Qualified, Yet Denied: Life Experiences of Immigrant Medical Doctors After Denial of Medical Recertification in Ontario

Abstract

Canada’s non-discriminatory immigration policy, advanced medical research, ongoing need for doctors, and promises of transitioning immigrant professionals to professional jobs, attract many doctors from developing and non-English-speaking countries. Medical doctors arrive in Canada in anticipation of a better life and to continue their medical careers. However, the majority end up in underemployed low-wage jobs outside of medicine. They risk termination of their lifelong professional identity and status after arrival in Canada. Despite passing the Canadian medical exams and meeting the requirements for re-licensure, immigrant medical doctors (IMDs) face systemic denial of access to the profession. Foreign credentials, culture, and language are identified as ongoing barriers that set IMDs apart. This study explores the professional, personal, and social impacts on the lives of IMDs who are qualified for medical recertification in Ontario, yet denied opportunities for a license to practice medicine. I briefly ¬trace the history of the medical profession for a better understanding of how the profession was established, organized and regulated. I seek to understand how IMDs of visible minority backgrounds are viewed within the existing structure of the profession. Using a qualitative research methodology, I interviewed 15 IMDs from countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, South America, and the West Indies. Participants’ motivation for continuing to seek opportunities for medical recertification, after being denied, struggles and frustrations they face as desperate need for doctors continue to exist, are revealed in this study. I make recommendations for re-imagining and adapting IMDs’ foreign skills as a valuable contribution to the patient-care delivery in Ontario’s diverse population. I provide suggestions for change to resolve the prevailing IMD problem and including more IMDs in residency training and the medical workforce. Keywords: Immigrant doctors, IMDs/IMGs, Immigration, History of medicine, Medical recertification, CanMEDS, Anti-colonialism, Motivation, Governance, Social justice.