Cultural safety support and requirements for international medical graduates in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the requirements for, and process of, cultural safety training for international medical graduates (IMGs) when seeking to gain registration in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Method: To identify cultural safety standards and policies for IMGs: 1) a review of training policies of seven specialist colleges and other key organisations was carried out, and 2) four key informant interviews were conducted, and interviews were recorded and transcribed via Zoom. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcripts.

Results: There are no mandatory requirements for IMGs to be trained in or to demonstrate cultural safety when applying for registration within the medical workforce of Aotearoa. There is limited support and training for IMGs in cultural safety. The themes identified from key informant interviews were: resource availability, cultural safety expectations for IMGs and education responsibilities.

Conclusion: To support the provision of high-quality care to communities throughout Aotearoa, it is essential that cultural safety training for IMGs is both mandatory and readily available.