbath [at] mcgill.ca

Residents, whether RAMQ or non-RAMQ remunerated, enrolled in a Residency Program may apply for a change of program but only for important pedagogical reasons. A Quebec-wide policy applies to all changes of program by RAMQ remunerated residents.

• No faculty of medicine is required to accept a change of program request. A change of program request must be justified and is only warranted under exceptional circumstances.
• For residents enrolled in the first year of a cohort, changes of program will only come into effect on July 1 of the second year. Changes of programs for residents who have completed their first year may take effect in January (on the first day of period 8), or in July, provided the new program has capacity.
• A request for a change of program must be made on the dates pre-determined annually by the CVDFM based on the calendar below, except for requests to change programs to Family Medicine that can be submitted at any time but only within the same faculty. Requests to change programs to Family Medicine at another Québec Faculty of Medicine, must be done on the dates predetermined annually by the CVDFM, as per the calendar below. However, a request for a change of program to Family Medicine submitted after the deadline, while a round of change of programs requests is underway, will only be considered once the process is completed. A request submitted after the application deadline, and while the R-1 CaRMS Match is in progress, it will not be considered until after the second iteration of the match.
• A request for a change of program will not be considered if the change would come into effect less than six months before the end of the resident’s current training program (family medicine or specialty), nor after that date.
• A change of program request that is withdrawn after the deadline and/or a refused request will still be considered as a change of program request.
• During their training, a resident may submit only one change of program request, to only one specialty program. A second change of program request may be considered by the CVDFM in exceptional circumstances, but only if it concerns a transition to Family Medicine.
• If a change of program request cannot be accommodated because the program is at capacity, or because the Government Decree ceiling for the discipline has been met, the request may be maintained and reviewed during a future application review period.

• Residents at the PGY4 level in a medical specialty or pediatric specialty must remain in their program for a minimum period of one year before being able to change programs.

• Residents enrolled in programs called poursuite de formation (Enhanced Skills Programs, formation complémentaire, seconde formation, prolongation de formation) are not eligible for a change of programs.

The calendar for the change of programs is determined yearly by the 4 Québec Schools.

Process:

1. RAMQ remunerated trainees must:
   1. Fill out the change of program form and email it to pgfellows.med [at] mcgill.ca
   2. The request will be presented to the Conférence des vices doyens du Québec (CVDFM) for final approval. The CVDFM determines whether the change is possible according to the ceilings and the positions available by discipline.
   3. Once approved by the CVDFM, a letter of intent and an up-to-date CV must be submitted by trainee allowing the PGME office to send the file to the target program.
   4. An interview can only be arranged with the target program once the above conditions are met.
   5. Trainees will receive a formal e-mail confirmation from the PGME office of the change of program, informing them of the date and location agreed upon by the faculty where they will continue their training.
2. Non-RAMQ remunerated trainees (e.g. sponsored by their home country) must:
   1. Send an email from their McGill email account allowing the PGME office to send their file to the target program: dolly.rabbath [at] mcgill.ca and/or admissionspg.med [at] mcgill.ca  
   2. The Resident must provide their consent for the PGME Office to release the documents / information to the target program.
   3. Submit a letter of support from your sponsor
   4. Submit a letter of intent and an up-to-date CV
   5. The file will be sent to the target program for review and decision.
   6. Selected trainees will receive an offer letter from the PGME office.
   7. A confirmation of funding from the sponsoring agency is required before the change of program can occur. 
3. Once approved as above, the trainee must inform their home program and obtain an e-mail release from their current Program Director, which must be sent to the PGME office.
4. All decisions are final.