Canada HealthCare Blog

The Physicians for You team is on location at the May 2022 Pri-Med Conference and Trade Show happening right now in Toronto, Ontario. The International Conference Centre in Mississauga, where Prime-Med is hosted, is buzzing with excitement after a two year hiatus due to Covid-19.

Prime-Med is one of the largest medical education providers in Canada, offering this in-person event here in May, and a virtual event in June which you can still register for and earn 29+ Mainpro+ credits.

Family Physicians can access the one credit per hour Group Learning program that meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and has been certified by Queen’s University for up to 33 Mainpro+ credits.

Specialists can access an Accredited Group Learning Activity, Section 1, as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), and approved by Queen’s University Office of CPD, and claim up to 33 hours.

Pharmacists can access this this program for 33 CEUs, accredited by The Canadian Council on Continuing Education in Pharmacy.

The World Health Organisation COVID-19 Solidarity Therapeutics Trial is an unprecedented international collaboration to identify life-saving treatments for COVID-19. Fifty-two countries, including Canada, are participating in this global research on coronavirus disease, with 2,000 researchers, 600 hospitals, and 14,200 randomized hospitalized patients who are all receiving the local standard of care.

This large scale, global randomized control trial is designed to provide robust results on whether a drug can save lives in those hospitalized with severe or critical COVID-19, and represents the largest global collaboration among WHO Member States. 

World Health Organization expert groups recommended mortality trials of four repurposed antiviral drugs — remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, and interferon beta-1a — in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. 

The Canadian Treatments for COVID-19 (CATCO) sub study component of the global WHO Solidarity clinical trial researched the role of Remdesivir, a repurposed antiviral medication, in the treatment of patients in hospital with COVID-19. This article in the CMAJ details the findings. 

Conclusion

If you're a medical professional from another country considering finding a job and establishing your medical practice in Canada, you may be wondering whether you'll be able to work as a doctor here. The following article contains information to assist you in understanding how to get started working in Canada. You can visit our job board, if you are looking for Doctor Jobs in Canada.

To work in Canada as a physician, you will usually need the following at minimum:

A degree from an accredited medical school; postgraduate training that is recognised in Canada for either Family Physicians or Specialists, eligibility to the appropriate certification exams; Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam (MCCQE1); Fluency in English; and a licence issued by the provincial licensing authority.

If your postgraduate training is not recognised, you will have to explore what options are available to you before applying for licensure with any provincial or territorial licensing authority.

Doctors wishing to work in Canada should note that registration requirements vary from province to province and all details should be confirmed with the appropriate authority for your chosen region prior to applying for a licence. 

Family doctors with postgraduate training from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have training and certification recognised by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). Any family doctor whose postgraduate medical training is from a country not on this list will need to speak to the provincial licencing body to seek alternate routes such as a practice ready assessment before being eligible for registration. Practice ready assessments are not always available and will be subject to each province’s admission capacities and requirements.

Canada is a sizable country that is composed of 10 provinces and three territories. Each province has a certain autonomy and responsibility for social programs including health care and education, yet all abide by federal and national rules and regulations as well. This is also the case for obtaining a medical licence to practice anywhere in Canada. 

All doctors, both Canadian and Internationally trained, must follow steps in order to obtain a medical practice licence in the province they choose to practice in by adhering to both national and provincial regulations and requirements.

The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) are the national organisations that establish the standards for and accredit postgraduate family medicine training and specialist postgraduate residency training respectively.

Each province and territory then has a medical regulatory authority that is responsible for setting the licensing criteria for that specific province. 

These are the organisations you may want to become familiar with if you are interested in obtaining a licence to practice medicine anywhere in Canada.

Covid 19 has had an effect on all aspects of medical practice in Canada, including the ultimate termination of a required Canadian medical licencing exam. Challenges facing the delivery of the exam began the previous year due to the pandemic, but have ultimately resulted in a re-assessment of the necessity of the exam, licencing policies, and processes.

The Transition

The month of June saw The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) officially cease delivery of the Medical Council of Canada Part II Examination. In the month prior, the MCC attempted a virtual delivery of the Exam; the challenges of that led to the suspension and subsequent ceasing of the exam entirely.

MCCQE Part II Exam No Longer A Requisite

Physicians no longer require the MCCQE Part II Exam as part of their requisite to obtaining an independent medical licence in Canada. Physicians will still need to be granted the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC), with revised criteria outlined in this statement. According to the MCC, it will seek to collaborate with the Canadian Faculty of Medicine Postgraduate Medical Education offices to confirm that candidates meet the required post-graduate clinical training months.

Last week, on July 15, 2021, the MCC  announced the launch of a new business service dedicated to awarding the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) as a stand-alone process. This will be realised in a two phase process, allowing those who were already registered for the exam to apply for the award, followed by phase two, which will allow all other eligible candidates who meet the new outlined criteria to apply.

Each provincial Medical Regulatory Authority (MRA) is anticipated to revise their licencing policies in response, and to effect the smooth transition eligible candidates. This is a current and ongoing process, and as the roll-out of the MCC’s new business service unfolds, we will continue to provide updates.

International physicians applying for roles in Canada can always typically expect to attend at least an initial phone interview. Due to the pandemic, we have now seen a significant increase in virtual interviews for both national and international candidates, residents, and even medical school applicants. 

Most healthcare facilities now conduct all initial and even second interviews virtually or over the phone. With the exception of international jobs, face-to-face interviews have always been the “next step”, and not being able to do this has left employers needing to get to know you in a compressed amount of time. Selecting a physician candidate who meets all the clinical skill requirements and is a good culture fit for the facility and the community has the added challenge of potentially never shaking hands or meeting face to face before a hire. 

The good news is that this is a new and evolving experience for all involved. However, physicians should do their best to prepare themselves, their environment, and their devices for a successful meeting with their prospective employer, and attend the interview as professionally as possible. 

Prepare Ahead to Ace your Interview

The team here at Physicians for You will always help you with pre-interview questions to help guide the flow of the interview, and also to prepare you for some typical questions you will get asked. It is a good idea to rehearse answers to questions you’ll likely get. Preparing your answers in advance to the most commonly asked questions can help you come across confident and stand out from other physicians pursuing the same position. 

Questions such as “ Tell me about yourself” can catch you off guard if you are not prepared to speak freely about yourself. With this type of question, a three prong answer is helpful – brief training and experience overview, recognised achievements if applicable, and something more personal, like your specific goals or aspirations. 

The Canadian Medical Association has a wonderful series called Physician Changemakers, which features physicians around Canada, and highlights their unique story. This feature is all about Dr. Ann Collins, who has recently taken on the presidency of the CMA after serving on the board of directors for seven years.

Follow her story in the article here as Dr. Collins weaves through her life, from mere thoughts about working in the field of medicine to taking on many different roles including part-time hospital emergency department work, running her own family practice, and medical director of a local nursing home.

Taking on this role during an unprecedented time with the pandemic has also presented its challenges, where virtual care is becoming the norm, and both doctors and patients have had to grapple with a lot of changes, at a very fast pace.

Physicians for You is proud to share the story of this successful Canadian physician who has deep roots in her community of Fredericton, New Brunswick, and is dedicating her wealth of experience to the Canadian Medical Association. Thank you Dr. Collins!

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