Choices of Specialties and Training Sites among Taiwanese Physicians Graduating from Polish Medical Schools

Abstract

Taiwanese students who graduated from Polish medical schools (P-IMGs) accounted for the second-largest group of international medical graduates in Taiwan. In 2009, domestic medical students in Taiwan staged mass demonstrations against P-IMG’s exemption from the qualifying test before the licensing exam. Although medical circles in Taiwan might still hold prejudices against P-IMGs, little is known about their career development. This study will analyze P-IMGs’ choices of specialties and training sites from 2000 to 2020 using data from the membership section of the Taiwan Medical Journal, the monthly official publication of the Taiwan Medical Association. Of 372 P-IMGs, 34.2% chose internal medicine and 17.1% surgery. Although academic medical centers offered 76% of all available trainee positions in a year, only 49.3% of P-IMGs received training there. By contrast, 20.9% of P-IMGs were trained at nonmetropolitan hospitals that altogether accounted for only 5.8% of trainee positions. In conclusion, P-IMGs had their residency training at less favorable specialties and sites. Their long-term career development deserves further study.

Establishing the Competency Development and Talent Cultivation Strategies for Physician-Patient Shared Decision-Making Competency Based on the IAA-NRM Approach

“…The SDM competency development for PGYs: The medical education system in Taiwan has been reformed in recent years: 6 years of medical school after senior high school graduation, including two years of clinical clerkship at hospitals. After passing the national examination for physicians, doctors have two years of post-graduate training, followed by the residency training in various specialties [ 80 ]. Several studies have documented insufficient training for SDM and patient-centered communication during graduate medical education [ 47 , 81 ].…”