An examination of entrance criteria for international medical graduates (IMGs) into Canadian psychiatry residency programs

Background: Although international medical graduates (IMGs) are essential in health care service delivery, a gap exists in the literature about how IMGs are selected into psychiatry residency programs in Canada. The purpose of this study was to identify the relative weight or importance that Canadian program directors (PDs) of psychiatry place on certain selection criteria when matching IMGs into residency programs.Methods: We electronically distributed a web-based questionnaire to 16 university residency program directors of psychiatry in Canada. Program Directors were asked to rate the importance of 43 selection criteria using 5-point Likert Scales. Criteria were grouped into six domains: academic criteria, extracurricular activities, supporting information, behavioural issues of concern, medical school country, and other education. Mean total values for each set of criteria were calculated and used to create rank orders within each domain.Results: Eight out of 16 program directors responded. Our analysis indicated that academics and behavioral issues of concern were the most important selection criteria.Conclusion: Our findings provide valuable insight about the perspectives of Program Directors toward IMGs who apply for psychiatry residency programs in Canada. Further studies are needed to better understand which criteria contribute to IMGs’ performances as psychiatric residents.

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Challenges of medical residency. Are they perceived and addressed differently by international medical graduates, Canadian medical graduates, and preceptors?

10.21203/rs.3.rs-17381/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Neda Abedi ◽

Michelle McCarren ◽

Farzaneh Sheidaei ◽

Andriyka L. Papish

Keyword(s):

English Language ◽

Multivariate Analyses ◽

International Medical ◽

International Medical Graduates ◽

Residency Programs ◽

Program Coordinators ◽

Medical Graduates ◽

Item Level ◽

Scale Scores ◽

The Mean

Abstract Background: Residency is an important and challenging part of medical education. Some of these challenges are common to all residents and some are specific to a particular group of residents. A number of studies have addressed the challenges of residency. To our knowledge, the experience of challenges from the perspective of international medical graduates (IMGs), Canadian medical graduates (CMGs), and their preceptors has not been studied in a single residency cohort. This study represents a valuable step in addressing the differential needs of international and Canadian medical graduates and in identifying the way different groups of residents can support each other to function better during residency.Methods: We surveyed residents and preceptors to determine what they perceive to be the greatest challenges for each group during residency. The survey was sent to the program coordinators of all English language psychiatry residency programs in Canada to be distributed to all residents and preceptors. Three reminders were sent, and a prize draw was offered to participants. Mean scale scores were calculated. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were calculated to compare resident self-ratings between groups, preceptors' ratings of each resident group's challenges, and all four groups' perceptions of the challenges experienced by different groups. To determine the particular types of challenges that residents experience, multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) were also used for item-level comparisons.Results: 177 residents and 82 preceptors completed the survey. We found no significant differences in the mean scale scores for how each group rated their own challenges though the most challenging area was different for each group of residents. Preceptors viewed FIMGs as experiencing the greatest challenges (M = 3.27, SD = 0.066, 95% CI [3.11, 3.41]) and CMGs, the least (M = 2.02, SD = 0.59, 95% CI [1.89, 2.16]; F (2, 227) = 88.030, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Although the degree of challenge perceived by all groups of residents was relatively similar in general, different groups of residents identified different areas of challenges from their own perspective, and these areas differed from those identified by their resident colleagues and preceptors as being challenging for each group. This study highlights the necessity for reviewing the needs, strengths, and challenges of each group of residents and the importance of better communication between preceptors and residents regarding the different areas of challenges.

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