Mobility justice, capabilities, and medical migration: medical licensing pathways for overseas-trained doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand

The field of medicine is traditionally associated with opportunities for training and knowledge sharing through movement and travel. Nevertheless, the contemporary migration of doctors may have negative impacts on lower-income countries. Some scholars argue for active restrictions on South to North migration of medical doctors, while others consider such suggestions as an unjustified infringement on individual rights to migrate. This paper draws on mobility justice and the capabilities approach, to conceptualise the complex dynamics of international medical migration through the example of Aotearoa New Zealand. In this context, a ‘brain drain’ of New Zealand-trained medical doctors is partially mitigated by a ‘brain gain’, with more than 40% of the medical workforce having trained overseas. However, overseas-trained medical doctors follow pathways to licensing determined by the public health indicators of their countries of training. Despite an overall ‘brain gain’, doctors who trained in the Global South experience significantly greater barriers to registration than those who trained in Global North countries. Many are unable to work as doctors, resulting in a ‘brain waste’ of their knowledge, experience, and capabilities. This may relate to (post)colonial legacies and discourses of medical competencies that underscore the hegemony of the Global North, warranting further exploration.