Meet Dr. Patricia Udida, a foreign trained medical doctor who migrated to Oakville, Ontario two years ago with her husband Prince, who also is a medical doctor. Both came through Canada's Express Entry program. Like many Canadian immigrants, Patricia and Prince had high hopes for their life in Canada. Since they came through the Express Entry program, a program that considers an applicants' education and work experience, they were sure they would work in their chosen field sooner rather than later. Of course, they fully anticipated that the settlement process would be challenging and provide certain difficulties, but they would overcome those obstacles.
Training to be a doctor in any part of the world is not an easy task. If they had the willpower to go through years of intensive training in their country of birth and succeed, they would also persevere in Canada. They never bargained it would take years to navigate the pathway to becoming a recognized medical doctor in Canada.
Now with two young children, Dr. Patricia had to take any menial job to help her husband support their family. Dr. Patricia works during the day while her husband works at night, so that they can care for their 19-month-old and 2-month-old children. Talking about her experience in Canada, Dr. Patricia said, “I feel like we are drowning. I am confused and saddened.” They both wonder how long they can hold on.
This is the reality faced by the millions of highly educated and trained immigrants.
A close friend of ours, Dr. Ernest, a medical doctor who migrated to Oakville, Ontario nine years ago, is still unable to practice medicine. He believed that it would take six months to become a licensed physician in Canada.
As a country we can no longer postpone doing something for these highly skilled foreign trained professionals that we welcome to Canada. Many foreign trained professionals remove their designation, because they are exhausted by having to explain why they are not practicing in their chosen fields. Their plight is heartbreaking and should not happen.
As one of the most multicultural countries in the world, with clean and friendly cities, world-class universities, and robust career opportunities, I believe our wish for these immigrants is that they are successful. They should not have to wait for years, becoming frustrated in the process, before they reach that success. Freedom is the foundation of life in Canada. We must extend the many rights and privileges to the foreign trained immigrants who we chose to welcome.
Speaking to Dr Ernest recently, I asked him what he would have done differently if he knew it would take him nine years (and still counting) to practice medicine.
He responded; "I wish there are programs that will enable foreign-trained doctors like me to be absorbed within the clinical settings. Even if it means paying us a low salary. It will be better because it will afford professionals like me, and the hundreds of foreign-trained medical doctors the opportunity to practice in clinical settings while taking those necessary steps to integrate.
"We are not expecting a free pass. We know we will do the hard work required, but we never expected we would still be looking for the pathway to integrate into our fields of study many years later. Now combine this with juggling our families, working and having to read for exams, we literally watch many years of hard work fly out of the window. What are you to do when you are faced with putting a roof over your family's head and pursuing your career?”
It is usually very difficult for foreign-trained doctors to get the opportunity to practice. Many of them have fruitlessly searched for Observership positions, another foreign trained medical doctor explained. “Truth is that many practicing doctors, especially those trained by the Canadian system, are averse to letting those of us trained abroad into the healthcare system.”
Perhaps as a country, we should explain the true hurdles faced by foreign trained immigrants who wish to practice in their professional fields. Providing transparency for these professionals would allow them to make an informed decision before they abandon everything they know for the assumption of a better life.
How can we resolve the challenges that limit many qualified foreign-trained immigrants from practicing in their area of study and practice?
If we invite people to our country, offering them the opportunity to excel in the field they were trained should be part of the integration and welcome plan. It is who we are as Canadians.
We promote diversity, equity and inclusive opportunity for all, in all areas of life; therefore, we must include the foreign trained immigrant professionals' right to work in the capacities they are trained.
When you immigrate to Canada, you should not be forced to throw away your valuable education and work experience. This is not the Canada we know.
For this article, I talked to five foreign-trained medical doctors. While the same challenge exists in other industries, e.g. engineers, lawyers, teachers, nurses, etc., all of the professionals attesting to similar experiences, many cited working menial jobs to put food on the table for their families.
It was the experience of the foreign-trained medical doctors that stood out to me. I have tried to wrap my head around the impact of not being able to work in the field that they spent so many years to acquire must have not only on their family, but also on their mental health.
I often ask, why not go back?
I know this is a silly question especially coming from someone who understands the resources that go into relocating, and the mental preparedness of leaving behind everything familiar. The challenges of going back to start all over again notwithstanding the embarrassment such a person will face if they go back to their birth country, combined with the feeling of failure is almost too much to tolerate.
COVID -19 pandemic
As part of measures to cope with the stress of the pandemic on the healthcare system, the provincial government announced its willingness to allow foreign-trained medical professionals especially doctors who have completed their assessment exams, to be granted supervised provisional licences to help treat COVID-19 patients. Hundreds of foreign trained doctors heeded this call to service only to be disappointed. Difficult and almost insurmountable requirements were put in place requiring the doctors themselves to seek out practicing physicians that would be willing to take them under their wings and act as their supervisors.
When asked if they were able to find any doctor willing to take them into their practice, one doctor said, “No. A lot of us later got email messages offering volunteer positions as contact tracers, personal support workers and other healthcare related services, but nothing within our training, notwithstanding that most of us are ready for clinical practice having passed all of the required exams. As many people in my position as I know, I cannot point to any one person that was recruited to serve under this program”.
The federal and provincial governments need to work with the regulatory bodies of the various professional industries to remove the bureaucratic bottleneck that is often the stumbling block. In this regard, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has work to do, since the most difficult area cited for foreign trained professionals to integrate and practice is the medical field.
All in all, Canada is a great place to live, work and do business. Dr. Patricia indicated Canada is their home now and the last thing they want is to uproot their young family again. Offering foreign trained immigrant professionals, a clear path to success is what is needed to change their needless struggles.
Providing the required professional pathway support for highly educated and trained immigrants can come in many forms, including transparent industry information, and importantly, building a skilled worker program that allows them to succeed in their chosen fields.
