Saskatchewan hopes to ease MD shortage by easing licensing requirements

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan has passed bylaws that give foreign-trained doctors an extra year to pass the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination (MCCEE) and reduce the length of time they must commit to staying in a given community. It hopes that the relaxed requirements will make the province a more attractive destination for international medical graduates (IMGs).

Previously, IMGs had a year to pass the MCCEE. Those who did not write it within a year or failed it were granted a conditional licence that gave them 2 more chances to the pass the evaluation test but required a 5-year commitment to the community in which they were practising. The issue of foreign recruitment is particularly important in Saskatchewan, where more than half the practising physicians were trained outside Canada; almost 1 in 5 of the province's doctors trained in South African medical schools.

Under the new system, not only will foreign-trained physicians have 2 years to complete the MCCEE, they will also have 4 years to pass part 1 of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam (MCCQE) and 5 years to pass part 2. Previously, IMGs were required to pass both parts of the MCCQE during their 3-year provisional license period, with a failure to do so costing them their licence.

Bryan Salte, the college's associate registrar, says these changes should help make his province a more appealing starting spot for foreign-trained doctors. “We think this is as good a compromise as is possible between the competing interests,” he says.

He also says the changes will not affect the quality of care. “We are not licensing anyone we would not have licensed before,” he says. “We have always given licences to people before they have written the MCC exam, provided they met our postgraduate criteria. The only impact of these changes is to extend the period people have to write the exam.”