Alternative career pathway decision-support job database for international medical graduates in Canada

Abstract

Objectives Canadian regulations have made it challenging for the international medical graduates (IMGs) to get jobs in their original profession as physicians. Consequently, alternative careers are gaining interest among IMGs to avoid underemployment or unemployment. We conducted research to identify the factors that IMGs consider for taking up an alternative career in Canada. Based on those understandings, we aimed to create a database where information about health-related alternative jobs is presented in a searchable way, which can aid IMGs’ strategic job search. Data description We first determined job searching preferences and constraints for IMGs regarding alternative career through focus groups. We used their preferred and constraining factors for collecting job-specific information through systematically reviewing job advertisements. Using this information, we created a database that contains available alternative career pathways for IMGs living in Canada. In total, we have identified 1374 job titles under 192 unique job categories comprising 47 National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes that could be suitable for IMGs seeking an alternative career based on their own short, intermediate, and long-term career goals. We expect that this database will help IMGs in deciding on alternative careers.

Career development of international medical graduates in Canada: status of the unmatched

“…On the other hand, there needs to be more awareness of government-funded career support service, which usually provides official guides and facilitates access to alternative career opportunities. It is vital to incorporate a strategy to increase the outreach of the IMG programs, as more government agencies and local community-based organizations are involved in alternative career support for IMGs (Sikdar et al, 2022 ).…”