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Foreign-trained docs giving up hope
Ontario's many and confusing steps frustrate grads
Mary Gordon
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
A nervous Alina Maston and her husband drove to Toronto from their home in Montreal, so she could write the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Exam. At $1,000 a pop, Maston, who graduated from medical school in Romania, is glad she passed.
But the exam Maston wrote in a huge hall in June, along with 200 foreign-trained doctors, is only the first of many steps (see chart, below) on the long road to potentially practising in Canada.
"It's confusing," Maston said. "They need doctors, and yet they're not letting doctors through the system."
Now the couple is considering moving to the United States, because, like many international graduates, Maston thinks it will be easier to get her licence there than in Canada.
Critics say the exam is redundant, too costly and slows down an already lengthy and difficult process for thousands of foreign-trained doctors, many of whom fall into poverty, while still others give up hope entirely of practising medicine in Canada.
The test is offered four times a year. Because some immigrants arrive in Canada shortly after an exam sitting, many have to wait for months before the next one, says Neera Mehta, an employment counsellor in Kitchener-Waterloo. In the meantime, they often take minimum-wage jobs in fast-food restaurants or convenience stores.
Mehta says the process is too long. "Let's talk about increasing opportunity, but let's also talk about speeding up the process."
Mehta says there are 110 foreign-born doctors waiting to practise in her area alone. She knows one Chinese orthopaedic surgeon who has long given up and has taken a job as a janitor in a hospital, grateful his workplace is one in which he is intimately familiar.
She says the process can cost as much as $20,000, taking into account time off work for studying, textbooks and two separate English language proficiency tests.
Mehta suggests that the test be available online, so that foreign-trained doctors can take the tests on their own time, rather than wait for months while skills get rusty.
Hundreds apply for the Ontario International Medical Graduate Program, but only 50 doctors will qualify.
Mandana Iraji passed the Evaluating Exam, shortly after returning from the Dominican Republic where she earned her M.D.
The Iranian-born, Canadian-raised Iraji says the emphasis in assessing foreign-trained doctors should be less on exams and more on practical experience in hospitals.
"After coming back here I feel very discouraged," Iraji said. "It doesn't matter where you study, it's how you're trained. At least give us some rotations."
For now, Iraji is living at home to save money and is trying to get a job in a hospital but has had no luck yet. "Imagine. I can't find a job and I have an M.D. and an undergraduate degree. I could be pouring coffee, but I don't want to do that. I have my pride."
If she does get into the program, she plans to specialize in reconstructive surgery.
If all goes according to plan, she'll be practising by 2009.
TORONTO STAR
HOW MUCH IT COSTS
Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Exam: $1,000
Written English test: $110 (U.S.)
Spoken English test: $50 (U.S.)
International Medical Graduate Exam: $200
Objective Structured Clinical Exam and Application: $300
Pre-residency program: $2,000
MCC Qualifying Exam Part 1: $650
MCC Qualifying Exam Part 2: $1,000
Total: $5,310