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<\/p>\nA doctor who made a patient cry by telling them \u2018you\u2019re fat, that\u2019s why your joints suck\u2019 is just one of the examples of how cultural differences cause problems for international medical professionals who come to Canada.<\/p>\n
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In another case a physician was left in tears after being told he was to deliver a baby having never seen a naked woman.<\/p>\n
From complete ignorance of confidentiality laws to refusing to shake hands with patients from the opposite sex, a new report recommends lessons on Canadian culture should be included in the training of foreign doctors who come here to work.<\/p>\n
The University of Alberta paper says that while these doctors are highly educated, have excellent knowledge and experience and bring a fresh cultural perspective, they also have shortcomings that must be addressed in order to integrate them into Canadian medical practice.<\/p>\n
Experts who carried out the study, entitled \u2018Cultural Transition of International Medical Graduate Residents into Family Practice in Canada\u2019, conducted interviews with both Canadian physicians training the foreign doctors, and the doctors themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched an IMG [international medical graduate]\u2026he\u2019d be like, you\u2019re fat, that\u2019s why your joints suck, and the patient started to cry because nobody says that stuff here, but he had trained in a different country that was maybe more direct,\u201d one Canadian physician told the interviewer.<\/p>\n
Another recalled a story of when a well-experienced international doctor assigned to obstetrics was assigned to deliveries.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 he was in tears saying he did not know what to do \u2026 he had never even seen a lady with her clothing off and here he was expected to do a delivery,\u201d the Canadian doctor said.<\/p>\n
Then there was the senior health professional who was ignored for a year because she was a woman.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 it took probably a good year for them to realize that women had status and that if they wanted to get anything done that they would have to talk to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The report concludes work needs to be done on both sides to better manage the integration of foreign doctors who come to Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth residency training programs and IMGs themselves have a role to play in addressing these challenges,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n
\u201cResidency programs must recognize the challenges that can occur during the cultural transition to Canadian family practice and incorporate Canadian medico-cultural education into the curriculum.<\/p>\n
\u201cIMG residents also need to be aware of the cultural differences that may exist and be open to different perspectives and new ways of learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
About a quarter of Canada\u2019s doctors graduated from universities outside North America.<\/p>\n
A Canadian Medical Association report says the top five countries sending doctors to Canada in 2012 were South Africa, India, Libya, the US and Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Quotes from the University of Alberta study:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026[some] are so soft-spoken<\/em><\/strong>, you combine that with the accent and then they don\u2019t make the good eye contact, it\u2019s a huge challenge to really figure out what they\u2019re saying, both from a colleague perspective or a patient\u2019s perspective.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 I\u2019ve worked with a number<\/em><\/strong> of IMGs that find it really frustrating that somebody will come in for a simple cold or a cough \u2018cause that\u2019s certainly not what they would have seen before.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI can recall one instance<\/em><\/strong> where a resident who was quite experienced in his own discipline \u2026 first rotation assigned was obstetrics \u2026 on that first night in obstetrics he was on call and he called the friend who was not on call \u2026 he was in tears saying he did not know what to do, he\u2019d been sent into the delivery room to take care of deliveries \u2026 and he had never even seen a lady with her clothing off and here he was expected to do a delivery.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 in a lot of countries<\/em><\/strong> there are diseases that don\u2019t exist\u2026depression doesn\u2019t exist. Many of the mental health issues don\u2019t exist, addictions aren\u2019t there. And it\u2019s not that they\u2019re not there, but people will never bring them up as an issue, so if someone\u2019s depressed they never would agree that it\u2019s a medical concern and they\u2019d never be treated for it \u2026 There\u2019s no anxiety disorder, there\u2019s no panic attacks, there\u2019s no depression, there\u2019s no alcoholism. There\u2019s no suicide, even though there\u2019s lots of people that commit suicide, it\u2019s all accidents.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 from a legal and technical point of view<\/em><\/strong> [there] have been instances where there wasn\u2019t an understanding of what confidentiality was.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey would totally almost ignore me<\/em><\/strong>, and it took probably a good year for them to realize that women had status and that if they wanted to get anything done that they would have to talk to me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 we have people who will<\/em><\/strong> not shake hands with patients, so male physicians who won\u2019t shake hands with women, women physicians who won\u2019t shake hands with males.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Interested employers:\u00a0<\/strong>Kindly\u00a0contact us<\/a>\u00a0here to receive further information.<\/p>\n Interested candidates:<\/strong>\u00a0Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our\u00a0free on-line evaluation<\/a>. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.<\/p>\n Recent News Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n