freespirit
13th May 2012, 10:52 AM
The prescription for an improved healthcare system is as simple as accrediting foreign-trained physicians to work in Canada.
http://news.sympatico.ca/oped/coffee-talk/more_than_250_canadian_cabbies_are_trained_doctors/05922d01
More than 200 taxi drivers in Canada were doctors before they moved here (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2012/05/09/19738326.html?cid=rssnewscanada). Another 55 Canadian-born physicians are driving cabs too.
The latter group is a mystery. They must have some interesting stories to tell about their old and new career choices.
The cab drivers with diplomas from overseas are more like a tale of tragedy. It's likely that the vast majority would prefer to work as doctors but cannot because of our accreditation policies.
The statistics from a federal immigration survey of more than 50,000 Canadian taxi drivers found more than half are immigrants.
"Many of these drivers have post-secondary education and are working to be a success in Canada," said Jim Bell of Toronto cab company Diamond Taxi.
Bell added that new Canadians working as cabbies are willing to drive for long hours so they can earn the money needed to bring family members to Canada.
"They are making a sacrifice for their families," Bell said. "You can bet their kids won't be cabbies."
There's no way we should in any way water down the standards we expect doctors to meet just so foreign-trained physicians can work here. But there must be a faster way to provide the required upgrading for these men and women.
If someone has gone through the process to become a doctor in any nation, it shows they are committed to the practice of medicine. Med school doesn't attract people who aren't hard-working, and med school makes sure only the best of the incoming students reach graduation.
Internationally, the standards might not be as high as Canada's, but that's where our federal government should be helping. Every doctor who is working behind the wheel of a cab is a tale of frustration. At the same time we are missing a doctor who could be easing the shortage of physicians in this country.
This is a stark and obvious failure of our immigration system. If thousands of kids of current Canadians graduated from universities only to be kept out of their field because it turned out their degrees weren't quite good enough, there would be a public outcry.
In a perfect world, Ottawa would help would-be doctors catch up to Canadian standards and allow them to pass a multitude of rigorous tests to become doctors here. That would require investment: loans, expanded space at universities and new programs at those schools for an influx of very advanced incoming students. The investment would certainly pay off for Canadians.
In return for the assistance, the newly-accredited physicians could be asked to sign a contract requiring them to serve for a few years in smaller communities in Canada that need a local doctor.
That would provide help where it's needed most and allow the newly-accredited doctors to do the work they always wanted to do. Plus they wouldn't have to hope for tips.
Should the federal government make accreditation of foreign-trained doctors a priority?
http://news.sympatico.ca/oped/coffee-talk/more_than_250_canadian_cabbies_are_trained_doctors/05922d01
More than 200 taxi drivers in Canada were doctors before they moved here (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2012/05/09/19738326.html?cid=rssnewscanada). Another 55 Canadian-born physicians are driving cabs too.
The latter group is a mystery. They must have some interesting stories to tell about their old and new career choices.
The cab drivers with diplomas from overseas are more like a tale of tragedy. It's likely that the vast majority would prefer to work as doctors but cannot because of our accreditation policies.
The statistics from a federal immigration survey of more than 50,000 Canadian taxi drivers found more than half are immigrants.
"Many of these drivers have post-secondary education and are working to be a success in Canada," said Jim Bell of Toronto cab company Diamond Taxi.
Bell added that new Canadians working as cabbies are willing to drive for long hours so they can earn the money needed to bring family members to Canada.
"They are making a sacrifice for their families," Bell said. "You can bet their kids won't be cabbies."
There's no way we should in any way water down the standards we expect doctors to meet just so foreign-trained physicians can work here. But there must be a faster way to provide the required upgrading for these men and women.
If someone has gone through the process to become a doctor in any nation, it shows they are committed to the practice of medicine. Med school doesn't attract people who aren't hard-working, and med school makes sure only the best of the incoming students reach graduation.
Internationally, the standards might not be as high as Canada's, but that's where our federal government should be helping. Every doctor who is working behind the wheel of a cab is a tale of frustration. At the same time we are missing a doctor who could be easing the shortage of physicians in this country.
This is a stark and obvious failure of our immigration system. If thousands of kids of current Canadians graduated from universities only to be kept out of their field because it turned out their degrees weren't quite good enough, there would be a public outcry.
In a perfect world, Ottawa would help would-be doctors catch up to Canadian standards and allow them to pass a multitude of rigorous tests to become doctors here. That would require investment: loans, expanded space at universities and new programs at those schools for an influx of very advanced incoming students. The investment would certainly pay off for Canadians.
In return for the assistance, the newly-accredited physicians could be asked to sign a contract requiring them to serve for a few years in smaller communities in Canada that need a local doctor.
That would provide help where it's needed most and allow the newly-accredited doctors to do the work they always wanted to do. Plus they wouldn't have to hope for tips.
Should the federal government make accreditation of foreign-trained doctors a priority?