Understanding the registration experiences of overseas-trained medical doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand : a snapshot
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Date
July 2024
DOI
Open Access Location
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Institute of Development Studies, Massey University
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Abstract
This working paper provides a snapshot of findings from a doctoral research project that aimed to understand the experiences and outcomes of practising and non-practising overseas-trained medical doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand. This research addresses a knowledge gap by exploring the relationship between the experiences of these international medical graduates (IMGs), professional outcomes, and their designated pathway to registration. An exploratory sequential mixed methods research design was employed, consisting of semi-structured interviews of IMGs (n = 24) and local experts (n = 9), an online questionnaire of IMGs (N = 80), and a document analysis of historical policies, grey literature, and media reports (N = 370). Overall, the research found that IMGs experience differential processes and outcomes when seeking to practise medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand, depending on the country of their medical training and their designated medical licensing pathway. In general, doctors who trained in high-income countries tend to experience smoother pathways to registration. This results in unrealised potential for many IMGs who trained in low- or middle-income countries and are often already residing in Aotearoa New Zealand, with delays in registration exacerbating national medical workforce shortages. Compiling recommendations for change from research participants from diverse backgrounds, the paper argues that change is needed to create more equitable registration processes for IMGs in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Description
Doctors who trained in the Global North (high-income countries) tend to have smoother pathways to registering as doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand than those who trained in the Global South (low- or middle-income countries).