British Columbia has announced several new measures to bring more doctors to the province, amid an ongoing shortage and strained emergency departments.
Premier David Eby says the province is expanding a program through which internationally-educated family doctors can become licensed to work in B.C.
Announcing the plan, he told a news conference the number of seats in the Practice Ready Assessment will triple to 96 seats by March 2024, up from the existing 32.
Eby says the pandemic has exposed challenges and added further strains in the healthcare system, with too many residents struggling to find a family doctor
In another change, Eby says international medical graduates who are not eligible to be fully or provisionally licensed in B.C. may now be eligible for a new “associate physician” class of registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says the college is also changing a bylaw to make it easier for doctors trained in the United States to practice in B.C. communities.
