A p p ly i n g f o r G r a d uat e H e a lt h P r o f e s s i o n a l Tr a i n i n g i n C a n a da :

A Communication Guide for International Candidates

This manual endeavors to help by providing a to-the-point and practical guide to effective communication in the context of applying to graduate health professional education in Canada. Practical tips from insiders as well as international health professionals that have successfully navigated the system are emphasized. This manual is not an evidence-based review rather it is focused on communication as an art.

Editors: Mohammad Alsuwaidan, Brian Hodges

C o l l a b o r a t o r s : Ta l a l A l ab du lj a l i l, A l i A l a l i, Fa he d A lj as e r, A hme d A lterk ait, Mar i am B ag hd a dy, K ha le d Ka l and ar A li, Shannon Sp encer

Making Contact

Email Etiquette

Phone Etiquette

Follow Up

Application Documents

Travel Documents

Reccomendation Letters

Making Contact - The Importance of a First Impression

Ta l a l A l a b d u l j a l i l

The communication process starts with the first correspondence a candidate makes with the institution or coordinator. When a candidate makes their first contact with the program, they should attempt to ask the right person the right question at the right time. In general, visa trainees (sponsored residency candidates) apply to the Canadian residency programs only through their respective countries medical specialty boards (KIMS or Kuwait University in the case of Kuwait). Having said that, a candidate can still apply directly to the program as an observer physician or elective medical student. If the program offers observership or elective positions, then the candidate should make sure he/she meets the eligibility criteria and the deadline for applying. The first e-mail a candidate sends to the program is often when an initial impression is made. A candidate should know what he/she wants exactly, write his/her email professionally, as described below, and send it to the right person (usually observership or elective coordinator). A well prepared CV and some good recommendation letters can be of great benefit (see below). When coming to any Canadian medical school, knowing about the CanMEDS framework (http://www.royalcollege.ca/public/resources/ aboutcanmeds) and integrating them into the CV is invaluable.

Kuwait Sp e cific Information:

When applying to a residency program, a Kuwaiti visa trainee must have all the required and supporting documents sent from the Civil Service Commission to the Cultural Office of the Kuwait Embassy in Washington DC. Having a contact person at the cultural office is a good idea to make sure the documents are received and forwarded to the desired programs in a timely manner. Often the applications are sent late from Kuwait to the cultural office for one reason or another and this may exceed the deadline for some programs. To maximize their chances, a candidate must know the application deadlines for all the programs he/she is interested in and get all the required documents ready and delivered to the program before the deadline. A candidate must be on top of things and supply the embassys cultural office with all the information for his/her application e.g. application deadlines. To find out about application deadlines a candidate can email the postgraduate medical education office at the different universities and ask them for the application deadlines for visa trainees. If a candidate would like to know about the progress of his/her application, he/she should contact the cultural office correspondent not the program. When invited to an interview, a preferred candidate is someone who has research experience, publications, well defined goals and someone who is a team-player and potential leader. A candidate must demonstrate his/her intention and ability to be an agent of knowledge transfer between Canada and their country. One of things the authors have learned while training in Canada is that the first impression is a lasting impression, so make it good!

Making Contact

Email Etiquette

Phone Etiquette

Follow Up

Application Documents

Travel Documents

Reccomendation Letters

Email Etiquette and Style

Fahed Aljaser

Email communication between candidates applying and the contact person from the residency or fellowship program are reflections of ones personality and demeanour. One might argue that it is a way the program officials assess a candidates writing skills and proficiency in English. One might consider email communications as an art. One need not create a masterpiece but a few simple steps will help create an acceptable email: 1) If an institutional email account is not available to consider opening a professional sounding gmail account (i.e. fahad.aljaser@gmail.com and not dr.braveheart81@ gmail.com) 2) In North America the formal address of a person is by using their title and their last name. For example Dr. John Smith would be addressed in an email as: Dear Dr. Smith 3) It is preferable to start with a greeting that is not a question. So instead of How are you? a simple greeting such as Good day is preferred. 4) Be professional in your content. Try to avoid cyber-language, jokes and internet/ chat abbreviations. Check your grammar, punctuation and make sure you use the spell check available to you. If you are in doubt ask someone you trust to go over your email and help you through it. 5) Check your grammar, punctuation and make sure you use the spell check available to you. If you are in doubt ask someone you trust to go over your email and help you through it. Proper grammatical structure is critical to help convey confidence in the candidates language skills. 6) The content of the email should be concise, to the point, clear and well organized. All of us have a busy schedule; no one wants to spend time to figure out the point of your email. Quick tip, do not use complex vocabulary, use simple words when necessary. 7) You should end your email by giving your contact information. For example I use my signature as:
Dr.Fahed Aljaser.FRCPC Division of Endocrinology Hospital for Sick Children University of Toronto 555 University Ave Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8 email address: fahed.aljaser@sickkids.ca Pager: 416-235-9150

