Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - May 2007
On Tuesday Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard publicly questioned the disconnect in the system which allows for residencies to go unfilled while foreign doctors are not allowed to practice in the province.
Though some progress has been made in recent years, the Minister's office is concerned that still so many training positions are left vacant as the shortage of practicing physicians grows. Last year in family practice alone, 65 resident training positions were left vacant while 200 foreign doctors waited for clearance.
The Quebec College of Physicians, who are in charge of distributing licenses to doctors, has repeatedly emphasized the need for qualified candidates. The College President, Yves Lamontagne, denies any allegations of discrimination.
"Our role is to protect the public." he said. "We have to make sure each candidate has been adequately trained and is fully competent."
However, there are a series of tests conducted prior to the resident placements that weed out unqualified and untrained candidates, advocates argue. Most of the 200 foreign doctors who wish to complete their training, which they must do in order to be licensed in Quebec, have already passed all of the necessary Canadian exams. Yet, they are not being called on for the residency positions.
For now, Couillard is planning on meeting with the Quebec College of Physicians and the deans of the four medical schools in the province to see what can be done to address the issue.
Sources:
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=f542a4b5-df33-4cdd-a369-492cce00eca0&k=63200
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=f542a4b5-df33-4cdd-a369-492cce00eca0&k=63200
