The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the health workforce and is working collaboratively with partners, including provinces and territories, to improve retention and recruitment and help internationally educated health professionals put their skills and experience to work in Canada more quickly.
The Canadian National Plan for Health Workforce Well-being
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Funding: $3,531,052 over five fiscal years
The project proposes the development and dissemination of a National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being, taking into account the current state of burnout within the health workforce. The development of the National Plan will bring together a diverse group of partners including the Canadian Nurses Association, the Medical Council of Canada, the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, College of Family Physicians of Canada, and others, to identify, develop and prioritize solutions to the health workforce well-being crisis.
This plan will help coordinate actions across the sector and provide a roadmap to develop a health system in which care is delivered with joy, compassion and meaning, by a committed team, in partnership with engaged patients and communities. Implementing the priorities envisioned in this National Plan will help move toward a more sustainable equitable, efficient, safe, cost-effective, and high-quality health care system in Canada.
Expanding and expediting of the Specialist Practice Eligibility Route for International Medical Graduates: Capitalizing on the shift to Competency-Based Education
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Funding: $1,488,012 over two fiscal years
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) project, entitled Expanding and expediting of the Specialist Practice Eligibility Route for International Medical Graduates / Internationally Trained Physicians (IMG/ ITP): Capitalizing on the shift to Competency Based Education aims to re-engineer the intake processes and the collection and validation of candidate information for the Practice Eligibility Route (PER). This would aim to reduce the intake and processing times for certain candidates from 6-24 months down to 3-4 months.
The outcomes of this project would allow candidates to apply to various medical regulatory authorities (MRAs) for the opportunity to obtain a provisional licence and be able to provide care in that jurisdiction's health care system while proceeding with the practice assessment phase of the PER.
Scans and Scoping for Expansion of the Practice Ready Assessment (PRA) and Development of an Alternative pathway for international medical Graduates
Medical Council of Canada
Funding: $500,000 over two fiscal years
The Medical Council of Canada's (MCC) project, entitled Scans and Scoping for Expansion of the Practice Ready Assessment (PRA) and Development of an Alternative Pathway for International Medical Graduates / Internationally Trained Physicians aims to build on current knowledge and on activities through an environmental scan and focus groups. This will help to better understand the barriers to expanding existing PRA programs, as well as the requirements and capacity at a national level to assist with integrating international medical graduates (IMGs) and internationally trained physicians (ITPs) into the Canadian health workforce.
