Dollars Lost, Skills Wasted: Measuring the Economic Consequences of Foreign Credential Non-Recognition in Alberta's Healthcare Sector
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2023-05-29
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Abstract
The Government of Alberta is seeking to attract internationally trained doctors to fill capacity shortages in Alberta's healthcare sector. Upon arrival, immigrants face barriers in having their foreign credentials recognized to be able to practice medicine which results in unemployment and underemployment of internationally trained doctors. They encounter high costs and long waits for re-accreditation resulting in lost wages, significant out-of-pocket costs, and sometimes abandonment of their credentials altogether. My analysis seeks to quantify the private and social cost of re-accrediting an internationally trained doctor as compared to accrediting a domestically trained doctor through medical school. Further, I calculate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) to Alberta of resources allocated to accrediting internationally trained doctors as compared to domestically trained doctors. My results show that conservatively, at the minimum, Alberta receives between a 6% to 8% return on investment for internationally trained doctors. Conversely, on the high end, Alberta sees a 5% to 6% return on investment for domestically trained doctors. Through recommended government initiatives to minimize the costs and barriers faced by internationally trained doctors, Albertans stand to receive an even higher social benefit by supporting the re-accreditation of internationally trained doctors.
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Zinovieva, A. (2023). Dollars Lost, Skills Wasted: Measuring the Economic Consequences of Foreign Credential Non-Recognition in Alberta's Healthcare Sector (Unpublished master's project). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.