Professional Journeys of International Medical Graduates in Quebec: Recognition, Uphill Battles, or Career Change

Marie-Jeanne Blain (), Sylvie Fortin () and Fernando Alvarez ()
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Marie-Jeanne Blain: Université de Montréal
Sylvie Fortin: Université de Montréal
Fernando Alvarez: Université de Montréal

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2017, vol. 18, issue 1, No 12, 223-247

Abstract: Abstract In Quebec and Canada, immigration policies are designed to attract “the best and the brightest.” Once migration occurs, however, the “brain waste” is challenging. This research focuses on the professional trajectories of international medical graduates (IMG) who migrate to Quebec. The main goal is to understand why certain individuals of a similar occupational group can easily access the doctoral profession while others cannot. Following a qualitative approach, and stemming from IMGs’ perspectives, this article explores the interplay of economic, social, and symbolic resources in a context of highly fragmented institutional resources and protectionism. We are critical of the individual-centered approaches that ignore social norms and constraints. If migrants are free to choose their paths and manner of integration, the “human capital” approach is limited in explaining the heterogeneous pathways within the same professional group. The current structure for professional recognition places unusual constraints on IMGs, whereby some encounter more obstacles than others. The “battle” for professional recognition takes shape in a highly competitive context, one which—although presented as a neutral process—is underlain with ideological, relational, and subjective currents.

Keywords: International medical graduates; Highly qualified migrants; Occupational integration; Recognition; Quebec-Canada; Employment resources (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1007/s12134-016-0475-z

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