The struggle of internationally trained physicians in Canada

I moved to Ontario, Canada, a little less than a year ago, with a sense of adventure and a spring in my step. I was excited at the thought of being reunited with family, apprehensive about the hurdles in my path to becoming a practicing physician, but hopeful that there would be light at the end of the tunnel. There had to be.

I had been chief resident at an ACGME-accredited four-year emergency medicine program, where I had the privilege of being taught by, and later working alongside, some brilliant emergency physicians from all over the world (including Canada). I had worked in JCI-accredited hospitals and had nearly ten years of experience in both public and private practice. I was (am?) a board-certified emergency physician in the Middle East. However, after immigrating to Canada, the caduceus around my neck is the only reminder of what once was.

And I’m not alone. According to an article published by the CBC in February 2023, “as many as 13,000 medical doctors in Canada who are not practicing because they haven’t completed a two-year residency position — a requirement for licensing.” Even those who have completed the residency requirements, regardless of their background and experience, have to perhaps go through residency one more time because the last time it wasn’t in Canada. Still, they have the odds stacked against them when participating in the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS). In the 2020 R1 Match, Canadian and U.S. medical graduates had a 97.7 percent match rate, while international medical graduates (IMGs) only had a match rate of less than 23 percent. Even the specialties available to IMGs are limited to only a handful, while for Canadian medical graduates, Canada is their oyster...Read more

Do you think it should be easier for internationally trained physicians to practice in Canada?