Escalating tensions between the United States of America and Iran left doctors unable to complete an assessment which is key to securing Australian working rights, with just two weeks’ notice.
Dr Zahra Hosseinpour said she had studied for the Australian Medical Council’s multiple choice question exam for “months” and had already arranged extended leave, flights and accommodation in order to attend the testing site in Istanbul.
“Then I learned that I could no longer sit the exam because of restrictions related to my residency in Iran,” she wrote on LinkedIn this week.
“Not because I missed a deadline or failed to meet the requirements.
“Simply because of where I live.”
For many international medical graduates looking to work in Australia, the Australian Medical Council’s multiple choice question (AMC MCQ) exam is one of the first hurdles to clear.
The computer-based exam is delivered by Pearson Professional Assessments at physical testing locations across the world.
In late August, president Donald Trump directed the US Department of the Treasury to begin an “unprecedented, whole-of-government, economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers”.
This included the suspension of several general licenses, one of which had allowed “certain academic exchanges and the exportation or importation of certain educational services”.
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Pearson Professional Assessments is officially headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, making it subject to US rules.
Dr Hosseinpour confirmed her examination details on 24 August, the same day that sanctions were announced.
She was due to take the AMC MCQ on 19 September.
The sanctions came into force on 8 September.
Her exam was cancelled.
“I understand that international organizations have legal and regulatory obligations,” Dr Hosseinpour wrote.
“But behind these policies are ordinary people who study, work, save, and make important plans for their futures — often with no control over the circumstances creating those restrictions.
“It left me wondering: when someone meets the requirements but loses access to a professional opportunity simply because of where they live, is that really equal access?”
Because Pearson Professional Assessments is the only company delivering the exam, Dr Hosseinpour is unable to reschedule.
The AMC web page simply advises candidates who can, to provide evidence of residency outside of Iran in order to reschedule.
Dr Hosseinpour is one of the 1100 signatories to a petition calling on the AMC and Pearson Professional Assessments to work together on a solution for doctors in Iran.
“Where legally permissible, this could include alternative examination arrangements or allowing affected candidates to sit the examination at an approved examination centre in a non-sanctioned country without requiring permanent or primary residency outside Iran,” the petition reads.
“We also ask that candidates who have already paid fees, received authorisation, or spent substantial time preparing are protected from losing their eligibility or financial investment because of circumstances beyond their control.
“We are not asking for preferential treatment.
“We are asking for the opportunity to sit the same examination, meet the same standards, and be judged by the same professional criteria as every other international medical graduate.
“A medical degree represents years of human effort. Behind every candidate is a person who has studied, worked, sacrificed, and hoped for a professional future.
“Please do not let circumstances beyond our control close the door to that future.”
TMR contacted the AMC for comment but did not hear back before deadline.
The post Iran docs barred from sitting Australian Medical Council exams appeared first on Medical Republic.
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