Bring our medical trainees home

Re: Ottawa hospitals face exodus of Saudi doctors and medical trainees, Aug. 14.

Through Canada’s unexpected dispute with Saudi Arabia, Canadians have learned that there are as many as 1,000 Saudi-sponsored medical fellows and residents in Canada, including more than 200 in Ontario teaching hospitals. Canadians are reacting with disbelief that Saudi doctors are taking valuable residency places not even open to Canadians, most often without taking all the standard Canadian exams required of other international medical graduates.

The Ontario Medical Association and the Universities of Toronto and British Columbia quickly expressed sympathy for the interrupted careers of Saudi doctors returning home. We also saw widespread sympathy this spring for the careers of Canadian medical school graduates who did not match to a residency, followed by an urgent call to action.

We look forward to the medical community, universities and health ministries turning their empathy and attention toward the careers of qualified Canadian doctors who are ready to step into these vacancies, having already passed all the standard Canadian medical exams and having earned recognized medical degrees in countries such as Ireland, Australia, and the United Kingdom. If these vacancies remain unfilled, procedures will be cancelled, wait times will get worse and Canadians will continue to struggle to find a family doctor.

Rosemary Pawliuk, Executive Director, Society of Canadians Studying Medicine Abroad, Langley, B.C.