Alternative Career opportunities for IMG

[Abhi .Dr]

Folks ,
I am an IMG 2011 , Did Masters of Healthcare Administration from a college in US , then worked in IT as a Business Analyst focusing on EMR's .
I am Planning to move Mid March 2020 and need your honest feed back on life/career for IMG's who are looking for alternative career paths.
So far , I have learned about
1. Internationally Trained Medical Doctors (ITMD) program , How useful is this ? what would be career opportunities after this program ?
2. PA - Im considering this as a Long term plan as it requires a 2 yr degree
3. CDM ( clinical data management) - I know it has good market in US but what about Canada and where Do I start ?
4. IT jobs : Healthcare Business Analyst - Can some one shed light on this career path ? Is there a reasonable market for this ?
5. Healthcare Administration -- How do I get into Administration ?

While I search and Prep for my career , how about some part time/start off jobs ?
1. Medical Assistant - I have learned about 36 week course by Trios Colleges - Would this fetch a Job ?

Your Feedback/Imputs would help me Plan my life & career in Canada .
Thanks in Advance

 

[canuck78]

1. Really for those who have never worked as anything else but an MD. Given your work experience I don’t think it would be particularly useful.
2. PAs are not common in most provinces. Manitoba has used them the longest. There are very few schools and the programs are very small. Many are used like nurse practioners in more rural or underserviced areas.
3. Not sure about this one. Less data than the states because of private vs primarily public healthcare systems. Others can comment
4.Probably a lot of consulting work. Not great if you have a family and don’t want to travel every week. There are probably jobs out of consulting as well. If your work experience is from a well known US company that will be very helpful. Would say this is one of your best options.
5. Most of the administration in places like hospitals are people who have had clinical experience in Canada and have been slowly promoted to various levels of management. There may be opportunities in the provincial government health ministry but less in hospitals.

1. Medical assistant is a relatively low wage job that is huge steps back from your previous education. Surprised you would consider it.

what kind of doctor are you and do you speak French?

 

[Abhi .Dr]

1. Really for those who have never worked as anything else but an MD. Given your work experience I don’t think it would be particularly useful.
2. PAs are not common in most provinces. Manitoba has used them the longest. There are very few schools and the programs are very small. Many are used like nurse practioners in more rural or underserviced areas.
3. Not sure about this one. Less data than the states because of private vs primarily public healthcare systems. Others can comment
4.Probably a lot of consulting work. Not great if you have a family and don’t want to travel every week. There are probably jobs out of consulting as well. If your work experience is from a well known US company that will be very helpful. Would say this is one of your best options.
5. Most of the administration in places like hospitals are people who have had clinical experience in Canada and have been slowly promoted to various levels of management. There may be opportunities in the provincial government health ministry but less in hospitals.

1. Medical assistant is a relatively low wage job that is huge steps back from your previous education. Surprised you would consider it.

what kind of doctor are you and do you speak French?

-->I am a MBBS and dont speak french.

Well I was considering MA as a initial landing job until I figure out the healthcare system .

 

[Abhi .Dr]

How about Public health jobs ? I know most of them ask for a MPH degree but, post masters what are odds of getting a job ?

I am planning to move to Canada next Month and kind of lost in terms of Career . Is there a support form for IMG's looking for alternative career paths ?

 

[canuck78]

How about Public health jobs ? I know most of them ask for a MPH degree but, post masters what are odds of getting a job ?

I am planning to move to Canada next Month and kind of lost in terms of Career . Is there a support form for IMG's looking for alternative career paths ?

It is incredibly hard to get a public health job especially at a more senior level Because public health is a popular degree. All consultants also recommend that IMGs and foreign trained dentists and pharmacists do MPH masters. There are only so many jobs to go around. Unless you are extremely passionate about public health I wouldn’t recommend doing an MPH masters.

You have already already explored other careers and have been working as a business analyst. The program for IMGs is essentially a pep talk and opening the participants eyes to possibilities of other careers that they can pursue. There is that course but I am not sure what you are expecting in terms of level of support. Many other professionals are in a similar position and are expected to figures things out basically on their own when they arrive in Canada. When choosing to immigrate you would have been aware of the challenges especially since getting licensed as a physician as an IMG is incredibly difficult. Lots of posts and articles online deacribing the struggle and frustration.

