'We are confident that direct observation by trained, skilled physician assessors working together will be an effective way to identify and evaluate competence'
Nova Scotia is set to fast-track the assessment process for internationally trained doctors to be integrated into Nova Scotia's health system, cutting the licensing time from 18 months to just 12 weeks.
Starting 2025, a new Halifax-based clinic will assess the skills of international medical graduates while the foreign recruits provide primary care to about 2,500 patients. This will help the province address the shortage of doctors in the province, according to a report from The Canadian Press.
"This we believe will be very appealing to the people we are trying to recruit to Nova Scotia," said Premier Tim Houston. "All of this means Nova Scotians will get the primary care access that they need and physicians will have their education and skills assessed in a practical manner."
The program will grant graduates a licence to practise in Nova Scotia, and they will be required to sign an agreement to work at least three years in the province.
Once in full swing, the program will issue about 45 licences a year, up from the 39 that were issued over the last five years to internationally trained doctors.
Previously, Manitoba made it easier for internationally trained doctors to come to the province and enter its health-care workforce, making changes to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) General Regulation, so internationally educated physicians in specific membership classes will no longer be required to pass the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam Part 1 (MCCQE1) before registering and practising in Manitoba.
‘The right tool for the job’ assessing doctors
The new Halifax-based clinic is the result of a partnership between the province, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, and the Medical Council of Canada.
The Medical Council of Canada will provide training and accreditation for doctors who will become competency assessors.
"The assessment clinic will be the first of its kind in North America," said Dr. Gus Grant, registrar and CEO of the college of physicians, in the CP report posted on CBC. "This clinic will open the door wider for physicians to be assessed for licensure, but it will not lower the bar of competence or quality that we require of our physicians."
To qualify to work in the assessment clinic, candidates must have a recognized medical degree, two years of postgraduate training, a proficiency in English, and must have trained or practised in medicine within the last three to five years.
For too long, internationally trained doctors have been assessed with retraining or write examinations, which are often designed for new medical graduates, said Grant. This is the "wrong tool for the job" in assessing mid-career physicians, he said.
"The right tool for the job is workplace-based assessment, and we are confident that direct observation by trained, skilled physician assessors working together will be an effective way to identify and evaluate competence," he said.
The provincial health department says 28%, or 52 of the 185 new doctors who began practising in Nova Scotia in the 2023-24 fiscal year were recruited internationally.
And it will take time for new medical schools to increase the flow of new doctors into the province's healthcare system, said Grant, according to the report.
In 2023, Nova Scotia announced it is investing $12 million to provide more modular housing for healthcare workers and skilled tradespeople in communities where housing options are limited.
