The race to recruit physicians is both a national and an international competition. The efforts to beef up medical school and residency seats are essential but will take a number of years to bear fruit. The only immediate source of supply is international. As the regulator of the medical profession in Nova Scotia our responsibility is to identify talent and mitigate risk.

As the regulator of the medical profession in Nova Scotia our responsibility is to identify talent and mitigate risk.

The College is leading the country in innovative collaboration, policies, and partnerships that have resulted in new pathways for physician licensure.

The world produces many excellent physicians. The College is expanding its rigorous review of faculties and post-graduate training programs around the world. We are identifying faculties of medical excellence around the world, sometimes hidden in jurisdictions of inconsistent training and regulation. We are the first College in Canada to pursue this opportunity.

After a comprehensive review of the training programs of the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University, last year the College participated in a physician recruitment visit. It is already paying significant dividends. We have three new family physicians in practice in the central zone. They are turning out to be our best recruiters as we are now processing three more eligible candidates. We are in talks with another faculty.

This has been a success story and an important proof of concept. There were many ingredients in the secret sauce: a deep dive into the curriculum of these faculties; close work with the consulate and its diplomatic connections; broad support from the local Lebanese-Nova Scotian community; and job placements in the central zone.

In South Africa, medical school is six years long, then two years of internship, followed by one year of “community service” (usually remote, rural, underserviced areas), after which time physicians are licensed as general practitioners. For most, this involves working in emergency departments. We are offering these physicians (with a minimum of two years clinical practice) a direct path to Defined licensure (minimum six months supervision), with the ultimate destination of a Restricted licence in Emergency Medicine. Some physicians pursue certification in Family Medicine, which involves four more years of training. One physician is now licensed in Emergency Medicine with 15 additional candidates identified. An additional six physicians in Family Medicine are in the cue to be assessed by the Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence.

Although it is beginning to lean into the issue, the College of Family Physicians of Canada has not expanded its recognition of international training. As such, these physicians have had no route to licensure as family physicians in Canada. They now do in Nova Scotia.

While we are opening the door wider, we are not lowering the bar of competence. The College’s fundamental commitment is to public safety. Nova Scotians expect and are entitled to expect safe and competent medical care.