New Centre to Support More International Medical Graduates

Nova Scotia is opening an international medical graduate assessment centre in Halifax to help more internationally trained physicians become licensed to practise in the province.

The initiative will begin with four international medical graduates providing primary care for about 2,500 patients. Two Nova Scotia physicians will supervise the graduates and assess them for independent licensure.

“We have healthcare professionals like doctors who want to make Nova Scotia their home, and we have the opportunities to help them do what they do best – provide care to patients,” said Premier Tim Houston. “This new centre will help doctors from other countries to move through assessments faster to ensure they meet standards to practice medicine in Nova Scotia.”

Over time, the centre will expand to include five physician-led teams of up to three international medical graduates each. As the number of teams expands, so will the clinic’s capacity, to about 6,400 patients.

Graduates who complete the 12-week assessment program and receive licensure will be required to sign a three-year return-of-service agreement.

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 in one year, this new program 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.

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:

“The clinic is an innovative response to the immediate need for more primary care physicians. We are opening the door of eligibility wider for physicians with training from around the world, without lowering the bar for licensure. Physicians trained in workplace-based assessment will lead this work. Being first of its kind, the clinic should bestow an advantage to Nova Scotia in the worldwide competition to recruit safe, competent, primary care physicians.”
— Dr. Gus Grant, Registrar and CEO, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia.

Quick Facts:

• 28 per cent of new physicians who began practising in Nova Scotia last year were recruited internationally
• the Practice Ready Assessment Program assesses about 16 international medical graduates annually