8) Before you press the send button, read your email again and make any changes as you go through it. Last but not least, your email communication is usually your first interaction with the program. Through your emails you are creating a first impression about you before meeting you arrive. Make sure it is an accurate reflection of you!

Making Contact

Email Etiquette

Phone Etiquette

Follow Up

Application Documents

Travel Documents

Reccomendation Letters

Phone Etiquette

Ahmed Alterkait

Phone contact is the second most important mode of communication after email in Canada. An Important thing to consider prior to arranging a phone conference, phone interview, or making a phone call to Canada is the time difference. Canada uses six time zones. So the time difference between Kuwait and Canada could vary from 7 hours to 10 hours depending on the location. Another important consideration with time difference is daylight savings time. During the summertime, clocks are temporarily advanced an hour so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. You can quickly find the current time in many cities by using an online world clock such as www.timeanddate. com/worldclock Regular businesses hours in Canada start usually at 9 am and end between 4 and 5 pm. Workers usually take a lunch break from 12 noon until 1pm. So, the best times to make a phone call would be in the hours from 9:30am to 12 noon and 1pm to 3:30pm. If the person you are trying to reach is busy or away from their desk you will be directed to a voice mail. Make sure you leave a clear message about the reason you called . Provide your (1) name; (2) phone number and repeat it so that the recipient has a better chance of being able to note it; (3) indicate who the message is for (e.g. a secretary may be supporting multiple staff so they would need to know to whom to direct the message if it is left in a general voicemail box); and (4) provide the reason for your call as well as the necessary context. When talking to a person on the phone, it is important to be courteous and polite. Start the conversation with a simple Hello. Identify yourself by your first and last name and confirm the name of the person you are talking to. Heres an example of a phone conversation between Ahmed and Suzanne, the office assistant of a program director. Suzanne: Good morning. Dr. Johnsons office, this is Suzanne speaking. Ahmed: Good morning Suzanne, this is Ahmed Alterkait. Thank you for taking my call. How are you? Suzanne: Im very well, How can I help you today? (Note: Its unnecessary to ask about the persons health, family, kids, weatheretc at the beginning of the conversation like it is customary in Kuwaiti culture.) Ahmed: I am calling to schedule a time for the internal medicine residency interview with Dr. Johnson. Being professional during a phone conversation is crucial to giving a good impression. If the call is pre-scheduled, make sure you make the phone call on time. Make sure your questions are clear and direct; perhaps have your questions already written on a piece of paper in English. Make sure you are in quiet environment where interruptions are minimal. Use phrases like Pardon me or Excuse me, could you repeat that If you were not clear on what the person said. Ending the phone conversation is just as simple as starting one. Thank them again for taking your call or just say Thank you. You can also say Have good day or Have a good afternoon.

Making Contact

Email Etiquette

Phone Etiquette

Follow Up

Application Documents

Travel Documents

Reccomendation Letters

F o l l o w U p a n d T h a n k Yo u N o t e s
This section is short and simple because this is a simple step to do. However it is a step that many miss, especially in email communication.

