It
became apparent when conducting analysis for the
primary
research on Mobility of Health Professionals that
language
testing requirements were affecting migration to
Australia
of health professionals and students. As such, a
secondary
data analysis was conducted on five questions
for
Group A participants regarding migration and five
questions
for Group B participants regarding barriers and
obstacles
to migration (Appendix 1). This revealed a
number
of barriers to migration such as: health professionals
practising
in a different health system; cultural
challenges;
and different health care standards. However,
one
of the most discussed barriers to migration was a
negative
perception towards language testing requirements
for
registration, which led the researchers to analyse
what
the perceptions of health professionals and students
are
in relation to IELTS testing as a prerequisite to
registration.