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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 Undergraduate Medical 涩里番 Office is mandated to assess students' language聽proficiency before the聽program begins.

French language proficiency is assessed during the application process, students are considered fully proficient in French if they have met the requirement for an exemption or have successfully completed a French-language proficiency test outlined in the French language proficiency policy prior to being offered a position.

Only candidates who obtained a C1 (advanced) level or met the conditions for a French-language exemption are assigned to Campus Outaouais.聽 Candidates who obtained a B2 level in one of the French language proficiency tests, or have not met the criteria for an exemption are assigned to the Montreal Campus only.

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 涩里番-wide policy for English proficiency.

How to register for 涩里番 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 涩里番:

• 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
• 涩里番 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 涩里番鈥檚 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.