Immigrant doctor must return to Iran to practise in New Brunswick

An obstetrician and gynecologist from Iran is calling on the province to make it easier for internationally trained doctors to practise in New Brunswick.

Dr. Neda Asgharzadeh says she has delivered more than 5,000 babies and performed more than 1,000 surgeries, including hysterectomies and removing ovarian cysts.

She managed a private clinic in Iran, and worked in a general hospital as well as a private hospital, she said.

Asgharzadeh has been living in Saint John since 2020 and wants to help patients in New Brunswick too, but her credentials and 15 years of experience — two years as a general physician and 13 years as a specialist — aren't recognized.

She passed the oral and written exams required to receive her licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada, one of the requirements for getting a licence to practise.

But as of Wednesday, she will no longer be considered "in practice" because she hasn't worked as a doctor for three years, while going through the licensing process.

People are so friendly and the nature is beautiful and we have wonderful friends. We feel like [we're] home here.- Neda Asgharzadeh, doctor from Iran

So she has to return to Iran, where her licence is still valid, to work for at least three months. Her only other option, she said, is to redo her residency, which would take four or five years.

Afterward, Asgharzadeh and her husband, an industrial engineer who's working in construction, would like to return to their chosen home of Saint John.

"We love New Brunswick," she said. "People are so friendly and the nature is beautiful and we have wonderful friends. We feel like [we're] home here."

7 provinces offer clinical field assessment

However, Asgharzadeh said, she'll probably apply in Newfoundland, Manitoba or Saskatchewan, where the process is easier for internationally trained doctors.

They are among the seven provinces offering practice-ready assessment programs "as a route to licensure for international physicians who have already completed their residency and practiced independently abroad," according to the Medical Council of Canada's website. 

It's a 12-week clinical field assessment program. Successful candidates must then complete a return of service in a rural area of the province of assessment.

Asgharzadeh said she understands assessments are necessary.

"I think it's completely logical that we need to learn something in our new life. And that would be great if, for example, [a] doctor [who has] experience here, supervise us for a while, even one year, two years. And after that they can figure, this doctor is eligible, this doctor is not.

"That would be great, but we don't have this program here."

It's frustrating, she said, especially when the province has a shortage of doctors. She noted she and her husband are among the tens of thousands of New Brunswickers unable to find a family doctor.

New program expected by late fall

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick, which is responsible for licensing and credentials, did not respond to a request for an interview.

According to the Department of Health, the college is leading the development of a similar practice readiness assessment program for the province. It's expected to be in place by late fall, said spokesperson Sean Hatchard.

The province is also developing a clinical assistant program, which will see international medical graduates compete for roles to work as clinical assistants to physicians, including surgeons, he said.

This program is a partnership between the regional health authorities and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick and is based on best practices and standards being used in some other Canadian provinces, Hatchard said.

The New Brunswick Medical Society was unable to respond to a request for comment by the end of day Monday, according to spokesperson Jim Johnson.

"I'm asking them, please make this process easier because we [internationally trained doctors] have lots of potential," said Asgharzadeh.

"They would love to work here, to follow their dream, to be helpful."