Facilitating credentialing and engagement of international physician-migrants during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond

Physicians who migrate globally face a daunting series of time-consuming, labor- and resource-intensive procedures to prove their clinical competency before being allowed to practice medicine in a new country. In this commentary, we describe licensing barriers faced by physician-migrants based on th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rural and remote health 2020-09, Vol.20 (3), p.6027-6027
Main Authors: Leung, Tiffany I, Biskup, Ewelina, DeWitt, Dawn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Betacoronavirus
brain drain
Clinical Competence - standards
Clinical medicine
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
credentialing
Credentialing - organization & administration
Credentialing - standards
Foreign Medical Graduates - standards
Hospitals
Humans
international medical graduates
Internationality
Language
Licenses
Licensing examinations
licensure
medical education
Medical personnel
Medical students
mentorship
Pandemics
Physicians
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Rural areas
SARS-CoV-2
Talent management
Time Factors
Transients and Migrants
Workforce
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Summary:Physicians who migrate globally face a daunting series of time-consuming, labor- and resource-intensive procedures to prove their clinical competency before being allowed to practice medicine in a new country. In this commentary, we describe licensing barriers faced by physician-migrants based on the authors' experiences, and reflect also on rapidly implemented measures to address COVID-19 pandemic related workforce shortages. We offer recommendations for potential reductions in bureaucratic regulatory barriers that prohibit mobilization of international medical graduate talent. Licensing boards and authorities should strive for standardized, competency-based basic professional recognition. Professional medical societies are well-positioned to guide such competency-based recognition as a more organized, international collaborative effort across specialties. The COVID-19 pandemic facilitated cross-state and international licensing in some regions, highlighting a key opportunity: streamlining professional recognition requirements is achievable.
ISSN:1445-6354
1445-6354
DOI:10.22605/RRH6027