Available to watch: the MCC’s webinar Practising medicine in Canada – Navigating the pathways to licensure for IMGs

More than 2,500 people logged onto the Medical Council of Canada (MCC)’s first webinar, Practising medicine in Canada – Navigating the pathways to licensure for IMGs, posing over 400 questions to the three-person panel and engaging in a lively discussion with one another over chat.

The 90-minute discussion, which took place on February 26, saw panelists covering a broad range of topics, from provincial initiatives that are making licensure more accessible for international medical graduates (IMGs), to the growth of clinical assistant roles, improvements to the examination process, and the importance of carefully planning your unique path to licensure in Canada.

Dr. Viren Naik, CEO of the MCC spoke to the organization’s increased focus on supporting IMGs and internationally trained physicians (ITPs) while acknowledging the challenges many can face on their journeys to practising in Canada. He stressed the MCC’s commitments to inclusion and belonging, and to increased transparency.

“We are committed to being in front of people like we’re doing today, and in other forums, and doing our best to be as transparent as possible,” he told the audience. “And I’m not going to tell you that we’ve solved all of that. I’m not going to tell you that every [question] is going to be answered today, but I am going to tell you that we’re absolutely committed to this journey and committed to all of you.”

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Stephanie Price, Executive Director of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada, explained that her organization works as a unifying body, helping provincial and territorial regulators collaborate on issues like expanding pathways for IMGs in Canada, and facilitating physician mobility across jurisdictions. She also addressed positive changes at the regulatory level that are providing IMGs with more pathways to practise in Canada.   

“I think that the mindset has shifted,” she told the audience. “So now, instead of trying to measure if you were trained exactly the way a physician in Canada was, we’re trying to say “are you competent to provide care in Canada?” And that changes everything. It changes the whole way that people are trying to design the system and navigate in the system. And I think that mindset is so positive. And that’s what matters to the patient, right? They want a competent physician. They want someone who will be with them and have the knowledge and the ability and ethics to do what they need done.”

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Dr. Filipe Santos, who was recently named as IMG Special Advisor at the MCC, shared his own experience arriving in Canada as an ITP. He acknowledged the challenges and frustrations many IMGs face but also outlined the many system changes streamlining the process.

“I’m just extremely happy to see that the changes are coming, and the changes are still allowing safe practice – physicians that are competent are being more and more integrated into the Canadian health care system, which is ultimately what we want,” he told the audience. “We want the physicians [who] are competent to provide care for Canadians. And I think that is happening at a rapid speed that we have not seen in the last 10 or 20 years, that’s for sure.”

Before the end of the event, CEO Viren Naik said that the MCC would continue to deliver webinars on a variety of topics as part of the organization’s commitment to assisting IMGs, as outlined in the 2024-2027 strategic plan.

For more information, see WEBINAR: Practising medicine in Canada – Navigating the pathways to licensure for IMGs