Immigration requirements are driving new doctors away from N.S., says medical resident

Abhinaya Yeddala's plan to become a family doctor and build a life in Nova Scotia is coming to fruition but she says she nearly gave up and left the province because of a requirement that added more than two years to the process.

Yeddala, originally from India,is now a family medicine resident at a clinic in New Glasgow.She completedher undergraduate degree in the United Kingdom before movingto Malaysia to begin medical school. After two years, she transferred to Dalhousie University, and became a Canadian medical graduate in 2019.

Butshe had to wait almost two and a half years before taking the next step in her career, thanks to a requirement now in effect in most Canadian provinces that she obtain permanent resident status before applying for her medical residency.

She saidthat tedious and lengthy process almost drove her away.

"It was very stressful, it was very frustrating," Yeddala said."There was this fear of what happens if I don't get what I want in Canada, what do I do then? So a lot of uncertainty because there was no guarantee."