Job for International Medical Graduate

[RN]

Hello,
My husband recently got his PR visa to come to Canada. He is currently a doctor in Nigeria. He will be arriving in November. I understand he wouldnt be able to work as a doctor in Canada for a couple of years. I was wondering what potential jobs he could do as an international medical graduate in Canada while waiting to get a residency position. Are there any really short courses he could take that he can get a job in.

Thank you.

 

[abelkwh]

Hi there

just be ready that yr husband may not only be unable to work as a doctor for a couple of yrs, he may not be able to work as a doctor in canada at all unless he starts his medical training from scatch in canada. And to be trained as a doctor takes more than 5 to 7 yrs in canada. So just be prepared and ready for it. However, he may re-trained as a medical professional in the Professional nursing area as a registered trained nurse or as a medical practictioner as a medic in the emergency area.

He can start by going to colleges to be trained as either as a registered licenced training nurses for courses or he could also start in colleges as registered nurses in their respective training areas. Then in the meantime, he may have to take up some survival jobs to help supplement his income.

 

[TJ2010]

abelkwh
This is a good information to give someone who is just migrating afresh. But if this information is not 100% true then you would have been a dangrous councellor and a mere dream killer. I think you should consider what you have said and rewrite your opinion to reinforce your advice or withdraw it to avoid killing another man's dream. I do not have information about this eventhough I am not a doctor but I dont beleive it can be that bad. So why do canada issue visa to doctors when they know they cant be allowed to practice there profession after passing necessary exam. If someone does not pass necessary exam, its a different thing or if the spaces are small its a different thing but to say that a foreign doctor has to retrain or even retrain as a nurse is highly insulting and inhuman.

I you need to reframe you thought and if you still mean the same then you need to say it in an appropriate manner.

 

[abelkwh]

I do not think i should and must re-frame what i have mentioned in the forum regarding the advice the potential doctor wannables in canada, especially those from the developing countries and even those from the developed countries! I have been educated in Canada, USA and Australia and i have plenty of doctors who are practising and those who want to practise in Canada, as such i think i have sufficient facts and knowledge enough to render the true facts of the realities of wannable doctors who are immigrating to canada.

What i have mentioned and advice to RN is a fact and if he or she doesnt believe me, he can go find out from the medical board in Canada and then he will realise what i have said is true facts and 100% undeniable! So TJ2010, if u are ignorant and uninformed or have not done yr research then better conduct some research and wake up the realities of occupational re-training needed when u come to canada, especially for professions that require certifications and also re-qualifications! If what i have mentioned is not true then why are there plenty of ex-doctors or professionals who are taxi drivers or working in other non professional jobs in canada when they first arrive. Ask yrself this question and also read from the other forums on this forums if u do not believe me.

 

[TJ2010]

I am actually a Nigerian doctor also planning to immigrate to canada. i have friends in canada , some are working as a doctor while others are not working. I just want to know how genuine your information is. i am afraid you have over- exergerated this issue. i know that working in canada as a foreign doctor is difficult because everybody has to secure a place for recidency and do residency before you can work, atleast 2years residency. getting a place for residency is extreemly difficult not because the foerign doctor who passed recertification/ licencing exams are not qualified for post of residency but because there is limited space for residency. The teaching hospitals prefer recruiting there graduate first and then give the little remaining post to foreign doctors. Its not that you can not practise its only that you have to wait longtime to get residency. they prefer there product not because they are better but because they train them and collect their school fee how can they take foreign doctor ahead. its only if there is space that they take a foreign doctor. Yearly about 400 of 1100 foreign doctor get residency program. Which shows its not impossible, although very difficult but that does not mean a doctor with dignity should descend after such a straineous training to retrain not only as a doctor but as a nurse. i guess you are really too hard on we doctor and not been realistic and compassionate. Put yourself in a similar shoe. how will you feel if you were a doctor. I know its difficult but its not impossible. One can get a survival job even if it a taxi driver but when one get a space once status changes drastically. I am sorry for been hard on you, i am only afraid you do not have as much information you claim to have and the condition is not as bad as you paint it. People can retrain as a nurse but as soon as they get residency their status changes again. Once you pass exam you will get residency it may be very long you will get one day.. Please stop discouraging or killing people s dream . If you are not a doctor you can give a reasonable councel to a doctor.

