Internationally trained physicians in family medicine leadership: Canadian cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the current representation of internationally trained physicians (ITPs) in family medicine (FM)-relevant medical leadership in Canada, compared to their representation in the Canadian FM workforce. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study using publicly available data. SETTING: Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Medical leaders across Canadian organizations relevant to FM and family physicians in the Canadian workforce. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic data of FM leaders in Canadian organizations relevant to FM were collected between September 2023 and January 2024, along with demographic data of family physicians in the Canadian workforce made publicly available by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Representation of ITPs in leadership positions was compared with their representation in the Canadian FM workforce. RESULTS: This study included data on 233 family medicine leaders from 33 medical organizations and 47,277 records from the CIHI workforce data. The results revealed that ITPs are significantly underrepresented in FM-relevant Canadian medical leadership, particularly in Ontario, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The results also showed that in Manitoba, female physicians were more highly represented in leadership roles than in the general family physician population. Canada-wide, there were no significant differences in leadership representation based on years since medical school graduation. CONCLUSION: In a cross-sectional study of 233 family physician leaders in Canada, ITPs were underrepresented when compared with the Canadian FM workforce data. Future research should explore leadership trends, factors accounting for ITPs' underrepresentation, and strategies to overcome potential barriers.