HALIFAX: Nova Scotia opened a new centre that will see internationally trained physicians get licensed faster to practise in communities across the province.
The Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence and its clinic are now open with four internationally trained physicians who will be providing primary care to 2,600 patients.
All patients are assigned from the Need a Family Practice Registry.
“We know there are many talented and in-demand internationally trained doctors who are eager to practise primary care medicine in our beautiful province,” said Minister of Health and Wellness Michelle Thompson.
“This assessment centre is the first of its kind in North America, and it will get these doctors seeing patients much faster than before while providing the quality of care Nova Scotians expect.”
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The internationally trained physicians are supervised by a team of Nova Scotia physicians who will assess them for independent licensure.
The program takes about 12 weeks to complete, and individuals who become licensed will be required to sign a three-year return-of-service agreement to practise in the province.
The centre takes over from Dalhousie University’s Practice Ready Assessment Program, which did similar work and since 2019, issued 39 licences.
The timeline was about 18 months from the date of application to licensure.
It is anticipated that once the program is fully implemented, it will issue more licences than have been issued over the last five years. The duration of the new program is 12 continuous weeks if the candidate meets all requirements.
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Over time, the centre will expand to include five physician-led teams of up to three internationally trained physicians each. At full scale, the clinic will have capacity for 6,500 patients.
The new centre is a partnership between the Province, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia and the Medical Council of Canada, which oversees physician assessment standards in Canada.
Quotes:
“Having been a family physician for over 20 years in a more rural setting, I understand some of what internationally trained primary care providers will experience in our healthcare system.
“I welcomed the opportunity to become trained in workplace-based physician assessment, and I am excited to make a contribution to improving access to care by assessing internationally trained family care providers for practise in Nova Scotia.”
— Dr. Andria MacAulay, physician assessor, Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence
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“PACE will help improve access to care for Nova Scotians. PACE has a hybrid mission.
It will assess internationally trained family care providers for independent licensure while delivering excellent primary care in a busy clinic.
It is the first primary care model of its kind in Canada.”
— Dr. Gus Grant, Registrar and CEO, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