You already have and MA, what other type of MA would you do? I don’t necessarily think that it would be the best move unless you have a plan and know that the MA is required. Do you have any idea what you would like to do longterm. Are you not interested in combining your business analyst and healthcare knowledge? Do you have any IT degrees? Health informatics? Health start-ups? Do you want to try to practice medicine in Canada?

what type of physician are you?

 

[Abhi .Dr]

My plan is to find a job which combines both my medical and IT skills and been applying jobs in startups & health tech companies like Think Research , afga health , Babylon inc and others but , haven't received any call yet .
The second long term plan I've is to work as PA(physician Assistant) & them move into Administration - not sure how realistic is this ?

 

[Abhi .Dr]

It is incredibly hard to get a public health job especially at a more senior level Because public health is a popular degree. All consultants also recommend that IMGs and foreign trained dentists and pharmacists do MPH masters. There are only so many jobs to go around. Unless you are extremely passionate about public health I wouldn’t recommend doing an MPH masters.

You have already already explored other careers and have been working as a business analyst. The program for IMGs is essentially a pep talk and opening the participants eyes to possibilities of other careers that they can pursue. There is that course but I am not sure what you are expecting in terms of level of support. Many other professionals are in a similar position and are expected to figures things out basically on their own when they arrive in Canada. When choosing to immigrate you would have been aware of the challenges especially since getting licensed as a physician as an IMG is incredibly difficult. Lots of posts and articles online deacribing the struggle and frustration.

You already have and MA, what other type of MA would you do? I don’t necessarily think that it would be the best move unless you have a plan and know that the MA is required. Do you have any idea what you would like to do longterm. Are you not interested in combining your business analyst and healthcare knowledge? Do you have any IT degrees? Health informatics? Health start-ups? Do you want to try to practice medicine in Canada?

what type of physician are you?

In order to practice medicine in canada i need to clear the MCCQE steps which is near to impossible and also is a 5 year plan where i don't make any money . I am going to be a father soon and cant risk more 1 than year without a pay check .

 

[Abhi .Dr]

It is incredibly hard to get a public health job especially at a more senior level Because public health is a popular degree. All consultants also recommend that IMGs and foreign trained dentists and pharmacists do MPH masters. There are only so many jobs to go around. Unless you are extremely passionate about public health I wouldn’t recommend doing an MPH masters.

You have already already explored other careers and have been working as a business analyst. The program for IMGs is essentially a pep talk and opening the participants eyes to possibilities of other careers that they can pursue. There is that course but I am not sure what you are expecting in terms of level of support. Many other professionals are in a similar position and are expected to figures things out basically on their own when they arrive in Canada. When choosing to immigrate you would have been aware of the challenges especially since getting licensed as a physician as an IMG is incredibly difficult. Lots of posts and articles online deacribing the struggle and frustration.

You already have and MA, what other type of MA would you do? I don’t necessarily think that it would be the best move unless you have a plan and know that the MA is required. Do you have any idea what you would like to do longterm. Are you not interested in combining your business analyst and healthcare knowledge? Do you have any IT degrees? Health informatics? Health start-ups? Do you want to try to practice medicine in Canada?

what type of physician are you?

By the way , Thank you for the responses , I really appreciate your insights !

 

[canuck78]

My plan is to find a job which combines both my medical and IT skills and been applying jobs in startups & health tech companies like Think Research , afga health , Babylon inc and others but , haven't received any call yet .
The second long term plan I've is to work as PA(physician Assistant) & them move into Administration - not sure how realistic is this ?

PA programs will be extremely competitive to get into so I would have a plan B. I am not sure how much upward mobility you will find in terms of PAs. PAs are very new in most provinces and just having a PA will be a big step for some medical centres and I would expect pushback by both nurses (especially NP) and doctors. Many of the PAs will be used in areas where they can’t get a doctor. Very similar to what many NPs are used for. One IMG on this forum who did an MPH but couldn’t get a job so went back and became a nurse and the became a nurse practioners. Believe he is running his own clinic in a northern Ontario communitywhere they couldn’t get a doctor or they didn’t have the population to support a full-time physician. A physician may still come 1 day a week or the PA triage and works with the doctor.

Agree that jobs in healthcare tech may be a good opportunity. Did you do any IT schooling? How much MBA was your MA program? Will a
so depend on where you worked and where your degrees were from. There is certainly some bias when people have degrees from universities/colleges that Canadian employers are unfamiliar with. Your work history is likely to help a lot especially if it is from a somewhat recognizable organization and also if you went to a decent US college.

