Tuesday, August 19, 2008

ALBERTA- Supervised Activity 1: The Calgary Clinical Assistants Program

The Calgary Clinical Assistants Program (CCAP) Introduces a new level of health care provider; and potentially provides a Transition Program to create a more successful cadre of international medical graduates as they proceed to residency programs.

The CCAP Program will have a minimum number of 10 international medical graduates, funded by the Calgary Health Region on one year contracts, acting as clinical assistants within the Calgary Health Region.
Clinical Assistants (CAs) would be blended into existing programs requiring supervised medical services and have the opportunity to actively participate in supervised interactions with patients and obtain hands-on experience in the Calgary health care system.
The CCAP will provide an assessment period for evaluating Clinical Assistants' level of competence.


For more information, please use the link below:
http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/ccap/

ALBERTA- Supervised Activity 2: Capital Health International Medical Graduate Clinical and Surgical Preceptor Program

Capital Health (CH) offers various opportunities for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and Foreign Trained Physicians. These programs are managed by the Physician Preceptorship Program office within Medical Affairs.
In CH, clinical opportunities for IMGs are typically two- to six-month clinical preceptorships within a specific clinical service. Following the preceptorship period, a formal evaluation is completed to determine if pre-defined program specific clinical learning objectives have been met.
Successful candidates are then eligible to be offered positions as Clinical Assistants or Surgical Assistants.
Opportunities for IMGs with Capital Health do not result in full licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta nor independent practice opportunities.
Clinical Assistants and Surgical Assistants in Capital Health work under the supervision and direction of licensed physicians in Capital Health facilities.
Clinical Assistants generally provide acute care coverage on nights and weekends and manage patients admitted to a service by assessing patient progress and responding to patient medical needs as they arise over the course of the shift. In consultation with the attending physician, Clinical Assistants will, for example, perform patient interviews, histories and physical examinations, perform selected diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, and interpret patient laboratory and radiological results. More generally, Clinical Assistants collaborate with other health care team members in the provision of patient care.
Surgical-Clinical Assistants provide acute care coverage services in the role of a clinical assistant to in-hospital surgical patients. The Surgical-Clinical Assistant's duties include (but are not limited to) pre-op consultation, pre- and post-op co-morbidity management of surgical patients, management of post-op complications, and consultations in the emergency department, as well as serving as an assistant to the operating surgeon during the intraoperative phase of surgery.
Surgical Assistants serve as an assistant to the operating surgeon during the intraoperative phase of surgery.

Please click on the link below for more information:
http://www.capitalhealth.ca/Careers/InternationalHealthCareProfessionals/InternationalMedicalGraduates/default.htm

Monday, August 18, 2008

MANITOBA: Conditional Registration and licensure to practise medicine in the province

Physicians do not require an offer of employment to submit a formal application for conditional registration to the College. Applicants should note that confirmation of approval for a Minister's Certificate is required for referral to the assessments referred to in Section IV of this information brochure. Prospective applicants for general (family) practice are encouraged to contact the Physician Resource Coordination Office [PRCO, Manitoba Health Workforce Policy & Planning, Room 1043-300 Carlton Street, Winnipeg R3B 3M9 (204 788 6668)] and register on the PRCO website at http://www.healthemployment.ca/. Applicants for general practice must submit a formal application to determine eligibility.



APPLICANTS FOR CONDITIONAL REGISTRATION MUST:

(a) be a graduate from an approved Faculty of Medicine,
(b) have satisfactorily completed an assessment process acceptable to the College,
(c) hold an unexpired pass standing in the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination , or Part I or Part II, or both (LMCC) of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination,
(d) have satisfactorily completed one of the following postgraduate clinical training requirements:


(i) two years postgraduate clinical training acceptable to the College which meets the requirements as outlined in Appendix A,
(ii) one year postgraduate clinical training acceptable to the College which meets the requirements as outlined in Appendix A and have had a total of at least three years practice experience in the preceding five year period and complete an orientation program acceptable to the College,
(iii) the highest qualification in a specialty field where the length of training is of equal duration to that required by the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada, which would entitle the physician to obtain a licence limited to the specialty training field,
(iv) two years of postgraduate clinical training acceptable to the College which meets the requirements as outlined in Appendix A and a postgraduate training program acceptable to the College which would entitle the physician to obtain a licence limited to the specialty training field,

(e) be issued a certificate from the Minister of Health stating that the physician is required to provide medical services in a specified community or practice setting.

Physicians who at the time of application meet the following criteria are exempted from the requirements listed in (b), (c) and (d) above:

1. Is eligible for examination by one of the American Specialty Boards based on satisfactory completion of training, or is a Diplomate of an American Board of Medical Specialty. Applicants are eligible for a licence limited to the specialty training field and must obtain a pass in the Medical Council Qualifying Examination, Part II within five years of the date of conditional registration.
2. Is eligible for examination in a specialty of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada based on satisfactory completion of residency training. Applicants are eligible for a licence limited to the specialty training field and must obtain Royal College certification within the time frame set by the Royal College.
3. Is eligible for examination by, or is a certificant of, the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Applicants are eligible for a licence in primary care and must obtain the LMCC within five years of the date of conditional registration, and those who are examination eligible must obtain certification within the time frame set by the College of Family Physicians.
For more info. please visit websitehttp://www.cpsm.mb.ca/2_1_2_2_conditional.php

NOTES:
*The above mentioned route is one of the IMG Routes to Licensure in Manitoba
**Also, there is an IMG-Specific Program called
The Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates (MLPIMG) .

***Another option will be through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). [IMGs can enter training programs through the first iteration of the CaRMS match].

For more info. about all routes please visit the following web page:
http://www.img-canada.ca/en/provinces/manitoba/img-training-programs.html

Sunday, August 17, 2008

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR / The Clinical Skills Assessment and Training Program (CSAT)

Before CSAT applications are considered, applicants must have obtained a passing score in the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination. Applicants must be fluent in the English Language and may be required to demonstrate fluency by obtaining a certain score in TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and in TSE (Test of Spoken English). Alternatively the applicant may obtain an acceptable score in TOEFL iBT. TOEFL iBT has recently been introduced as a replacement for TOEFL and TSE.
Please refer to the College's policy on Fluency in English which is found on web site under Policies and Guidelines.

The "CSAT" has been developed by the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Satisfactory completion of the CSAT will fulfill the clinical training requirements and enable you to continue the application process for a provisional licence.
The College determines which applicants are eligible for entry to the CSAT. If you are eligible, an application form will be forwarded to you by the College.


Please visit the website of "The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador" http://www.nmb.ca/Registration.asp

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Welcome Doctors

Dear friends,

Congratulations on being in Canada. You have brilliantly made it to such a promising and prosperous country!
Now don't get deterred by the difficulties of re-settlement and the challenges of restarting your career path.
When you start to get worried about one aspect of life or another please don't hesitate to talk to me.
Yes, I encourage you to share your thoughts and worries, as TOGETHER we can find a variety of solutions!