Electronic letters to:

Letters:
Stephen Sullivan
One country, too many licensing bodies
CMAJ 2006; 175: 62 [Full text] [PDF]
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Electronic letters published:

[Read eLetter] One country, too many licensing bodies
Dr. Noorali Bharwani   (25 July 2006)
[Read eLetter] A Central Licensing Agency Would Be a Good Start
Alexander F Hoechsmann   (11 July 2006)
[Read eLetter] Too many registration authorities in Canada
AMIN ALI MUHAMMAD GADIT   (4 July 2006)

One country, too many licensing bodies 25 July 2006
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Dr. Noorali Bharwani
General Surgeon, Palliser Health Region, Alberta

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Re: One country, too many licensing bodies

nb786{at}shaw.ca Dr. Noorali Bharwani

I agree with the points raised by Stephen Sullivan in his letter published in CMAJ (CMAJ 2006; 175: 62).

I raised the same point 26 years ago in a letter to CMAJ (CMAJ, Vol. 132, May 15, 1985) where I expressed frustration experienced by foreign medical graduates (now called international medical graduates)when it came to dealing with numerous licensing bodies with selective and restrictive criteria to control the flow of doctors in their province.

Not much has changed in the last 26 years. I don't think much is going to change in the next 26 years. I feel if a doctor has LMCC and one year of internship then he or she should be able to practice anywhere in Cananda.

Noorali Bharwani, FRCSC, FACS, General Surgeon, Medicine Hat, Alberta

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A Central Licensing Agency Would Be a Good Start 11 July 2006
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Alexander F Hoechsmann
Yellowknife Physicians

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Re: A Central Licensing Agency Would Be a Good Start

hoechsmann{at}theedge.ca Alexander F Hoechsmann

One central agency that collects all the LMCC photocopies, the notarized copies of medical school diplomas, etc. would be a huge head start on this. When a physician has to submit all these documents everytime s/he applies it is a huge waste of resources (hours of bureaucratic time).

Here in the Canada's north we are always in need of doctors, yet the application process is prohibitive. If all the applicant had to do to get a license was to OK the release of pre-existing information, the process would be much simpler and help with the flow of doctors to these remote regions of the country.

I have heard that such an agency works in the US. Why not in Canada?

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Too many registration authorities in Canada 4 July 2006
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AMIN ALI MUHAMMAD GADIT
Memorial University of Newfoundland

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Re: Too many registration authorities in Canada

amin.muhammad{at}med.mun.ca AMIN ALI MUHAMMAD GADIT

One registration authority like that of GMC in UK would be a good step.In my personal communication with one of the registration authority in Canada, the argument came forward in favor of multiple authorities for the reason of large geographical area of the country where one authority may not be able to exercise control and up keep the quality assurance issue. However, it appears that the best solution in the current situation would be the establishment of one authority like PMETB in UK which should assume the responsibilty of reviewing the file of the applicant for any region, assess the credentials, good standing and references. This body should then issue a reference number to approved candidates who can quote this to any authority with the application papers for registration. The concerned authority can then decide without further documentation or any other paper work. This will also make things easier for IMGs who form a reasonable component of the country's health care system.The main body should also determine the specialist status of the candidate whether qualified from Canada or abroad.

Conflict of Interest:

None declared