Only one-quarter of immigrants educated outside Canada are working in medical, law and teaching occupations for which they’re trained. And with doctors the problem seems to be an everlasting one. Foreign-trained doctors who immigrate to Canada face a tough licensing process in which they must prove themselves deserving of a residency seat, which is a paid hospital position considered the last step in medical training. But many despite 7-10 years of experience, hit serious roadblocks when it comes to qualifying & becoming a medical practitioner in Canada.

The problem

In an attempt to save funds, the government decided to limit the first-year admissions to medical schools by ten percent. So however qualified an expatriate doctor is, he is at a disadvantage due to the shortage of seats in colleges. On top of this, there is serious competition among the ones who apply.Every immigrant doctor has to complete his residency in Canada. Even if one passes all the exams, getting enrolled for residency still remains a tall order.

Immigrant doctors can compete with Canadian medical graduates for vacancies. But their chances are very bleak because their turn will only after the Canadian graduates have found residency positions. In order to be eligible for a residency, these doctors should practice medicine for a minimum of one year. And before that they have to clear the University exams which is compulsory for every immigrant student who is in Canada. It is an expensive affair, not to forget the fact that it takes up to 5 years to complete your medical studies.

Solution to the Problem

The Canadian government should make provisions for additional training for already qualified doctors so that they can start helping the patients. It will be more cost effective than training a doctor from the scratch. There are places in the country that need more doctors and there are so many qualified immigrant doctors who can’t practice because of the existing Canada immigration laws. The Canadian government should look into this issue and speed up the process of getting immigrant doctors into the system for the benefit of their own people