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Board of Directors AIMD BC 2007
One of the first tasks completed by AIMD BC was the creation of their mission statement and goals. Mission Statement To ensure that internationally trained medical doctors are integrated effectively and equitably into British Columbia's healthcare system. Goals
As the organization grew it developed a game plan for effecting change which included a MLA and MP letter writing campaign, the creation of a website to disseminate information to other international medical doctors, meetings with all the major healthcare stakeholders, presentations to the public and extensive coverage of issues in all the major media both locally and nationally. This all started in earnest in March of 2004 at the Federal IMG Taskforce conference in Calgary Alberta, where Dr’s Najat al Refai and Shahab Khanahmadi represented AIMD BC at the organizations first official outing. Highlights since then for the organization include a demonstration in Vancouver, the collection of over 4000 signatures in a petition and the production of a briefing document for stakeholders that clarified the need for additional doctors in BC and the fact that many IMGs have already met Canada’s high standards and were ready, willing and able assist. The first sign that the association was having an effect was the introduction of a pilot ‘bridge’ training project funded by the provincial government and run out of St. Paul’s hospital from January to March of 2005. Twelve IMGs were accepted into this ‘Orientation to Western Medicine’ training, which lasted full-time for three months. This kind of training for IMGs was available in other provinces like Ontario and Alberta but did not exist BC. The doctors believed that orientation training was a critical piece of an effective integration strategy and were encouraged when the government also saw the benefit of funding this kind of support. There were other critical pieces still missing however and soon the association was focused on expanding the number of post graduate residencies for IMGs and bringing all the provincial government and healthcare stakeholders together in order to create a comprehensive game plan for licensing more internationally trained medical doctors in BC. In the late spring of 2005 AIMD BC was heavily involved in various media campaigns, petitions and meetings and it was clear that momentum was building for change. A break through occurred when Dr.’s Alfredo Tura and Oleg Baranoff secured a ‘champion’ in government, someone who was willing to listen and help the organization. MLA Lorne Mayencourt, who believed in the cause, helped organize the association’s first meeting with the deputy minister of health. Here the two doctors were able to voice their ‘solutions’ and dispel any pre-conceived ideas about the organizations true intentions. By the fall of 2005 over 20 MLA’s had been met, CBC radio and TV, Global TV, M Channel, the Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun and Province and even Readers Digest had covered the issues. The government knew what the issues were and momentum was continuing to build for change. Then, a week before AIMD BC’s second general meeting, the provincial government announced that it was tripling the number of IMG post graduate residency positions from six to eighteen. This was the news everyone was waiting for, clearly the hard work of many IMG volunteers, for over two years, was finally paying off. At the AIMD BC general meeting Dr. Rod Andrew, director of the residency training program at St. Paul’s Hospital, answered questions about the expansion and the doctors elected their first executive to represent them in the year ahead. The next big step for AIMD BC was the formation of an executive committee which included eight dedicated volunteers and the new president, Dr. Alfredo Tura, vice president Dr. Oleg Baranoff and secretary/treasurer Dr. Mariana Deevska. In November Dr. Tura was asked to be a standing member of the newly formed provincial ‘International Medical Graduate Integration Taskforce’ which included the post-graduate Deans - UBC Faculty of Medicine, the Ministry of Health, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and the St. Paul’s Program Director. International medical doctors were now being included in high level discussions about how to best include them in BC’s healthcare system. The association has come a long way in two and a half years but as Dr. Tura says “there is still much to do”. In October 2006 members of the board of AIMD BC met with the honourable George Abbott, minister of health and gave him a recommendation document called "Solutions to the Medical Doctor Shortage in BC. A Plan on How to Integrate More Immigrant IMGs into the BC Healthcare System." They met with the minister again in January of 2007 and are optimistic that AIMDBC and the Ministry of Health can work more closely together to assist IMGs in BC. Currently the doctors are looking for sponsors for the association so they can expand and do more for their members. At the moment they have just expanded their website to include a member’s only section to facilitate study groups and the posting of questions by members. They are also coordinating training for members as they prepare for exams; have awarded the organizations first student bursary. AIMD BC is a non-profit association that has over 400 members and is a founding member of the Canadian Association of International Physicians and Surgeons (CAIPS), a national umbrella organization which includes BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec. The goals of the national organization are similar to those of AIMD BC, to work toward a fair and equitable system of licensure and professional employment for all doctors in Canada, including those who have emigrated from other countries in the world. Brochure in PDF |
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