FURTHER SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES

VICTORIA – Government is working with internationally educated medical graduates to find ways to make the best use of their medical training and skills within the provincial health-care system, said Health Services Minister George Abbott today.

The Ministry of Health Services has granted a $45,000 contract to the Association of International Medical Doctors of B.C. to explore employment opportunities for international medical graduates who live in the province. International medical graduates are individuals holding a medical degree from schools not accredited in Canada or the United States.

“We are working to find new and innovative ways to use the expertise and skills of international medical graduates and identify employment opportunities within the health system,” said Abbott. “Government is committed to building capacity for internationally trained medical graduates, and we need to look at doing this in creative ways – either by using a varied number of training opportunities already in place or by making adaptations to address the gaps in training.”

The goal of the project is to identify careers in health care, determine the pre-requisites and training required, recommend new training programs, and develop a listing of employment opportunities and the steps required to pursue career pathways that will enable international medical graduates to use their skills and experience in the health sector. In addition, an outreach strategy will be developed to help inform international medical graduates about career options in health care.

“We’ve expanded training in a wide spectrum of health-care professions in British Columbia, which is beginning to pay off with increased numbers of home-grown graduates,” said Murray Coell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. “We also welcome the skills of those with education and experience in other countries, and look forward to helping those people round out that knowledge so they can work with patients in our province.”

This work is a critical support to the Skills Connect for Immigrants – Health program, which is jointly funded by Ministry of Health Services (with Health Canada funding) and Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. Many of these clients are international medical graduates who will face major challenges becoming physicians in British Columbia.

“AIMDBC is very pleased with the government’s forward thinking and support to our project,” said Dr. Carla Fast, president of the Association of International Medical Doctors of BC. “It is another important step in the integration of those immigrant doctors that at this point don’t have access to residency positions, but will still be able to make a great contribution to health care in British Columbia.”

In the February 2008 throne speech, government announced its intention to amend the Health Professions Act to allow health providers the opportunity to utilize their full scope of training and expertise, as well as create a new Health Professions Review Board to ensure qualified health workers can fully utilize their full scope of practice and not be denied this right by unnecessary credentialing and licensure restrictions. The new Health Professions Regulation Reform Act provides the legislative authority to ensure health professionals certified to practice in other Canadian jurisdictions will have their credentials recognized in British Columbia, and creates a new restricted license allowing internationally trained physicians to practise in their specific areas of qualifications.

In 2005, government expedited the immigration process for internationally educated doctors under the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program through the Ministry of Economic Development. After practising in British Columbia for a minimum of nine months on a temporary work permit, internationally trained physicians can now gain permanent resident status in six to eight months instead of up to three years.

These changes are an expression of the Province’s commitment to integrating international medical graduates and other internationally educated health-care professionals into British Columbia’s work force.

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Media contact:	Michelle Stewart Communications Director Ministry of Health Services 250 812-5571 (cell) 250 952-1887 (media line)	Richard Chambers Communications Director Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development 250 952-6508 250 361-7241 (cell)

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