"Ontario pursues foreign-trained doctors"

[Guest Ceds]

Hey everyone, this article is from the Globe and Mail today. Thought it would be of interest. It refers to a plan that (in theory) will help ease Ontario's physician shortage by making the field more accessible to IMGs.

 

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POSTED AT 5:00 PM EST Thursday, November 21

 

Article URL

Ontario pursues foreign-trained doctors

 

By DARREN YOURK

Globe and Mail Update

 

 

Ontario has decided to think globally in its effort to tackle the shortage of physicians in the province.

 

A new eight-point plan unveiled Thursday by Premier Ernie Eves and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Tony Clement will see the assessments of hundreds of foreign-trained physicians fast-tracked to qualification.

 

"There are too many qualified, foreign-trained doctors already living in Ontario who have been forced to sit on the sidelines of our health care system," Mr. Eves said Thursday in Toronto. "That ends today. By removing barriers and providing more training opportunities, we will more than double the number of foreign-trained doctors practising in Ontario and significantly improve access to front-line health care."

 

The Premier said the new plan will add more than 650 new physicians, mainly International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to the health-care system over the next five years by creating 110 new postgraduate training positions — mainly for IMGs — which will allow those in need of additional training to become licensed.

 

The government will also set up a new Fast Track Assessment pilot program to assess IMGs currently practising outside Ontario. The program will target doctors in specialty areas of highest need or those who are willing to practise in underserviced areas.

 

"Today's announcement will significantly shorten the process that foreign-trained doctors must go through to practise in Ontario," Mr. Clement said. "By fast-tracking the process, we will ensure thousands more Ontarians will have better access to the doctors they need."

 

Critics were quick to point out that the government's new fast-track assessment program only applies to doctors working in other provinces.

 

NDP Health Critic Shelly Martel said the Eves government is internationally trained doctors on "a fast track to nowhere."

 

"The Tories dim idea to solve our doctor shortage is to steal doctors from other under-serviced jurisdictions in Canada and elsewhere in the world," Ms. Martel said. "They too suffer from a critical shortage of doctors, yet Ontario has thousands of internationally trained physicians who cannot practice here. Let's accredit them and get them to work rather than sideline them to engage in global raiding."

 

Joan Atlin, executive director of the International Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, told globeandmail.com Thursday she's cautiously optimistic that the province will put in place an effective assessment system for underemployed foreign doctors.

 

"We welcome the initiative based on what we've heard so far," Ms. Atlin said. "We'll reserve our final judgment until we're sure it will create better access for all of our members. We've been asking for a broader assessment system for a long time."

 

The Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine also applauded the government's plan, saying the initiatives will help address the physician shortages.

 

"Not only have we increased educational opportunities for Canadian medical graduates, but it is very encouraging to see the government take the necessary steps to ensure that international medical graduates are part of the solution," Dr. David Walker, chair of the council, said in a statement.

 

The current shortage of doctors in Ontario was estimated at more than 1,580 in a study commissioned in 2001 by the provincial government.

 

Quebec announced on Nov. 4 that it would start recruiting foreign doctors to help fill a shortage that has left its hospitals understaffed. The province needs about 1,000 more doctors.

[Guest MDCY]

I'll believe it when I see it; since I'll be a FMG I don't even plan to even try to practice in Canada since all my loans are in US dollars and I'll be more easily accepted in the US anyway than Canada will ever be. On the other hand, I hope this helps all those FMG in Canada who had to do something else than to practice the medicine they love.

Cheers!

[Guest Ceds]

One can't help but be skeptical about it but at least it's something. How effective will it be? Only time will tell I guess. Even with the changes though it seems that there will still be much hardship faced by IMG's in the ever unwelcoming Canadian medical community...