National IMG Database

Canada relies heavily on International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to meet our healthcare needs

• Are we doing all we can to help foreign-trained physicians who come to Canada?
• Is the system navigable for them?
• How do we guard public safety while integrating international doctors?
• How do we balance our need for IMGs with our international obligations to recruit ethically?

Please join us in an exploration of these issues and a discussion of how we can work together to address them.

Be the first to discover newly mined data coming from the HRSDC-funded IMGs in Canada project.

Invited guests: Members of Parliament, Senators, and their policy, research and legislative staff

When: Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 from 7:30 – 9:00 am

Where: Room 8-51, 131 Queen Street

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The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) and the Canadian Post-MD Education Registry (CAPER) cordially invite you to attend a policy briefing on the important role that international medical graduates (IMGs) play in providing health services to Canadians against the backdrop of a system experiencing significant challenges.

Drawing on newly mined data from the National IMG Database, funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the session will address the entire IMG environment – recruitment, assessment, certification, and licensure. We will explore what’s working, and what may not be working optimally. More specifically, we will cover five main questions:

1. What are our international obligations in terms of ethical recruitment?
2. What makes IMGs so important in the Canadian Medical Workforce – Where would we be without IMGs?
3. What do internationally trained physicians have to do once they get here in order to enter into practice?
4. Why are Canadians studying abroad considered IMGs?
5. How many IMGs are not making it through the system, and why?

We want to tell you what we know about IMGs, but we also want to hear from you.

• What have your experiences been with international physicians?
• What are your constituents telling you?
• Are international physicians given an accurate picture of their chances of practicing in Canada?
• Are our recruitment strategies and immigration policies providing false expectations?
• What specific programs and initiatives could governments and medical organizations undertake to ameliorate the situation?

Download the National IMG Database project report at:
http://www.caper.ca/docs/pdf_2005_2009(1)_img_dbase_report.pdf