Written by JERED STUFFCO on August 26, 2014 for The Medical Post
Doctors trained abroad are bolstering Ontario’s ranks of physicians, the provincial college reports in it’s annual review.
“1,793 certificates were for IMGs—a record”
In 2013, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario registered 4,441 physicians.
Of those, 1,793 were IMGs while 1,646 were from Ontario.
And the number of IMGs is a new record for the CPSO.
Meanwhile, among those: 707 IMGs were licensed to start their own practice and nearly 1,100 got post-grad papers which will allow them to get more on-the-job experience.
Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins welcomed the numbers.
“I am pleased to see that the CPSO had another record-breaking year in 2013 in increasing the total number of licences given to physicians in Ontario. I know how vital it is for Ontario families to have access to primary care,” he said in a statement, published by the Toronto Star.
Check out the full report here.
Online edited response to the above article from John Philpott, President and CEO, CanAm Physician Recruiting Inc., on August 28, 2014.
Two thumbs up to CPSO for their progress and educated approach in licencing IMGs. Particularly in providing a direct pathway granting full licence to American trained physicians without the need to write basic MCC exams. CPSBC & CPSNB have already followed BC’s lead.
Now it’s time for all other provincial colleges, particularly CPSNS and CPSPEI, to do the same. The CPSNS and CPSPEI are currently the most rigid provincial colleges in Canada when it comes to licencing regulations for IMGs. Consequently, NS and PEI are steadily losing quality doctors to Ontario and BC, both IMGs and Canadians. It brings to question whether these colleges are they failing to deliver their mandate to “protect the public by ensuring the delivery of safe, quality and appropriate health care to NS and PEI citizens”?
