The stigmatization of internationally educated family medicine residents at the University of Manitoba

Abstract

Competition for seats in Canadian medical schools has driven many Canadians to seek medical education abroad. Systematic barriers make it necessary for internationally educated physicians (IEPs) hoping to practice in Canada to complete postgraduate residencies. To do so, they must transition into new medical education systems. The transitional experiences of internationally educated physicians are not well understood. This phenomenological qualitative study reveals the perspectives of twenty recent graduates from the University of Manitoba Family Medicine residency program. Canadians Studying Abroad constituted the majority of participants. Participant interviews revealed the presence of clinical practice gaps, created by curricular differences in the timing of graduated clinical responsibility between the Canadian and international medical education systems. Participants also shared their experiences of being singled out (visibility and invisibility), rejected and mistreated. They perceived that IEP residents were assigned low status in resident hierarchies. Their experiences are conceptualized as stigmatization.