The Ontario government is hoping to attract 100 internationally trained family physicians to practice medicine in rural or northern communities in 2025.
Through the Practice Ready Ontario program, foreign-trained doctors can become licensed more quickly and connect an additional 120,000 people to care, where and when they need it according to a release.
“Through the Practice Ready Ontario program, we are taking another step to connect more people to world-class primary care right in their own communities, now and for years to come,” Health Minister Sylvia Jones said in a news release.
The province launched the Practice Ready Ontario program in 2023 to bring more internationally trained physicians into Ontario’s health-care workforce faster by removing the requirement to complete unnecessary re-education programs.
Starting in 2025, up to 100 internationally trained physicians with training in family medicine who have completed their field assessment will begin practicing as a family doctor in northern and rural communities.
Each internationally educated physician who participates in the program is required to complete a 12-week assessment to ensure they have the skills and competencies needed to practice in Ontario. This program also requires physicians to complete a three-year return of service as a family doctor in a rural or northern community.
To ensure they are prepared for their return of service, the assessment includes training in all aspects of rural family medicine across a variety of practice settings. This includes an office, hospital, emergency department, and long-term care and home care settings.
Only candidates who met the registration requirements and safeguards set by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) were selected to participate in the program. These safeguards are based on national Practice Ready Assessment Standards established by the Medical Council of Canada.
The province recently appointed Dr. Jane Philpott to lead the government’s Primary Care Action Team with a mandate of connecting everyone to primary care within five years.
"This program expansion will increase the availability of family doctors in Ontario and improve access to care in many communities that face unique challenges in recruiting physicians," Anthony Dale, president of the Ontario Hospital Association, said in the release.
"Improving access to primary care, including family medicine, means a greater focus on prevention, less pressure on hospitals in rural and remote parts of Ontario, and better health outcomes for patients."
