How To Become A Doctor In Ontario (2024)

If you enjoy helping others and potentially saving lives, then a career in medicine is a good fit for you. The easiest way to become a doctor in Ontario is to study in the country from medical school to residency.

To become a doctor in Ontario, you will have to complete a University degree, graduate from Medical school, pass the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination (MCCEE) licencing examination, complete residency training, and pass the MCCQE Part II licencing examination for Ontario.

There are six colleges you can apply to in Ontario, to earn a degree in medicine. You can also apply to the colleges in other provinces in Canada.

How To Become A Doctor In Ontario

1. Get an Ontario high school diploma, or its equivalent, after which you will proceed to complete a University degree which must be a bachelor’s degree in basic medical science or science-related course work.

A basic science degree will provide you with a solid foundation in medicine, through the exploration of concepts such as biology, physics, and chemistry.

Be sure to check the list of prerequisite courses required for admission into your chosen choice of University (medical schools always have prerequisite courses), and ensure that you take these during your time at the university.

2. Now, it’s time to apply, and gain admission into a Medical school. You should begin applying to Medical schools before completing your undergraduate degree.

To apply, you need a unique personal statement, undergraduate record, Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) score which is a requirement for all medical schools, after which the school will arrange an interview with you.

After getting accepted into a medical school, the school programme typically takes four years to complete. In the first two years of the programme, you will learn subjects related to medicine such as anatomy, physiology, microbiology, genetic engineering, psychiatry, and pharmacology.

Some courses you will take in the last two years are, surgery, pharmacology, anatomy, biochemistry, organic chemistry, pathology, immunology, chemistry, histology, neuroscience, pathophysiology, human anatomy & physiology, clinical medicine, cell biology, pediatrics, obstetrics, and gynecology, family medicine, internal medicine

Upon successful completion of the program, your medical school will award you a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.).

3. You will have to take and pass the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part I. Please note that you will have to apply 15 months before your graduation date from Medical school.

This examination is requisite for you to obtain the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC).

The LMCC is required by the Canadian Medical Regulatory Authorities to apply for a medical licence within the province of Ontario.

The MCCQE examination is a one-day, computer-based test, in which you will be given four hours to complete 210 Multiple Choice Questions. This examination will test your knowledge of the core basics covering the spectrum of medical care, and your reflection of a physician’s scope of practice and behaviours.

Getting involved in study activities such as group study, quiet reading, note-taking, flashcards, demo online questions, and acquiring past test questions, can help prepare you for the examination.

4. You will apply to and complete residency training. Ideally, you should begin the application process for residency training at the beginning of your last year of study, or after acquiring your MCCQE, through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). The CaRMS lets you choose the area of specialisation and your preferred healthcare facility during your residency training.

The goal of the residency training is to allow newly-licensed doctors to adapt to their new career choices and learn from more experienced Medical practitioners in a mentoring system. For doctors in family medicine, the residency programme is for two years, and up to six years for specialists.

After the commencement of the residency,  you are allowed to choose a sub-specialty that will require you to proceed further with a two or three years residency.

5. After one year of residency training, you can sit for the MCCQE Part II examination, which will test your knowledge, skills, and ability to carry out various clinical practices. Once you have passed the examination, you will become a Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC).

The LMCC is required to earn you a full medical licence to work in any medical field, or healthcare facility. To facilitate your specialization, you are required to become a member of the regulatory body in Ontario and take part in Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses, and programmes.

How long does it take to become a doctor in Ontario

All in all, It takes at least 10 years of education, residency, and CME, to become a doctor in Ontario.

What Skills Do I Need To Be A Doctor?

As a doctor, you will be dealing directly with lives in the most fragile states. Therefore, you need strong interpersonal skills in addition to your clinical skills, such as:

1. The ability to communicate in “human language” will be your strong suit. You must be willing to break the medical lingua, and technical jargon down to the level your patients can understand.
2. Emotional intelligence will make you a team player, an attentive listener, responsible, dependable, adaptable, tolerant, and empathic.
3. You must be accountable for your time.
4. The ability to solve problems within a short period, will increase your productivity in a fast-paced environment.
5. You should have basic computer skills, at least, enough to keep records of the medical history of patients, and communicate with other medical professionals.

Related:

• How To Become A Licensed Contractor In Ontario
• How To Become A Dental Hygienist in Ontario

How Much Can I Earn As A Doctor In Ontario?

The pay for general medical practitioners, or family medicine physicians is about $105,300 per year, while an Internal medicine physician can earn up to $63,000 a year.

If you specialize as a pediatrician in Ontario, your average salary will be between $220,000 and $240,000 a year.

Going further, doctors who specialize as a surgeon will earn about $225,200 per year – which can increase as the years of experience start to pile up.

An Obstetrician and gynecology physician (OB-GYN) is expected to earn about $247,000 per year, while a dermatologist will earn an average of $320,679.

You can also earn more when you work as a resident lecturer and specialist physician.