P.E.I. looks to streamline doctor licensing process

Legislation was tabled in the P.E.I. Legislature Tuesday that would make it easier for some doctors to obtain a licence to practise on P.E.I. through the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The bill would require the college to recognize accreditation from other agencies including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada without requiring a doctor to be retested. The legislation also lays out situations under which a doctor would not be required to write a test to demonstrate proficiency in the English language.

At the P.E.I. Legislature on Tuesday, two different stories were put forward — one by the Official Opposition and the other by Health Minister Doug Currie — of doctors who wanted to work on P.E.I. but became frustrated with the application process, particularly the need to write an English test, and decided to work elsewhere.

Currie gave the example of an emergency room physician already licensed and working in Ontario who wanted to bring his family to P.E.I. for a working vacation, but gave up while applying for a P.E.I. licence.

Power to order inquiry

"My frustration with it was that we were seeing, whether it be locums or physicians that wanted to come to the province of Prince Edward Island, particularly to rural communities, that were getting very frustrated with the process and wanted to leave and go to New Brunswick," said Currie.

"We would see physicians who were licensed and practising in other provinces in Canada that would have to be required to take a language test."

Tuesday during question period, Opposition MLA Colin LaVie asked Currie why the college has the authority to license doctors but isn't responsible for addressing the shortage of family physicians in the province.

"Our college of physicians are still turning away fully trained English-speaking doctors who are quickly employed by other provinces" said LaVie, citing the example of one doctor, born in Canada and trained in the Caribbean, who applied for a position in Summerside.

When she was asked to write the English proficiency test, even though that was her first language, she decided to work elsewhere.

Currie made it clear that his department is in charge of recruitment, but the independent P.E.I. College of Physicians and Surgeons is in charge of licensing doctors to practice in the province.

The proposed legislation would also give Currie the power to order an inquiry if he feels the college has failed in its responsibility as the licensing body for P.E.I. doctors.