Always question why people arrive in Canada already pregnant. Getting established in a new country and starting a whole new career is hard enough. Adding the uncertainty of pregnancy adds to the stress. Unfortunately pregnancy is not all smooth sailing. With children it also becomes more important to get a job with extended benefit packages for things like medication, dental care, eye care, etc. Assume your wife knows that she has to work 600 hours in order to qualify for maternity payments after birth. It is only a fraction of a salary so having savings is necessary if you are used to a second income. Would look into the cost of daycare and sign up once you child is born if you are planning on putting your child in daycare especially in the larger cities.

 

[Oyibo Pepper]

My plan is to find a job which combines both my medical and IT skills and been applying jobs in startups & health tech companies like Think Research , afga health , Babylon inc and others but , haven't received any call yet .
The second long term plan I've is to work as PA(physician Assistant) & them move into Administration - not sure how realistic is this ?

Hi!
Just read through this thread and I'm particularly interested to know if you have landed and what pathway you are taking now?

Thank you

 

[Golbarg2021]

I'm an IMG and did a master's degree in Canada in eHealth.
The digital health/Medical or Clinical informatics job market is hot and in high demand, especially after the COVID era, and this not just business analyst positions, there are plenty of opportunities there, but there are also many considerations:
1. First & the most important one: getting a job has nothing/little to do with your academic background or even your work experience! It depends on who you know and who knows you! I know it's disappointing, but it's bare fact!
2. For getting a job in this field, you should have a base of academic knowledge about the medical/health informatics
____________________
For health administration, I can think of related programs and certificates. Search colleges and universities.
_____________________
Also, there are clinical research jobs, but the market is saturated!
And, getting to RN or RPN programs in some provinces.

 

[canuck78]

I'm an IMG and did a master's degree in Canada in eHealth.
The digital health/Medical or Clinical informatics job market is hot and in high demand, especially after the COVID era, and this not just business analyst positions, there are plenty of opportunities there, but there are also many considerations:
1. First & the most important one: getting a job has nothing/little to do with your academic background or even your work experience! It depends on who you know and who knows you! I know it's disappointing, but it's bare fact!
2. For getting a job in this field, you should have a base of academic knowledge about the medical/health informatics
____________________
For health administration, I can think of related programs and certificates. Search colleges and universities.
_____________________
Also, there are clinical research jobs, but the market is saturated!
And, getting to RN or RPN programs in some provinces.

Agree that health and tech or business and health have a lot of opportunities yet many do degrees in public health, hospital admin, etc. where then’t aren’t the same opportunities.

 

[jannelise]

I just came across this thread and would love to hear from you what career path you have set your eyes on. I know of a few clinics that are looking for Physician Assistant/IMGs (in case this of interest to any of you, please let me know. I'm happy to make the introduction). Details on role below:

The work of a Physician Assistant/IMG will involve work with the Physician in assisting with patient care

The Physician Assistant/IMG will perform the following duties in helping:
-Greet patients
-See and assess new patients in consultation
-Document patient encounters and prepare the consultation report
-Send regular progress notes to referring providers

This role would involve work in Vaughan, Orangeville and Newmarket. Valid driver's licence is a must.

Stay safe!

 

[canuck78]

I just came across this thread and would love to hear from you what career path you have set your eyes on. I know of a few clinics that are looking for Physician Assistant/IMGs (in case this of interest to any of you, please let me know. I'm happy to make the introduction). Details on role below:

The work of a Physician Assistant/IMG will involve work with the Physician in assisting with patient care

The Physician Assistant/IMG will perform the following duties in helping:
-Greet patients
-See and assess new patients in consultation
-Document patient encounters and prepare the consultation report
-Send regular progress notes to referring providers

This role would involve work in Vaughan, Orangeville and Newmarket. Valid driver's licence is a must.

Stay safe!

An IMG can't just start working as a PA. They'd need to go to school to become a PA. Since PAs have not been commonly used in most provinces except Manitoba until recently so there are very few programs and admission numbers are very low. There are only 3 programs in Canada. Nurse practioners have been used more than PAs. Both have similar roles.

 

[jannelise]

Actually, in Ontario, an IMG can work as a physician assistant. PA is not a protected title. For those interested, please direct message me. Just trying to help. Please stay safe!