Moving forward and navigating new horizons at the MCC—June 2024 update

The first half of 2024 has seen the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) buzzing with fresh energy and new faces at the helm. Our new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Viren Naik and the leadership team have been driving the continued efforts to improve our assessments and manage physician data as well as to explore new areas and functions that the MCC can offer in service of safe patient care and regulatory decisions.

With the goal of re-establishing connections with key interested parties and exploring how the MCC can better serve them, Dr. Naik has reconnected and engaged with individuals and groups spanning medical regulatory authorities (MRAs) and international partner organizations to better understand their priorities. Dr. Naik’s objective is to foster collaborative relationships and identify areas of synergy to address current shared challenges effectively. These discussions are pivotal in determining how the MCC can better serve and enhance its role as a catalyst for positive change within the medical community and beyond.

A new strategic plan

On March 2 and 3, 2024, the MCC’s Council and leadership team met to discuss the role of our organization and how we could better serve the current medical and regulatory landscape in Canada. Five new strategic objectives were agreed on and will guide the MCC’s priorities for the next three years. This session also represented an opportune moment to redefine our mission and organizational values. Over the coming months and as we work to operationalize, we look forward to sharing more information on our strategic objectives.

The National Registry of Physicians (NRP)

June finds us with the initial development work for the NRP completed and all of the eleven participation agreements with provincial and territorial MRAs signed. The NRP team and MRAs are now shifting their focus to populating their data, marking the first phase of the launch of the NRP which started in April 2024.

In the very near future, the NRP Data Governance and Advisory Committee will hold its inaugural meeting. The Committee will advise on future functionality to be added to the NRP and acceptable uses of the physician data.

Built to help transform the health care landscape, the NRP will move us towards stronger health care delivery and portability of licenses across jurisdictions. You can also find out more details on the NRP webpage.

Improving operational efficiency to build success

MCCQE Part I modernization

As announced in June 2023, the new assessment model for the MCCQE Part I will be in effect as of April 2025. Part of the key adjustments is the removal of the clinical decision-making (CDM) component which will improve the candidate experience and shorten the exam from 9 hours to 6.5 hours. While the integrity, validity, and reliability of the MCCQE Part I remain the same, the changes give candidates more time on each of the MCQ questions.

To facilitate this transition, the October 2024 session will be the last session of the MCCQE Part I in the current 9-hour format. The MCC’s current preparatory products will be discontinued after the October 2024 exam session. A new Preparatory Examination (PE) and a new PE-Lite, that align with the shortened MCCQE Part I will be available in December 2024 for organization bulk purchases and individual purchases. There will be no MCCQE Part I session in January 2025.

New process for submitting documents for candidates

Since April 18, 2024, candidates have been securely uploading their documents directly into their physiciansapply.ca account when applying for an examination, submitting their medical credentials for source verification, or requesting other MCC services.

This simplified process is one step in our ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the services offered to the candidates on their route to licensure.

Other notable and upcoming activities

This summer, watch for additional details on our strategic plan as well as our updated mission and vision.

The 2024 MCC Annual Meeting will take place at our headquarters in Ottawa on Monday, September 23, and Tuesday, September 24, 2024. The MCC is looking forward to the great discussion and feedback with our invited interested party representatives.