Thousands upon thousands of Canadian
physicians are practising in the US, and the Canadian
Medical Association wants them back.
The CMA mailed out a survey in
April to over 5,000 Canadian-trained doctors in the
US to find out what it would take to convince them to
come home. The results, published in October, are something
of a mixed bag: 87% responded they're not likely to
return to Canada. The CMA optimistically notes that
that means 13% are likely to come back home, though
president Dr Brian Day told the Canadian Press that's
"nowhere near enough" to fix Canada's physician access
problems.
The survey asked why the physicians
crossed the border in the first place. The answers are
sobering: low pay, few job openings, insufficient resources
and restrictions on clinical autonomy were the most
common responses.
"I think it's amazing more of us
didn't leave," one respondent wrote.
"I did not leave my job in Canada
— I felt my job left me. I had access to the OR
1 day every 3 weeks, and my patients were on an eternal
waiting list," wrote another.
"I love being Canadian and would
love to live in Canada, but the remuneration and system
constraints make it less attractive than my current
US practice," another complaint read.
Asked what might lure them back
to Canada, many respondents suggested recognizing subspecialty
board certifications attained in the US. "There is no
way I would consider retaking basic internal medicine
boards now that I have been practising as a subspecialist
in the US for many years," a respondent explained.
Commenting on the survey results,
Dr Day took the opportunity to reiterate his solution
to access difficulties: introduce market-based economic
principles to the public healthcare system.
For the insight of a Canadian
family doc working in the US, read the Opinion piece
"Why I'm staying in the
US" on page 12.
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