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The Canadian province of Ontario is set to launch a three-month program to recognize the foreign credentials of physicians by next spring, according to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario(CPSO).
CPSO says that Practice Ready Assessment(PRA) programs are used in seven provinces across Canada and they are aimed to support the licensure of internationally-trained physicians, who have already completed their trained and practiced independently abroad.
The program to be launched would allow CSPO to:
– Assess the qualifications of foreign-trained physicians over a period of 12 weeks, through supervision and direct observation.
– Deploy successful candidates to underserviced communities.
– Provide these foreign-trained physicians a path to independent licensure.
The CPSO has noted in its submission to Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones that, with government funding and coordination among key system partners, the program could be implemented immediately, which would help to begin injecting a new supply of internationally trained physicisians into the system as early as spring 2023 and onwards.
Provide more residency positions for foreign-trained physicians: CPSO
The organization is urging the government to provide more residency positions for internationally-trained physicians. As only a small number of residency positions are accessible to internationally-educated physicians, Ontario is essentially limiting the opportunity to quickly grow our base of future physicians and support (them), they say.
In their submission, the CPSO noted that The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada have training assessment programs to streamline credentialing for internationally-educated physicians from specific jurisdictions who have completed training in approved jurisdictions deemed equivalent to Canadian education standards. At the same time, CPSO is facilitating streamlined pathways to licensure for internationally educated physicians who undergo these processes. In consultation with other regulators and system partners, CPSO is re-evaluating whether additional equivalencies and pathways could be explored in lieu of completing national examinations based on, for example, years of practice, they added.
How to practice Medicine in Canada?
Experts are of the opinion that creating more residencies for internationally trained physicians would help to resolve the physician labour shortage crisis. To practice Medicine in Canada, a candidate must have completed a bachelor’s degree and also must have obtained a medical degree from a school accredited by Canada. If the applicant is newly graduated, they must pass the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part 1 and National Assessment Collaboration Examination. Then they have to apply for a Canadian work permit and a post-graduate residency spot through CaRMS. Physicians can apply for permanent residence in Canada through Federal Skilled Worker Program or the Canadian Experience Class under the Express Entry. Eligible physicians can also apply through Provincial Nominee Program pathways that are applicable to them.
Do you wish to know more about Canada skilled worker migration? Connect with CanApprove.