 

[abelkwh]

I am trying to kill anyones' dream, i am just stating the bare facts in the difficulty of getting to practise medicine there and its better to be ready for difficulties than just dream of an easy job to being a doctor. Being able to face difficulty mentally is better than having to face the harsh realities and then collapsing after that! If u were able to provide more accurate picture then why didnt u do it earlier then!

 

[dreamteam]

i would take the positives from both sides,yeah all international medical professionals have to dosome level of retraining and be ready to face tough challenges and also stay very POSITIVE

 

[RN]

Hello,

Thanks everyone. Actually, I am aware of all the barriers internationally medical graduates face. I am currently doing my PhD on related issue of credential assessment. What I wanted to know is what kind of jobs international medical graduates can do while trying to get their credentials recognized.

I agree with both of you. While one of you presents the best case scenerio, another presents a worst case scenerio. Every year, of the international medical graduate who pass the registration examination, 1200-1500 apply for residency position while 250-350 actually get a residency position. As one of you have commented (the writer from nigeria), their are more applicants than spots available.

I am also a nursing lecturer and it is not uncommon to find international medical graduates in schools of nursing. Moreover, there was a time a short program was created in Mohawk college to train international medical graduates to become nurses. Now, the popular program is a physician assistant program that attracts international medical graduates.


While being aware of the barrier, we are prepared and commited to the part of medical licensure. When my husband arrives in Canda, he plans to work in any job available (preferably in the medical profession) while he tries to register to become a doctor. If he is unsuccessful, he will begin his MAsters in public health. If after the masters we are unsucccessful, there is always the option of moving to the united states where the path is much easier (although also difficult). I need to know the potential job (except unskilled labour) he can do before the masters program begins and in the early months of the masters program. I have been doing some research since the last time I posted the note and found it is possible to get jobs as medical underwriter or first aid instructor if the person has good english skills. Im still looking to see what types of jobs are out there except unskilled labour.

ABELKWH, it will be good to connect with you. My husband is also coming from Nigeria. Are you in Canada already. What stage are you in the migration process.

Thanks everyone for your reponse, I really appreciate it.
Thank you,

 

[abelkwh]

Hi RN

I am already in Canada, i am not a medical related person but i do know some stuffs abt it and also had contacts with people in the medical field. U can email me at the post here and reach me here.

 

[boss2009]

he can drive a cab , work at a resturant......unlimited oppurtunites , welcome to canada the land of oppurtunites

Dont get hurt , but that is the fact & truth. You will find hundreds of IMG's ( Some of them very bright ) driving cabs in GTA

 

[Robins]

The teaching hospitals prefer recruiting there graduate first and then give the little remaining post to foreign doctors. Its not that you can not practise its only that you have to wait longtime to get residency. they prefer there product not because they are better but because they train them and collect their school fee how can they take foreign doctor ahead. its only if there is space that they take a foreign doctor. Yearly about 400 of 1100 foreign doctor get residency program. Which shows its not impossible, although very difficult but that does not mean a doctor with dignity should descend after such a straineous training to retrain not only as a doctor but as a nurse.

TJ2010 is correct.
Most residency positions aren't open to foreign-trained doctors. Say six per cent of all spots, are reserved for them. Canadian graduates get first crack at the rest. Foreign-trained candidates can apply in a second application round, if there are any positions left.

Move to whichever city that offers the first opportunity of residency position.
Good luck and welcome to Canada.

 

[nokairen]

Hi to all of you. I am an international medical graduate too. I arrived here in Canada in August 2010 as a dependent with my wife's working visa. We recently had our permanent resident visa and I beleive that I can already apply as a doctor. However, based on some of my research, I will have a hard time to apply or even work as a doctor here. I know its frustrating for me. Right now I work as a clerk in a property management office. RN is right, I may consider Physicians Assistant program. I still feel bad about the fact that it will be hard to enter or apply as a doctor, but life must go on. As long as I have a decent job, It will be no problem for me.

 

[coolananda]

the best way to find the truth is go and visit the automobile manufacturing companies in canada.......u will find cadiologist, doctors and highly skilled foreign physicians wasting there time..........in canada untill and unless u have degree in medical feild from canada...u have no worth...and to complete that u need to spend atleast 5 to 7 years and also 50 to 70 k dollars.........

 

[abelkwh]

It is very true of what coolanada mentioned. Thats why doctors can come to canada easily but they cant practise and cant be doctors anymore, for most of them. But what they can do is to practise nursing, get trained as nurses, its easier and faster in terms of time span. Medical school here has their quotas as well and those who wants to go into housemanship also has quotas. So better be a nurse or medical assistant is better.