HEALTH MINISTER DEB MATTHEWS DISCIPLINES SURPRISED COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS

[deva]

HEALTH MINISTER DEB MATTHEWS DISCIPLINES SURPRISED COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS





For Immediate Release
Monday November 28, 2011, 2000 hrs.



Toronto, Canada ----Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, the Hon. Deb Matthews, bravely paid a surprise unannounced visit a few hours ago to an embattled and surprised College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario governing council meeting.  Section 5 of the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) gives her the responsibility, duty and power to direct the College.  The College has developed a bad reputation for failing to adequately respond to patient complaints, attacking alternative medical doctors for prescribing vitamins, protecting incompetent surgeons, turning a "blind eye" etc.  The Ontario government abolished its Medical Review Committee a few years ago for conducting devastating, debilitating and deadly physician audits.


She complimented the College for some of its actions such as starting to take action against its members who incorrectly prescribe narcotics to drug addicts and for setting up a premises inspection program where the College now inspects health premises.   



She scolded them on several accounts.

She reminded them that their duty is to protect the public, not doctors.

She said they "could do better" to license international medical doctors (iM.D.'s) in order to end the suffering on patient waiting lists.  She spoke about a Health Force Ontario graduation she attended recently.  One graduate physician thanked her for the opportunity to obtain a license but asked  "why did I have to go through this terrible process?".  She was pointing out the convoluted virtually impossible residency route the College incorrectly demands of every iM.D. 



Response from the 35 members of council was muted.  One council member claimed he had some sympathy for the inability of patients to access the health care system but was more concerned that some licensed specialists and super specialists "have no certainty of employment" because there are too many in a given area of the province. 



Premier McGuinty, with Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Dr. Eric Hoskins during the recent provincial election campaign said residencies are not necessary because most iM.D.'s are overqualified.   He promised to setup mentorships instead.


Section 2.1 of the RHPA gives the College the duty to ensure Ontarians have access to adequate (not simply "more") numbers of doctors.  The College's large Queens Park lobby failed to get the wording of the section changed.  It refuses to obey the law.  Just after the meeting, Ms. Matthews made no direct comment to my question of whether she will enforce the law or pass new legislation requiring disciplining or punishment for anyone who disobeys it.


College council meeting continues Tuesday November 29, 9am-4pm, at 80 College Street, Toronto, Canada. 

It is open the the media and the public.

For More Information, contact:

 
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Gerald Green, M.D.
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Dr.GreenMD @ yahoo.com
(647) 701-9543

[devilhimselff]

So this is where the mess comes from....Hmm may be someone can kick in some sense into system..

FOR F'sake, doctors are there, they are supposed to take qualifying and evaluation Exams, and if they pass, PUT them through Residency...RESIDENCY means TRAINING...Not practicing. 

How complicated can it be?

Anyways, I could find the article online anywhere, A link would be appreciated.

Thanks

[deva]

Thanks for the comments. The posting I made was based on a press release circulated by a person actively involved in the activities for integration of foreign trained doctors in the Canadian system. But I can give a link to a previous news article based on the comments made by Honourable Premier of Ontario. Hope this will give you something to think about.

http://www.sagennext.com/2011/08/03/mcguinty-you%E2%80%99re-welcome-here/

[shibuya]

Dr.Deva,
            On a quick note have u settled down with a good job by now since it will be close to 2 yrs in April 2012 from ur landing. Plz explain the struggle and experience again over the months..................
Has ur Wife got her desired job?
You could carry just 8000 dollars then how did u survive all these months?
Finally r u still in Toronto or posting frm Dhaka city.
I am asking all these questions after reading all ur posts.

Regards,
Shibuya

[deva]

Thanks Shibuyya for your concerns. I am still in Canada. We are struggling to servive. Passed some of those never ending line of examinations. Waiting to see some good things happen.

Now about my topic. I want to add some more facts. I hope these will help to understand the position of foreign trained doctors in Canada. And will also clear the dust from some of our minds.

I think if you look into the Canadian residency matching website you will easily find the number of foreign trained doctors applied and total number of them who got the residency positions. Last year about 1800 foreign trained doctors, who have pass standing in all the Medical council of Canada examinations, including MCCEE, MCCQE1, QE11 and most of them also NAC OSCE, CE1, CE2 etc. have applied for the residency positions and only around 350 of them got residency. This is only because the number of residency positions available for them is restricted.

There is a news article which I have already posted in my previous postings but I would like to share with you again.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ottawa-urged-to-help-expedite-licences-for-foreign-trained-doctors/article2222079/

The federal government should fund temporary work programs that help foreign-trained doctors get their licences faster, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada says.
 
Andrew Padmos, the college's chief executive officer, said between 6,000 and 10,000 doctors can't practise in Canada because there aren't enough spots in residency programs.
 
 “If they require residency, there are severe constraints,” Dr. Padmos told the Commons standing committee on human resources. He said that's because there are only slightly more residency spots in Canada than there are medical school graduates each year. “It's insufficient to deal with several thousand foreign-trained grads,” he said.
 
The committee is looking for ways to speed up the recognition of foreign qualifications in a bid to improve work opportunities for immigrants and make Canada more economically competitive.
 
Dr. Padmos said qualifying doctors can sometimes get around the residency backlog by working under the temporary supervision of a Canadian-trained physician – but that option has its own price tag.
 
“The federal government should fund the salary of the international graduate, plus something for the supervisor to make it possible,” he said after the meeting.
 
He also recommended the creation of an arms-length observatory to study health and human resources and advise the provinces on where doctors and specialists are most needed.
 
Governments have long promised to help internationally trained professionals find work at their skill level. In 2009, the federal government announced workers in eight fields would not have to wait longer than a year to find out how the credentials they obtained abroad compare with Canadian standards. At the time, the government promised to add foreign-trained doctors to the list of professionals by the end of 2012.