A Canadian doctor trying to practise medicine in Victoria is raising the alarm on what he says is a difficult and excessive process for international medical graduates who want to get licensed in B.C.
Madhur Kuckreja, an internal medicine physician who has been practising in Boston for three years, was trained at St. George’s University, a Caribbean international medical school, before doing a residency at Georgetown in Washington, D.C.
Kuckreja, who was raised in Victoria and did his undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria, wanted to be closer to family and the West Coast.
Hearing of the physician shortage in Canada, he hoped to move back and practise family medicine in his hometown.
“The doctor shortage is a big reason why,” he said, during a break from work in Boston.
“My parents’ primary care doctor is about to retire in a year, my dad has heart conditions [and] they won’t be able to find a doctor. So it’s really scary out there.”
But his application for a B.C. medical licence was denied, and he was told he needed another full year of training and passing marks on several exams, including the $1,375 Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam.
