Frequently Asked Questions for Candidates Applying for HMC Residency Programs

APPENDIX (A)

General Application Guidelines 

  1. Applicants must complete the application process through the online application portal. Faxed, e-mailed or hand-delivered applications (including prior years’ application forms) will not be accepted.
  2. Applicants will receive an automated confirmation from the application portal, after an application has been successfully submitted. Please retain this confirmation for your personal reference
  3. Applicants must submit fully complete applications by 11:59 p.m. (Qatar time) on the intake deadline. The online application system will clearly indicate the mandatory fields to be completed in the application form, as well as mandatory documents to be uploaded. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
  4. The Medical Education Department will perform primary source verification (credentialing) for all documents provided by the applicant. Providing any false information or documents may subject the candidate to legal consequences and may result in his/her application being withdrawn or his/her dismissal from the Residency Program.

Guidance on Using the Online Application System

The application process includes completion of an application form, followed by the upload of mandatory documents. Applicants must first fully complete and finalize the application form, as the responses in the form will determine and release the relevant upload tasks unique to the applicant.

Please note that the file name of all uploaded documents should include English characters only. Files named in other languages or with non-English characters in the file name may not be visible to reviewers.

You must verify that your application is fully complete and free of errors prior to submission. This includes uploading of all relevant documents. If you are awaiting a certificate or exam result that you wish to include in your application, you should wait until these are received, and add them prior to finalizing your submission. It is not permitted to make edits to your application once finalized; this includes adding new information, files, or scores.

Guidelines on Completing the Application Form

A. Basic Information

Candidate Name
Candidate Name should reflect the same name as listed on the applicant’s passport.

Passport Expiry Date
Passport should be valid at the time of application.

Contact Details
Applicants must have a valid email address in order to access the online application portal. Email is the primary method of communication between the GME Office and the applicant. The GME Office will communicate through the same email address used to log in into the application system. In some cases, e-mail providers may redirect certain e-mails to the Junk/Spam folder. It is strongly advised that applicants check their e-mail on a regular basis including the Junk/Spam folder and follow up promptly to any messages from the GME Office. Please note that the GME Office is not responsible if an applicant fails to receive or respond to any communication sent by us.

Applicants must provide their personal mobile number and their home phone number, as well as contact information for a next of kin who can reach them in case we are unable to. This number may be used to contact an applicant if selected for interview.

B. Education and Qualifications

Medical Qualifications

Name of Medical School/ College or Faculty should be as shown on the degree. 

Applicants must provide accurate details for the following:
i. Date of Joining the Medical College
ii. Date of Graduation from the Medical College
(The Date of Passing the Final Exams, NOT the date of issuing the degree)

Internship Status
Provide the start date and the completion date of the internship training program as well as the institution and country where the internship training program was undertaken. List the expected date of completion if internship is still in progress.

Other Academic Qualifications
All qualifications awarded to the applicant must be documented including the Name of Academic Qualification Awarded, the inclusive dates, award date, and country where the academic qualification was awarded.

Medical License
Indicate, where applicable, the License Number, Type of License, Country where the Medical License was issued and the validity of the license. The Candidate must either be eligible for licensure or have been issued a valid medical license in the country where they currently practice, their home country, or Qatar. If your license has no expiry date, you may leave the validity date field empty.

Language

Applicants must indicate their proficiency in both English and Arabic.

C. Post-Graduate Training or Clinical Practice (after completing Internship Training)

State the inclusive dates (from-to) for every period of post-internship practice or training in chronological order starting from the most recent. The applicant must provide supporting evidence (i.e. document from the hospital, institution or university) to confirm the role held and the periods of engagement.

