IMGs don't like rural life either CMAJ 1997;156:1523 Like Canadian-trained physicians, international medical graduates (IMGs) practising in Newfoundland and Labrador say that remuneration and working conditions need to be improved if they are to be encouraged to stay in the province. In a survey conducted by the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA), 55% of IMGs said they were dissatisfied with working in the province; the reasons cited were income (45%), facilities/cutbacks (27%), and lifestyle and working hours (26%). Other concerns related to the lack of training opportunities and licensure requirements. Writing in Communiqué, Bruce Squires, the NLMA's executive director, reported that universal concern about workload, lifestyle and compensation demonstrates the severity of the problems facing rural medicine and how vital it is to address them. However, he added, the intricacies of access to licensure and to additional postgraduate training are also of great concern to IMGs. Since Newfoundland relies heavily on IMGs to provide health care in isolated communities, their problems affect all physicians in the province and concern the NLMA. Send a letter to the editor responding to this article Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cet article | CMAJ June 1, 1997 (vol 156, no 11) / JAMC le 1er juin 1997 (vol 156, no 11) |