International medical graduates' reflections on facilitators and barriers to undertaking the Australian Medical Council examination

Abstract

<jats:p>Objective. In Australia, 25% of international medical graduates (IMGs) make up the medical workforce. Concern is expressed in the literature about the lack of awareness and knowledge of issues that impinge on IMGs’ education. Although there is literature alluding to difficulties IMGs face with undertaking the Australian Medical Council (AMC) examination, there is little research detailing this experience. We therefore explored IMGs’ reflections on facilitators and barriers in undertaking the AMC examination. Methods. After ethics approval, in-depth telephone interviews were conducted with 30 IMGs selected from a hospital in Queensland. Data were coded and analysed using thematic analysis principles. Results. Two facilitating themes were identified: ability to sit for the first part of the examination in country of origin; and having access to resources such as bridging courses and study groups. Three themes represented barriers: not understanding procedural steps; financial issues; and lack of information on examination content and standards. Conclusion. The themes provide new insights and add depth to existing literature that can be used to improve procedural processes and education for IMGs towards successful outcomes in the AMC examination. What is known about the topic? There is concern expressed in the literature about the lack of awareness and knowledge of issues that impinge on IMGs education. The Australian work that is available only depicts educational experience of fellowships or education and training strategies after IMGs have passed their AMC examination. What does this paper add? The findings indicate that the process of sitting for the AMC examination is perceived as one of the major difficulties associated with entering and integrating into the Australian health system. The findings indicate a range of practical, financial and resource problems faced by IMGs attempting to sit for the AMC examination. What are the implications for practitioners? The detailed accounts from IMGs about their experience with undertaking the AMC examination will provide up-skilling program coordinators with the information they need to better assist IMGs to prepare for the examination. The provision of appropriate medical training and educational support will contribute to more effective integration of IMGs into the healthcare system.</jats:p>

Licensing and Registration of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) in Canada and Australia: an Explorative Study

“…Some IMGs reported that it was beneficial for them to take this exam in their country of origin, and they were able to pass the exam on their first attempt. IMGs have also highlighted the shortening of the examination process without enduring travelling expenses (McGrath, Henderson, Holewa, Henderson, Tamargo, 2012).…”

International medical graduates' experiences before and after migration: A meta‐ethnography of qualitative studies

“…15,16,20,36,39,46,[54][55][56]58,59,65,69,[72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83] An IMG who was a native of the host country but qualified in another country did not suffer culture shock in society compared with an IMG who immigrated from another country. 14,47,71,73 However, the former was likely to suffer a workplace culture shock, especially if the country of PMQ had a very different healthcare system and workplace culture. 68 The same principle applied to differences in medical education between country of PMQ and host countries.…”

“…The four main barriers that IMGs faced appeared to be the differences in language, 18,36,37,40,42,46,[70][71][72] culture, 15,16,20,36,39,46,55,56,58,59,65,69,[72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83] medical education, 14,16,54,[75][76][77]80 and belonging. 15,19,20,35,46,54,55,57,59,68,72,81 It was the extent to which the IMGs' language,...…”

“…13 Although offering valuable insights into the range of challenges IMGs experience in the country of practice (host country), published studies are typically confined to a single setting (e.g. the local context of a hospital 14 or (a) training programme(s) 15,16 ) or region while mostly relying on small study samples. 17 Studies recruiting participants across a whole country are uncommon, [18][19][20] and those recruiting across more than one country are rare.…”

English for the Workplace: Doing Patient-Centred Care in Medical Communication

“…For example, while the sociopragmatic expectations in both Germany and Australia are that new employees or important visitors should be introduced, on a pragmalinguistic level German speakers might prefer formal introductions using multiple honorifics and surnames such as Herr/Frau/Doktor Schmidt, whereas Australians might introduce themselves more informally, giving their first name John/Jane and so forth (Clyne, 2006). Such aspects of communication can be particularly difficult for IMGs to understand and acquire as, in both Australia and Canada, communication and other kinds of support programs are often limited (McGrath, Henderson, Holewa, Henderson, & Tamargo, 2012), poorly integrated (Zulla, Baerlocher, & Verma, 2008), focused on systemic rather than communication issues (e.g., Lockyer, Fidler, de Gara, & Keefe, 2010), or inaccessible due to geographic isolation or financial constraints (Sommer, MacDonald, Bulsara, & Lim, 2012). Moreover, such micropragmatic features are frequently underrepresented in or entirely left out of the curriculum of both general and specialist communication programs, in part because a reliable context-relevant evidence base is still lacking (Derwing & Waugh, 2012;Yates, 2008).…”