VICTORIA: The government of British Columbia is expanding the Practice Ready Assessment program (PRA-BC), which is a pathway for internationally educated family doctors to be licensed to work in B.C. The program will triple from 32 seats to 96 seats by March 2024.

(PRA-BC) program provides an alternative pathway to licensure in B.C. for practicing family doctors from jurisdictions outside of Canada. After successfully completing an assessment, physicians receive a provisional license and are positioned for a three-year return of service in a community of identified need. 

Also, International medical graduates (IMGs) who are not eligible for full or provisional licensure in B.C. may be eligible for a new associate physician class of restricted registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC). 

Currently, internationally educated doctors who want to work in B.C. need to meet the minimum national medical standards for practise and successfully complete a series of assessments identified by national and provincial regulatory bodies to allow for registration with the CPSBC. The new class allows practitioners with specialty medical training that is acceptable to the CPSBC to work under physician direction and supervision within a health authority acute-care setting to increase capacity and service delivery.

The new associate physician classification will support IMGs in the province who are not eligible for licensure as independent medical practitioners to find employment opportunities that meet priority health-system gaps.

This will allow them to care for patients under the direction and supervision of an attending physician within a health authority acute-care setting. This is part of government’s work to recruit more health professionals and provide immediate solutions for people who need to access health services. 

The Ministry of Health is also working with the CPSBC to expand the new class, so associate physicians can work in community-based primary care settings over the coming months.

The Province is working with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada to allow IMGs to start the accreditation process before they arrive in B.C. Doctors interested in moving to B.C. will have increased certainty of being able to practise when they arrive, so they can support doctors and begin treating patients.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC will prepare bylaw changes to allow doctors trained in the U.S. for three years to practise medicine in community settings, such as urgent and primary care centres, community clinics and family practices. These doctors will be able to care for adult and pediatric patients, as well as provide emergency and urgent care. The bylaw changes will be implemented in the coming weeks, with the intent of allowing these doctors to practise medicine in B.C. communities by January 2023.

To learn about the Practice Ready Assessment, visit: https://www.prabc.ca/

To learn about the associate physician class of registration, visit: https://www.cpsbc.ca/registrants/current-registrants/registration-and-licensing/defined-scope/associate.

IMGs seeking information about associate physician employment opportunities are encouraged to contact Health Match BC: https://www.healthmatchbc.org/About-Us/Contact-Us/Contact-Us-(Physicians)

To learn about the Province’s Health Human Resource Strategy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0059-001464