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“Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario
BACKGROUND: “Brain drain” is a colloquial term used to describe the migration of health care workers from low-income and middle-income countries to higher-income countries. The consequences of this migration can be significant for donor countries where physician densities are already low. In additio...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Dove Medical Press
2014
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027850/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24868176 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S60708 |
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author | Lofters, Aisha Slater, Morgan Fumakia, Nishit Thulien, Naomi |
author_facet | Lofters, Aisha Slater, Morgan Fumakia, Nishit Thulien, Naomi |
author_sort | Lofters, Aisha |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: “Brain drain” is a colloquial term used to describe the migration of health care workers from low-income and middle-income countries to higher-income countries. The consequences of this migration can be significant for donor countries where physician densities are already low. In addition, a significant number of migrating physicians fall victim to “brain waste” upon arrival in higher-income countries, with their skills either underutilized or not utilized at all. In order to better understand the phenomena of brain drain and brain waste, we conducted an anonymous online survey of international medical graduates (IMGs) from low-income and middle-income countries who were actively pursuing a medical residency position in Ontario, Canada. METHODS: Approximately 6,000 physicians were contacted by email and asked to fill out an online survey consisting of closed-ended and open-ended questions. The data collected were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and a thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: A total of 483 IMGs responded to our survey and 462 were eligible for participation. Many were older physicians who had spent a considerable amount of time and money trying to obtain a medical residency position. The top five reasons for respondents choosing to emigrate from their home country were: socioeconomic or political situations in their home countries; better education for children; concerns about where to raise children; quality of facilities and equipment; and opportunities for professional advancement. These same reasons were the top five reasons given for choosing to immigrate to Canada. Themes that emerged from the qualitative responses pertaining to brain waste included feelings of anger, shame, desperation, and regret. CONCLUSION: Respondents overwhelmingly held the view that there are not enough residency positions available in Ontario and that this information is not clearly communicated to incoming IMGs. Brain waste appears common among IMGs who immigrate to Canada and should be made a priority for Canadian policy-makers. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4027850 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2014 |
publisher | Dove Medical Press |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-40278502014-05-27 “Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario Lofters, Aisha Slater, Morgan Fumakia, Nishit Thulien, Naomi Risk Manag Healthc Policy Original Research BACKGROUND: “Brain drain” is a colloquial term used to describe the migration of health care workers from low-income and middle-income countries to higher-income countries. The consequences of this migration can be significant for donor countries where physician densities are already low. In addition, a significant number of migrating physicians fall victim to “brain waste” upon arrival in higher-income countries, with their skills either underutilized or not utilized at all. In order to better understand the phenomena of brain drain and brain waste, we conducted an anonymous online survey of international medical graduates (IMGs) from low-income and middle-income countries who were actively pursuing a medical residency position in Ontario, Canada. METHODS: Approximately 6,000 physicians were contacted by email and asked to fill out an online survey consisting of closed-ended and open-ended questions. The data collected were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and a thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: A total of 483 IMGs responded to our survey and 462 were eligible for participation. Many were older physicians who had spent a considerable amount of time and money trying to obtain a medical residency position. The top five reasons for respondents choosing to emigrate from their home country were: socioeconomic or political situations in their home countries; better education for children; concerns about where to raise children; quality of facilities and equipment; and opportunities for professional advancement. These same reasons were the top five reasons given for choosing to immigrate to Canada. Themes that emerged from the qualitative responses pertaining to brain waste included feelings of anger, shame, desperation, and regret. CONCLUSION: Respondents overwhelmingly held the view that there are not enough residency positions available in Ontario and that this information is not clearly communicated to incoming IMGs. Brain waste appears common among IMGs who immigrate to Canada and should be made a priority for Canadian policy-makers. Dove Medical Press 2014-05-12 /pmc/articles/PMC4027850/ /pubmed/24868176 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S60708 Text en © 2014 Lofters et al. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. |
spellingShingle | Original Research Lofters, Aisha Slater, Morgan Fumakia, Nishit Thulien, Naomi “Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario |
title | “Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario |
title_full | “Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario |
title_fullStr | “Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario |
title_full_unstemmed | “Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario |
title_short | “Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario |
title_sort | “brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in ontario |
topic | Original Research |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027850/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24868176 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S60708 |
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