Gutman Arlene, Tellios Nikoleta, Sless Ryan T, Najeeb Umberin
School of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Can Med Educ J. 2021 Feb 26;12(1):e89-e91. doi: 10.36834/cmej.70503. eCollection 2021 Feb.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous effect on education programs worldwide, including medical education. Particularly, International Medical Graduates (IMGs) planning to pursue residency training in Canada have been profoundly impacted. Cancellation of away electives, as well as changes to the format, timeline, and requirements of mandatory medical licensing exams has left IMG residency applicants in uncharted territory. Given that IMGs comprise up to 25% of the Canadian healthcare force, and often are based in underserviced areas, the licensure and eligibility of IMGs to continue to enter the Canadian healthcare force is of the utmost importance in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic evolves, it is imperative that key decision makers and stakeholders continue to consider the downstream effect for IMGs and their eligibility to practice in Canada.
新冠疫情对全球教育项目产生了巨大影响，包括医学教育。特别是，计划在加拿大进行住院医师培训的国际医学毕业生（IMGs）受到了深远影响。选修轮转的取消，以及强制性医学执照考试的形式、时间安排和要求的变化，让IMG住院医师申请人处于未知领域。鉴于IMGs占加拿大医疗队伍的比例高达25%，且往往分布在服务不足的地区，在新冠疫情期间，IMGs继续进入加拿大医疗队伍的执照颁发和资格认定至关重要。随着疫情的发展，关键决策者和利益相关者必须继续考虑对IMGs的下游影响及其在加拿大行医的资格。