Mariam Baghdady

After you have contacted people by email or phone it important to ALWAYS follow up with a thank you note. This is most commonly done by email. It should be a simple message expressing that you acknowledge and appreciate the time and effort that someone put in to communicating with you. Here is an example: Dear Dr. Smith, Thank you for taking the time to discuss [insert here whatever the issue is] with me. The information you provided was very helpful. I will follow up with the suggestions you gave me and be in touch in the future. Thanks again, Dr. Ahmed Tarik Assistant Registrar, Mubarak Hospital PO Box 12345 Safat, Kuwait Postal Code 987654 tel: +965-999-9999 email: ahmed.tarik@gmail.com

Making Contact

Email Etiquette

Phone Etiquette

Follow Up

Application Documents

Travel Documents

Reccomendation Letters

A p p l i c a t i o n D o c u m e n t s ( S p e c i f i c t o t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f To r o n t o )

Shannon Spencer

It is important to know that the University of Toronto (UofT) Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Office has a contract in place with the Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen government or governmental agency, and all fellowship or residency training applications must be directed to PGME through the sponsoring agency. Applications sent to the Program Director, or directly from the applicant will not be accepted. The application process for training programs at UofT differs slightly from program to program. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all required documents are submitted to the residency or fellowship training Program Director/ Administrator correctly and by the application deadline. The first thing a program director or administrator will notice is the appearance of the application document. This means it is just as important for the document to look professional as well as containing all the correct information. An application needs to consistent throughout in the usage of language, fonts, aligning of pages, numbering etc. We suggest using a professional and widely used font such as Times New Roman or Helvetica 12 point. Avoid creative fonts such as Comic Sans. Copies of documents such as proof of medical degree, MCCEE results, and score results for TOEFL, TSE if sent should be clear and easy to read by the reviewer. A document should never be too dark to read. If your transcripts and other documents are not written in English, have your school send the transcript to you. You must have the transcript translated into English. Applications must be complete and have all the required documents that a program requests. Candidates who submit incomplete applications will not be considered for an interview. Many programs provide a checklist of required documents. It is important to put the documents in the order that they appear on the checklist.

Making Contact

Email Etiquette

Phone Etiquette

Follow Up

Application Documents

Travel Documents

Reccomendation Letters

O f f i c i a l Tr a v e l D o c u m e n t s a n d Tr a n s l a t i o n s

Ali Alali

One of the most important steps in the application process is making sure you provide the correct documents requested by the program. In many instances these documents represent the first contact between you and the program. Also some of these documents are used as a screening method to decide which candidate will be offered an interview. Therefore, the importance of making sure these documents are well written and complete cannot be over emphasized. These documents are largely the same for most programs. The essential documents include: CV Personal statement Recommendation letters Copy of the passport Medical diploma Medical school Transcript Copies of Canadian exams (for example MCCEE) Copies of language proficiency exams (such as IELTS where applicable) In some instances the documents required may not be in English. For instance, some universities may provide medical diplomas which are not in English (For example Irish universities provide medical diplomas in Gaelic). In other scenarios, the marriage or birth certificate may also be in a language other than English. In such cases it is vital to make sure you get a certified translation. In Canada there are some translation agencies where this can easily be done. However, in Kuwait the certification process may involve several steps including getting the documents translated at a translation agency and then certifying the copy in the Canadian embassy and the Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Luckily most of the time you are not asked for such documents (especially the marriage and birth certificate), however you may be asked for such documents either from the program itself or during the process of application for the work permit at a later stage. An important point for all of these documents, in particular the CV and personal statement, is making sure they are clear of any grammatical or spelling mistakes. As mentioned above this has an important influence on the program directors decision as it reflects your English fluency as well as your professionalism. There is no excuse for not using a spell check program built in to all major word processing programs.

Making Contact

Email Etiquette

Phone Etiquette

Follow Up

Application Documents

Travel Documents

Reccomendation Letters

Recommendation Letters

Khaled Kalandar Ali

Alongside the CV and the personal interview, recommendation letters play a crucial role in the application process for a post graduation position. The purpose of these letters is to provide the interviewers with an insight of applicants characteristics, personality and quality of interactions in the working environment. In order for the letters to be credible, they should be written by people that the applicant has worked with. Ideally the writer should know the program or at least familiar with the program structure. The writer should also be able to know the applicant well enough to describe his/her qualities and potentials. In general, these letters focus on the applicants professionalism, ability for perform in a team, leadership, communication skills, interests and the enthusiasm to learn. Not only should the content of the letters be professional but also the way they are delivered to the program. The letters should be in a sealed envelope, signed, dated and sent directly by the writer. They also should arrive to the program in a timely matter. In order for this to happen, the applicant should give enough time for the writer and avoid last minute requests.

Making Contact

Email Etiquette

Phone Etiquette

Follow Up

Application Documents

Travel Documents

Reccomendation Letters