Documents

References are provided by physicians, professors or non-clinical individuals (also known as referees) recommending you for further medical training.

In this match, two types of references can be requested:

1. A referee assessment form
2. A program/site director assessment form

The intent of these forms is to obtain an accurate profile of each resident applicant’s performance during their ongoing Family Medicine training.

When CaRMS Online opens for the match, you can log in to your account to create reference requests for these materials. Once your referees receive your request, they will be able to complete these forms directly in the CaRMS Online system and submit them for your application. CaRMS does not accept hardcopy or mailed documents.

CaRMS receives select exam results and documentation directly from the source. This simplifies the process and guarantees the validity of the document and results.

The most common examination/assessment results we receive are:

• Medical Council of Canada’s Evaluating Examination (MCCEE) and Qualifying Examinations (MCCQE I and MCCQE II)
• National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) examination
• United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE)
• University of British Columbia’s Clinical Assessment Program (CAP)
• Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics (CASPer)

All results must be sent directly from the issuing organization or uploaded to CaRMS Online by the applicant.

For information on how to submit examination results, consult the document submission instructions.

International medical graduates and Osteopaths

You may be required to provide the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) and/or National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) examination results as part of your application.

MCC examination data and documents, including the NAC, are only accepted as transfers from physiciansapply.ca*. For information on how to connect to the custom physiciansapply.ca, consult the document submission instructions.

*Note: Results prior to 2006 cannot be sent via physiciansapply.ca. If you wrote the MCCEE prior to 2006, contact the MCC directly to arrange for a certified copy to be sent to CaRMS.

Language examinations

If your language of instruction during medical school was not English or French, you may be required to submit a language assessment exam according to the provincial eligibility requirements or program descriptions.

Exam expiration dates

Programs require that all submitted documents are valid – meaning that they have not expired. You are responsible for ensuring that your examination results are currently valid.

CaRMS has partnered with third-party organizations to automate the verification of citizenship/legal status required by postgraduate offices for entry into residency. Third-party verification simplifies the process for applicants and programs. All applicants who do not receive third-party citizenship verification will be required to upload and assign an acceptable proof of citizenship document. Please see additional information here.

Many citizenship documents have an expiration date. Please ensure that any citizenship document(s) you submit are currently valid, as expired documents will not be accepted by postgraduate offices.

You may upload multiple document types as proof of your Canadian citizenship status. Acceptable citizenship documents vary by province, so you should carefully review the provincial eligibility requirements and program descriptions.

A medical school transcript is a list of marks from your undergraduate medical education. A placeholder is automatically created in your account for a medical school transcript. If you have attended a more than one medical school, please contact us at operations@carms.ca and we will create an additional medical school record in your application.

Graduates of Canadian medical schools

You can submit your medical transcript in one of two ways:

1. Obtain and upload the document yourself into your CaRMS Online account; or
2. Ask your medical school to upload your document using their CaRMS Online Undergraduate Portal account.

If you have previously participated in the R-1 match since 2013, your previous documents will appear in your current profile.

Graduates of international medical schools

You can submit your medical transcript in one of three ways:

1. Transfer your document from physiciansapply.ca (Log into CaRMS Online and follow the instructions in the physiciansapply.ca section); or
2. Obtain and upload the document yourself into your CaRMS Online account; or
3. Ask your medical school to upload your document using their CaRMS Online Undergraduate Portal account.

If you have previously participated in the R-1 match since 2013, your previous documents will appear in your current profile.

International schools who do not have a CaRMS Online Undergraduate Portal account can submit a request to communication@carms.ca.

The MSPR/dean’s letter is a letter of standing from the dean or principal of the medical school.

Typically, this document:

• Reports on activities during medical school; and/or
• Comments on performance in clinical rotations; and/or
• Gives a recommendation for further medical training; and/or
• Reports on time spent in each specialty or department (hours or weeks).

Graduates of Canadian medical schools

Ask your medical school to upload your MSPR using their CaRMS Online Undergraduate Portal account.

If you have previously participated in the R-1 match since 2013, your previous documents will appear in your current profile.

Graduates of international medical schools

Students can upload their own MSPR/dean’s letter if they have it in their possession. International medical schools can also use our Undergraduate (UG) Portal to upload MSPR/dean’s letters. Medical schools can register for the UG portal by contacting communication@carms.ca.

If you have previously participated in the R-1 match since 2013, your previous documents will appear in your current profile.

If programs would like you to submit a photograph, they will indicate this in their program description. The photograph is intended to be used as a reminder to help programs identify applicants at the time of ranking and will not be visible to programs until the beginning of the interview period.

A professional head shot should be used wherever possible.

Your photograph, which you upload directly to your online account in JPG format, should be less than 2 MB in size.

Personal letters are how you introduce yourself to programs and to express interest in a specific program and/or discipline.

Your personal letter should outline the reasons you have chosen a particular training program. Each program has preferences regarding what the personal letter should contain, so check individual program descriptions for more information.

You must enter personal letters directly into CaRMS Online. You can write them directly in the online system, or use an offline word processing program and paste the text into CaRMS Online once it is complete.

You can include any additional documents you feel will enhance your application, including custom resumes (CVs), evaluation rotations, etc.

If programs would like to see specific documents or do not want to review any extra documents, these preferences will be indicated in their program description so review program descriptions before assigning extra documents.

Only upload documents into the Extra Documents category if another appropriate category does not already exist.