Caribbean offshore medical schools and the international mobility of medical education

Caribbean offshore medical schools are private, for-profit institutions that provide medical education to international students, including from the US and Canada, who intend to leave the region to practice medicine. Offshore medical schools are distinct from regional medical schools because they do not principally serve a local population. This offshoring industry contributes to the movement of health workers across international borders, and should considered alongside other global healthcare mobiltiies. This thesis uses three datasets to reveal the narratives that surround offshore medical schools. First, a content analysis of institutional websites shows how offshore medical schools promote themselves to prospective students. Second, a qualitative media analysis exposes dominant themes and ideologies that frame discussion of offshore medical schools, and the Canadians they graduate, in the Canadian print media. Finally, perceptions of offshore medical schools held by stakeholders involved with Canadian medical education and the physical workforce are revealed using qualitative interviews.