Undocumented experience will be considered as a gap in training or clinical practice. If there is a gap in clinical practice or training, the applicant is required to state the duration of the gap including the details regarding the gap period. 

a) Current Clinical Post
Specify the current clinical post held at the time of completing the application including the Title/Position, Institution/Hospital name, Country where the institution/hospital is based, Inclusive Dates of the current clinical post, and the type of training.

b) Other Clinical Training Post
Specify the clinical post/s held previously including the Title/Position, Institution/Hospital name, Country where the institution/hospital is based, Inclusive Dates of the clinical post and the Type of Training.

Clinical Exam Results/Scores

Clinical Examinations

The Applicant must indicate his/her exam scores for the mandatory exams (USMLE Step 2 CK; or IFOM-CSE; or, MCCQE Part 1) in the Application Form and upload the results within the online application portal. 

Applicants who have written additional clinical exams (e.g. USMLE Step 1 or IFOM-BSE) should also include these exam scores on the application and upload the results into the online application portal.

English Language Competency Examinations
The Applicant must indicate his/her exam scores for the English Language Competency Exams (IELTS,TOEFL,or OET) in the Application Form and upload the results within the online application portal. No other examination results will be accepted in lieu of IELTS, TOEFL or OET. Results must be within the two-year validity period at the time of application.

E. Program Choice (refer to FAQs)
The Applicant must select only two (2) programs as FIRST CHOICEand SECOND CHOICE.

Applications will be screened against the First Choice as a priority. Consideration by the Second Choice program is not guaranteed.

F. Recommendations/References
List the persons indicated as referees, including the Full Name, Official Designation, E-mail and other Contact Details for each referee whose names appear on the Recommendation Letters to be uploaded, or to be contacted for a reference through the online application portal. There should be a listing in the Referee table for each letter of reference that you upload or request through the application portal.

For applicants who are currently working or enrolled in an internship or Residency:
Applicants must include a letter from an immediate Supervisor or Program Director, as relevant, confirming that the applicant is currently working in good standing. 

The second letter may be from a consultant or faculty with whom he/she worked with closely within the university or during postgraduate training or experience.

For applicants who are not currently working:
Applicants must include a Dean’s Letter which typically provides an evaluation and summary of the medical student’s achievements across all aspects of his/her medical education. The current terminology associated with the Dean’s Letter is the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE). 

The second letter may be from a consultant or faculty with whom he/she worked with closely within the university or during postgraduate training or experience.

G. Additional Information
The Applicant may indicate any other information related to their application. Any additional information, including certifications or merits should be submitted with verifiable evidence.

Guidance on Supporting Documents

When completing the application in the online portal, the applicant must ensure that the required documents are uploaded:

a. CV
b. Letter of Intent for each program applied to*
c. Medical Degree (not required for WCM-Q and QU CMED graduates)
d. Transcript of Records from the Medical School
e. Internship Certificate (not required for HMC interns or WCM-Q and QU CMED graduates)
f. Clinical exam results
g. English Language Competency exam results (not required for WCM-Q and QU CMED graduates)
h. Passport Copy
i. RP (if resident in Qatar) 
j. Digital photo (passport-size, white or blue background)
k. Evidence of Clinical Practice or Postgraduate Training (Certificates)
l. Recommendation Letter(s)** (two are required)

* A Letter of Intent (or Personal Statement) is a short letter expressing one’s interest in joining a particular HMC Residency Program. Applicants should prepare a separate and unique letter for each program to which he/she is applying. The letter should also highlight the applicant’s strengths and experience, to showcase his/her application to the department of choice. These are carefully checked. Any evidence that they have been copied (even partially) from online materials will result in disqualification from the process.

  • **Applicants have the option of uploading existing letters of recommendation or providing referee contact information, to allow the system to contact your referee.

Certain documents must be provided in the English language. If the original document is in another language, it must be officially translated into English and uploaded as a single file with the original language document. 

Documents which must be provided in the English language are as follows:

a. Medical Degree
b. Transcript of Records from the Medical School
c. Internship Certificate
d. Evidence of Clinical Practice or Postgraduate Training (Certificates)
e. Medical License
f. Recommendation Letter(s)