Sask. medical grad highlighting barriers for future doctors

A medical school graduate from Regina wishes he was seeing Saskatchewan patients, but that’s not the case.

Jamie Eng completed his medical degree at Poland’s Medical University of Lublin in 2014, and holds a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University.

Born and raised in Regina, where he currently lives with his wife, Eng said he was never given the opportunity to practise medicine in Saskatchewan, but not for lack of trying.

Eng said he wanted to complete his medical studies in Saskatchewan, but because the spots were so competitive, he ended up attending an international school where he was accepted.

He said he returned home in 2014 and spent the next several years applying to residency programs, with no success.

He wanted to become a family physician.

“It was difficult at that time to come in, because not only was the competition stiff, it was very limited as well,” Eng shared.

He said the province offered fewer residency seats at the time, with only 10 of those spots reserved for internationally-trained doctors like himself.

Eng applied, but said he was rejected for reasons like not having enough experience in rural areas, not having enough clinical experience in Saskatchewan and for simply not being considered the strongest candidate.

“It’s very frustrating,” Eng said.

More focus on Saskatchewan

For Canadians who studied abroad, like Eng, it’s not guaranteed they’ll be able to find work near their families, or even in their home country.

The medical graduate said he was presented with courses of action to try and improve his chances of being accepted into a residency program, like moving to Estevan for three months at his own expense in hopes of a letter of reference that could help with his application.

“It doesn’t guarantee you a job,” Eng said.

Eng said he’s also considered applying for a residency spot in the United States.

“If I did that, I probably wouldn’t come home,” Eng said.

Power to change

Many areas are struggling to find doctors and in Saskatchewan, the power to decide who will be trained and able to practise primarily lies with the College of Medicine and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Eng said.

“They’re the ones who have the most say,” he said.

Saskatchewan currently offers 52 residency positions in family medicine.

A total of 128 residency seats across all disciplines are available in the province.

Eng said he wants to see more consideration given to those who are from Saskatchewan and wish to practise in the province.

In Alberta, the Alberta International Medical Graduate program does this by limiting candidacy to those who are from the province, have been educated in Alberta or who have other strong ties to the province.

Referring to data from the Canadian Resident Matching Service, Eng said there are currently somewhere between 200 and 300 doctors in Saskatchewan with medical degrees who have not been able to complete their residency and practise — despite many living in the province and wanting to spend their careers in Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan’s budget allocated $5.8 million to the College of Medicine to continue with academic work, create more residency spots and generally assist with the government’s plan to counteract the physician shortage in the province.

Eng said he’s happy to see funding in the 2023 provincial budget designated for training physicians.

“But,” he noted, “we need to make sure that those positions are going towards people who are from Saskatchewan and actually want to practise in Saskatchewan.”

Stuck on the sidelines

Eng said he hasn’t applied for a residency program in five years.

He said he hasn’t given up on becoming a doctor in Saskatchewan, but his circumstances have changed.

At 36, he’s no longer a single 26-year-old fresh out of school who can move wherever he wants.

Instead, he said he and his wife are expecting their first child and have made a comfortable home in Regina, surrounded by family and friends.

Knowing the shortage of physicians Saskatchewan is facing — and how practising family doctors in Saskatoon have been unable to accept new patients — weighs on Eng today.

“I wish I was a part of that,” he said. “I wish I was helping people in Saskatchewan.”