Most postgraduate training positions in Canada are funded by provincial ministries of health. Although graduates of Canadian medical schools fill most of these, some spots are taken by graduates of foreign schools who are permanent residents of Canada.
Visa trainees from other countries are also accepted into Canada's postgraduate training programs, but they are usually funded by their home country. Most of these physicians return home after completing their training. The latest census of residents in training found that the number of visa trainees funded by their home country — Saudi Arabia is an example — has increased by almost 50% in the last 5 years, from 435 in 1994 to 646 in 1999.
Meanwhile, between 1996 and 1999 the number of trainees funded by governments in Canada decreased from 6674 to 6494, a 3% decline. The downward pressure on the government-funded positions has led to fewer opportunities for graduates of foreign medical schools who are permanent residents of Canada. The number of Canadian medical graduates in training dropped by 1% between 1996 and 1999, while the number of trainees who were graduates of foreign medical schools and also permanent residents of Canada decreased by 25%. The size of the latter group has declined steadily, from 831 in 1992 to 291 in 1999.
Since the fall of 1999, provincial governments have increased the number of funded postgraduate entry positions by 74, a change that took effect this year. They will add another 40 positions in 2001–2. In Ontario, 12 of the new positions have been allocated to the international medical graduate program. —
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Lynda Buske
buskel@cma.ca
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