A qualitative investigation of factors contributing to the successful licensure of international medical graduates
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2010
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Abstract
The substantial and longstanding contribution International Medical Graduates (IMGs) make to Canada's national physician supply has been and will continue to be of immense importance to all Canadians. At the health service level, many provinces and territories have come to rely heavily on IMGs to address their physician supply and to fill vacancies in underserviced fields of practice and underserved communities. Historically, Canada's reliance on international medical graduates has been, quantitatively, in the 20 to 30 per cent range. While a fair amount of research has addressed the role of internationally educated medical graduates in the context of supply and demand in the physician workforce, that research has been limited to the examination of credentials, competencies, demographic characteristics and distribution across specialties, practice locations, and/or geographic regions. More specifically there is no information that speaks to the experience of international medical graduates who have successfully made the transition. The aim of this dissertation is to gain an understanding of what the experience has been for international medical graduates who have successfully gained their license to practice medicine in Canada (Ontario specifically), the meaning they attribute to that experience, and the factors they view as important in successfully achieving their licensure goal. This research explored just such issues in hopes of contributing a more textured understanding of the personal and collective experience of international medical graduates in Ontario. Three main concepts emerged as keys to the successful licensure of internationally trained physicians into the Canadian landscape: financial support, social support and resilience. The analysis of the grounded framework that arises from this dissertation has definite implications for social policy development. It also lays the groundwork for bringing some fresh perspectives to the training process of international medical graduates.
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Bibliography: p. 164-215
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Citation
Ruiter-Kohn, R. (2010). A qualitative investigation of factors contributing to the successful licensure of international medical graduates (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/3900