平特五不中

English and French Communication Skills

Students are聽introduced to clinical observation in the first year of the MDCM program, and will take on more active responsibilities upon聽entering clerkship in third year.聽 While the language of instruction for classes is English (Montreal Campus) or French (Campus Outaouais), our clinical environment is bilingual or francophone, so it is important to聽feel comfortable and prepared to work in both French and English, as per the MDCM Language Policy. To offer helpful suggestions for language learning resources, the Office of Admission聽is mandated to assess students' language聽proficiency before the聽program begins.

Since fall 2021, proof of English-language proficiency is only required for candidates educated exclusively outside of Canada in non-English speaking countries, as per the 平特五不中-wide policy for English proficiency.

Students are considered already fully proficient in French or English if the聽MMI was conducted in that language, or if they聽submitted an聽academic transcript showing successful聽completion of聽1 year of study at a secondary or post-secondary institution that officially operates in that language.聽 Otherwise, students will be informed by email that they must complete an online聽language assessment at 平特五不中鈥檚 School of Continuing Studies before program orientation day.聽 After the assessment, students will聽be informed of their language level, and the corresponding Continuing Studies courses they聽are eligible to take. The Faculty will also receive this information, allowing us to better understand the language skills of the entering class and support students.聽Note that the Language policy does not require students聽to take these, or any other language courses that are additional to the MDCM program. Once the聽proficiency level is known, the student聽decides what steps they聽want to take.

Med-P students are strongly encouraged to work on language skills during Med-P and the summer before MDCM, because clinical placements start in the first year and the program itself is demanding.

How to register for 平特五不中 language聽courses

Med-P students can register for courses on Minerva.聽 Note that some courses require special permission, consult the website of the offering department for more information (for example, FRSL, CEAP, CESL courses).聽 You may need to obtain permission from the Med-P academic adviser by email, in particular for Continuing Studies courses (CEEN, CFRN).

Once in the MDCM program, students are normally restricted from taking courses outside of the聽Faculty, but an exception is made for language courses. Note that MDCM program activities take priority in terms of schedule; students are not permitted to register for a language course whose schedule聽conflicts with that of an MDCM program course or activity.聽 Evening, weekend, and some summer session courses are accessible for 1st and 2nd year students.聽 Students in 3rd and 4th year can enroll in the French Medical Workshop (Saturdays), but should otherwise consider online or private courses that are more flexible, due to the variable nature of clerkship rotation schedules.

Links for language courses at 平特五不中:

• Not open to Med-P students: French Medical Workshop, see the second half of this page.聽
• School of Continuing Studies聽(see details in email you received after placement test)
• Faculty of Arts French Language Centre courses (including Health聽and Social Work Sector courses)听
• 平特五不中 Writing Centre courses听听

Is there a minimum level of proficiency students should aim to attain?

Even advanced speakers can continue to improve; however an intermediate level is generally considered the minimum point at which students can be active and functional in the clinical environment. For most learners, this is equivalent to completing the 200 (intermediate 2) or even 300 (intermediate 3) level courses at 平特五不中鈥檚 School of Continuing Studies. The equivalent Canadian Language Benchmark level is approximately 6 to 8聽( view for an interactive self-assessment of English and French up to level 8); The Common European Framework of Reference level is approximately .

Some of the clinical communication competencies students聽will exercise during their聽studies include: listening to a patient describe their reason for consulting, asking questions to take a medical history, speaking with healthcare professionals (such as doctors, nurses, physiotherapists) about cases, often in a fast-paced or high-stakes environment in person or on the phone, and writing notes in a file that are clear for other healthcare professionals.

Practicing medicine in Quebec after graduation

Students educated outside of Quebec in a language other than French, who聽choose to practice medicine in Quebec, will need to complete the separate Office Qu茅b茅cois de la langue Fran莽aise (OQLF) Examination toward the end of their MDCM聽studies. See 聽for more information. We encourage students聽to take advantage of language classes now to prepare.