Walking a mile in their shoes: reflections on being an international medical graduate

A comprehensive orientation process is essential in assisting international doctors to adjust to life in a new country

International medical graduates (IMGs) remain a crucial part of our general practitioner and specialist workforce, with many working in rural and remote locations.1 With the rapid pace of globalisation in health care, the traffic in health graduates across the globe is destined to continue and expand. The World Health Organization has developed a code of conduct for use by participating countries.2 A recent experience — as a pair of IMGs working for 12 months in rural British Columbia in Canada in 2015 — caused serious reflection on the often unrecognised stress our colleagues face when they make the momentous move “Down Under”. I was offered a position in a small community of 6000 people with a visiting medical officer role at the hospital and responsibilities of office-based general practice. Understanding the professional medical role of a doctor is but one of the adjustments to be made in a new country with new processes, cultural norms, expectations and issues, such as very cold weather and large predatory animals (Box).