Externship
Candidates who match to the AIMG Program residency positions must undergo a period called Externship prior to being accepted as a resident.
During this six or ten-week Externship period, externs participate in two weeks of orientation sessions and four or eight weeks of assessment in a clinical setting, as stipulated in their written offer of a position from the AIMG Program.
The purpose of the externship assessment is to introduce externs to the clinical environment within the Canadian healthcare system, allowing for observation of their clinical competencies and personal attributes while assessing their readiness to enter residency training. Externs should be encouraged to actively engage in self-directed learning.
Successful completion to the satisfaction of the Residency Program Director (or their designated representatives) is mandatory prior to final acceptance into residency training.
Extern Handbook 2nd Iteration, Post Match
NOTE: Access to the Extern login will be provided via email at a later date.
2025 Cycle
The AIMG Program provides a two-week orientation to the IMGs who have successfully matched to residency programs before they begin the clinical assessment component of Externship. The purpose of Orientation is to help prepare externs for entry into the Canadian medical environment, including review of essential and current aspects of patient care in Canada as well as familiarizing externs with the expectations of a recent Canadian medical graduate.
While recognizing the diverse background and training of externs, their orientation strives to address common knowledge gaps and deficiencies that have been identified through discussion with residency program directors and assessors, review of assessments of previous externs, review of current research, and input from previous externs.
All externs are expected to have a fundamental knowledge of medicine, clinical skills and patient care. While Externship Orientation will include a few sessions on some crucial clinical skills where IMGs have identified gaps, the main focus is familiarization with expectations of patient care in the Canadian medical system. The orientation curriculum is developed with consideration of the CanMEDS framework, “which identifies and describes the abilities physicians require to effectively meet the health care needs of the people they serve.”
During the four or eight-week Clinical Externship Assessment Period with the residency program:
- Externs are assigned supervised patient care clinical experiences by the residency program to which they have matched. Placements will occur primarily in hospital and community facilities within the relevant University’s Alberta Health Services Zone, but may also occur in facilities within other Zones.
- Externs are assigned to one or more physicians designated by the residency program who are responsible for the extern’s assessments.
- Assessors are required to complete program-specific assessment forms regarding the performance of the extern and are encouraged to review the assessments with the extern.
- Externs are assessed in comparison to the competencies and Entrustable Professional Activities expected of a Canadian medical graduate.
- Assessment forms are reviewed by the applicable Residency Program Director and are also viewable by the AIMG Program.
- The Residency Program Director (or appointed representatives) determines, at his/her discretion, if the extern will be accepted into residency training at the PGY1 level.
At the end of the predetermined Externship Assessment Period, the applicable Residency Program Director reviews the extern’s assessments and authorizes the approval to commence postgraduate residency training for externs who have demonstrated competency equivalent to a graduating Canadian medical student. If an extern does not successfully complete their Externship Assessment, they will not be accepted for residency training. Unsuccessful externs can reapply as a candidate for match consideration through the AIMG Program in a subsequent year unless dismissed by the residency program because of an egregious breach of professional conduct.
The decision regarding an extern’s assessment and outcome is final.
Financial Support
The AIMG Program currently pays a monthly stipend of $1,250 CAD to each AIMG Program extern for each full month they participate in the Externship. There is no extra stipend for being on call, nor is there any deduction to the stipend if externs are not on call. Externs are NOT entitled to vacation time or pay during Externship.
Externs are not permitted to hold any other clinically-related employment that requires a practice permit from the CPSA. Due to the short duration of the Externship, it is strongly recommended that externs do not participate in any employment during Externship due to varied call schedules and the high stakes related to the outcome of Externship.
NOTE: Externs must arrange for their own transportation and accommodation during Externship.
