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College News

Council Approves New and Revised Professional Standards and Guidelines

At its October meeting, the Council of the College approved the following new professional standards and guidelines: Professional Standards and Guidelines Reducing the Size of a Medical Practice Professional Standards and Guidelines Regarding Physician Use of Social Media Professional Standards and Guidelines Regarding Duty to Report Health Professionals The Council also approved the following revised professional standards: Professional Standards Regarding Temporarily or Permanently […]

Notice of Hearing Regarding Dr. Jeffrey Champion

Pursuant to the Medical Act, a Hearing Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia will convene to consider allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence regarding Dr. Jeffrey Champion. The date and location of the Hearing once determined will be made available. Notice of Hearing

Notice of Hearing Regarding Dr. James Leahy

Pursuant to the Medical Act, a Hearing Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia will convene to consider allegations of professional misconduct, incompetence and/or incapacity regarding Dr. James Leahy. The Hearing will be held at the offices of McInnes Cooper on a date to be determined. Notice of Hearing

Proposed new Bill Protects the Rights of 2SLGBTIQ+ Youth with Prohibition on Harmful Therapy

In June, the College of Physicians and Surgeons wrote a letter to the Minister of Health regarding media reports of the delivery of “conversion” or “reparative” therapy in Nova Scotia. The College clearly stated its opposition to this intervention and to the premise that sexuality or gender identity is a pathology that may or should be cured. The College stated that such interventions did not belong anywhere within the practice of medicine. Sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts refer to practices that attempt to change a 2SLGBTIQ+ person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through various means including counselling, behaviour modification and/or the use of medications. On October 11th, the College attended the legislative briefing session regarding the provincial […]

Notice of Hearing Regarding Dr. Arif Samad

Pursuant to the Medical Act, a Hearing Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia will convene to consider allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence regarding Dr. Arif Samad. The date and location of the Hearing once determined will be made available. Notice of Hearing (PDF – 2 pages) Addendum to the Notice of Hearing regarding Dr. Arif Samad July 18, 2019 Due to additional information having been received by the College, the Notice of Hearing Regarding Dr. Arif Samad has been withdrawn.  The matter has been resolved without a licensing sanction.  

New College President

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia is pleased to announce that Dr. Mary Oxner, PhD, CA, CFA, has been appointed College President for the 2018-2020 term. Dr. Oxner has had a distinguished career in the financial field, including acting as Senior Vice President of Quorum Funding Corporation and Chief Financial Officer of Quorum Growth Inc. Dr. Oxner currently works as an associate professor at the Gerald Schwartz School of Business at St. Francis Xavier University. Dr. Oxner has been serving as a public member of the Council since 2014. She currently sits on the Finance and Audit, Investigation and Executive committees. Physicians Elected to Council As a […]

Practice-Ready Assessment in Family Medicine

The College welcomes the recent Department of Health and Wellness funding announcement of a Practice-Ready Assessment (PRA) program for Family Medicine in Nova Scotia. College staff have worked alongside other stakeholders in defining the program model and will continue to be engaged over coming months as the program is more fully developed. Procedures for receiving applications, screening the credentials of prospective candidates and selection into the clinical practice assessment will be announced by the program as they are developed. The new PRA program will not be managed by the College. For further information please contact the Department of Health and Wellness or the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

Prescribing Methadone – Removal of Health Canada Exemption

Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor announced March 26 the federal government will introduce regulatory amendments to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act (CDSA). Currently, physicians who wish to prescribe methadone for the treatment of pain or for use in opioid replacement therapy must apply for an exemption from the CDSA. For an application to be approved, Health Canada requires a letter of support from the College. The proposed amendments, anticipated to be in place in May, will lift the need for such exemptions. As with all questions on expanding the scope of practice, the College expects physicians intending to prescribe […]