Foreign–trained medical professionals: Wanted or not? A case study of Canada

Ruth M Campbell–Page,Mohammad Alsuwaidan,Donald C Cole,Joshua Tepper,A G Klei,Dina H Bayoumy,James A Page,Brian Hodges

doi:10.7189/jogh.03.020304

Abstract

Foreign–trained medical professionals: Wanted or not? A case study of Canada

Highlights

Definitions of the term “International Medical Graduate” vary but the Mediworkforce (28.3%), 75.2% of them coming from LMICs; the corresponding figures were ternational medical graduates cal Council of Canada defines an International Medical Graduates (IMGs)
Definitions of the term “International Medical Graduate” vary but the Medical Council of Canada defines an IMG to be a graduate of a medical school outside of Canada or the United States, with the exception of US schools of osteopathic medicine [2]
The main qualifications a physician must possess in order to receive a full license include: a degree in medicine from an approved medical school, completion of two years of residency training, possession of the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC), and certification by examination from either the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) or the RCPSC [11]

Summary

OBTAINING A MEDICAL LICENSE TO PRACTICE

The Medical Council of Canada (MCC), responsible for administering national examinations and providing the Licentiate qualification for entry into practice, provides a wide range of information about the licensure process on its website. The main qualifications a physician must possess in order to receive a full license include: a degree in medicine from an approved medical school, completion of two years of residency training, possession of the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC), and certification by examination from either the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) or the RCPSC [11]. National Medical Certification Exams are one final step required before an IMG may be approved for independent practice under full licensure by a provincial or territorial regulatory authority This is a certification via examination by one of Canada’s national certification bodies – RCPSC for specialists and CFPC for family physicians. To be eligible to participate in the first iteration of the CaRMS match, IMGs must have graduated from a medical school that is either accredited by the LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education)/CACMS (Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools), or listed on FAIMERs International Medical Education Directory, or the World Directory of Medical Schools, and have successfully completed the MCCEE or be scheduled to write the MCCEE within the upcoming year [15]

OBTAINING A RESIDENCY POSITION

SHIFTING APPROACHES TO IMGS

PROGRESS ON NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR MEDICAL REGISTRATION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Findings

CONCLUSIONS