International Medical Graduates

International medical graduates (IMGs) play an invaluable role in Nova Scotia and we invite them to make their home here. We have made it a priority to explore ways of streamlining the process for IMGs to have their qualifications assessed and to complete any additional training they may need.

Clinician Assessment for Practice Program

The Clinician Assessment for Practice Program (CAPP) is intended for IMG physicians who may be ready for entry into family practice without any additional formal residency training in Canada.

The CAPP program goes beyond similar programs in place elsewhere in Canada. An innovation of the CAPP program is the use of physician mentors, who work with and support new doctors for at least the first year that they are in practice.

IMG physicians must first qualify to practice in the province. Basic knowledge is evaluated through the Medical Council of Canada Evaluation Exam and Qualifying Exam Part I while a clinical-skills assessment conducted in-house mirrors conditions and patients likely to be seen in general practice. Candidates also participate in a three-hour therapeutic exam.

Once an IMG physician has completed the first stage, they are eligible for a defined license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia.

During the first year of practice, a physician is required to practice under the guidance of a physician-mentor and will work under a contract funded by the Department of Health. After the initial year, an IMG physician is assessed by the College. The physician may then be eligible to continue working under a defined license without requiring a physician-mentor. Typically it, takes up to four years for an IMG physician to be eligible for full licensure. During this period, a CAPP physician will receive a guaranteed income, funded through the Department of Health and be eligible for a completion bonus to be issued at the end of the CAPP contract.

For more Information on CAPP email mdresource@gov.ns.ca.

 

IMG Residency Positions

International medical graduates enhance the life - and the health care - of Nova Scotians, and we welcome them to retrain in our province.

Eleven residency positions have been set aside in the 2010 CaRMS process for International Medical Graduates who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. These training programs at Dalhousie's Faculty of Medicine will enable successful IMG candidates to qualify as medical practitioners in this country. Eight of these positions, all of which have return-of-service obligations, are being funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Health.

Two of these positions are being funded by the New Brunswick Department of Health and one position is being funded by the Prince Edward Island Department of Health.

 

Med 3 Clerkship

The Nova Scotia Department of Health provides funding for IMGs to enter the Med 3 Clerkship Program at Dalhousie University. This 2 year clerkship will prepare IMGs accepted into the program for residency training. IMGs who successfully complete their clerkship will be eligible to enter the CaRMS match as Canadian Medical Graduates. A return of service to a rural Nova Scotia community is required on completion of the residency program.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Written the MCCQE 1
• Have been living in Nova Scotia for at least one year
• One of the following Canadian clinical assessments
  • CAPP or
  • MCCQE 2 or
  • CAPE (Manitoba) or
  • CSAT (Newfoundland) or
  • CEHPEA (Ontario)

Note: Applicants need not have passed the above assessments. You must have taken the assessments as indicated above, but a passing grade is not required. Deadline for applications is October 1, 2011.