Richb1970

Im from the North East so will have to wear a shortie wet suit rather than just go in with speedos and some chip fat then

(seriously though found an ex-pat with a spare dry suit so should cope OK )

snoopdawg

Well you should be ok then
Seriously, if you need warming with some alcohol, let us know. If you need advice with any job offers etc in K town, feel free to ask.
I saw your comment re 40K in Kelowna without a GP. Remember, many of those will be people who others don't want for various reasons!
In our town, only 3% of frail elderly presenting to Emerg had no GP. Worth pondering on.

Richb1970

Ahhhh hadn't thought it would be the unwanted folks!!
The clinic that seems friendliest has someone leaving so hopefully there will be an established list already (obviously i need to know why he is leaving!) It would be great for your opinion on the job specifics when i get them.
I won't be mobile when i come over for the week but we are back as a family in the summer so will be able to drive up then so definitely plan a meet up 😀😀

Verdant

Hello all,

I've spent the last few hours reading through this thread and it is indeed a treasure trove of information.

My partner and I have been interested in emigrating to Canada (particularly BC) since med school where he did his elective in Okanagan. He's now 2 years post GP qualified and we are now beginning the process. It's literally been a 10 year dream. That said, I'm not a doctor and would struggle to continue my profession in Canada without more study and exams for a job that ultimately has a lot fewer opportunities and responsibilities in Canada and which would require being close to a hospital (it's an Allied Health profession). It also pretty competitive according to anecdata. Therefore, we're likely to be a one income family for a number of years before I can either chase down registration in my area or go a different route entirely. We've done it before and therefore know how to save money and we have no dependents or are planning any. I would love input into how feasible it would be to live in BC on a single FP income? Could you? We're mainly looking at Okanagan valley, Vancouver island and potentially Sunshine coast. We're pretty good with money and don't really care about fancy stuff - but we do eventually want to get a place with enough land to grow veggies and flowers abundantly.

Verdant

Also, for those who have gone through the process recently how long time frame are we looking at roughly from this point as we have to get the house on the market and sell it (hopefully before we leave!)

So currently he has MCFP but is waiting for CCFP
His MRCGP, CCT and ID have been validated.
Also waiting for provisional reg CPSBC and physician apply validation of his foundation and gp training years. I presume this part might take awhile?

We will plan a trip to scout out the locations once we have enough job options.

Do people mainly apply via Canada Express entry? The waiting in a pool bit to be requested to proceed is rather concerning - do people with job offers/sponsorship typically have to wait long?

It's all very exciting, but equally rather terrifying. Any advice is gratefully received.

christmasoompa

Depends on the visa route you're planning on using, each varies in timescale. If you can clarify, then somebody can help how long that side of things will take (the other GP's on the forum will be able to help you out with the timescale for getting licensed etc).

The only thing that makes a difference as to how long you'll have to wait is your points score, there's no priority given to those with job offers, but they do get extra points if it's an approved job offer (i.e. you're there working on a TWP already/have LMIA). So again, it will depend on your points score, if you're scoring enough then you'll get an ITA straight away (in which case, it would be around 8 months in total from start to finish as a rough guide), or if you're not scoring enough then you might sit in the pool for the whole year without an ITA. So if you can give people your CRS score, then they can help you figure out which end of that scale it's likely to be.

HTH.

snoopdawg

Re single/dual earners.
I would say most locally are single earners. They do very well and have a great quality of life.

Its been a long time since we arrived- on a TWP then PR, but from recent comments and my own perusals of Healthmatch/CPSBC websites- it seems best to get the job ( extremely easy) then go for BC PNP. Healthmatch will only help with this , not EE.

Verdant

That's tremendously helpful - thank you! You're a !

Richb1970

I presume you have been in touch with Healthmatch BC?

It took around three months for me to get validated through physiciansapply. I have been a GP 20 years so getting all my letters of jobs was an effort!

If you have all the right rotations I would think you could get signed off in 4-6 months with the college.

Its then time to get a job (I am heading over in May to meet clinics and decide a job)

Healthmatch support application via PNP. This takes longer to get PR sorted (up to a year) but from what I gather from getting a job offer you could start working on a temporary work permit within a few months

So if you have all rotations and are on it 9 months is possible - for me it will be more like 18 as I needed to do psychiatry but I had a two year window at the start so well on schedule!

Where are you looking at for work?

Also we will be singe income and from what I have been informed is possible to earn my GP income will be double that I could get as a salaried GP in the UK. You can also incorporate as has tax benefits if you do

Verdant

Hey Rich. Thanks for replying - useful food for thought. By the sounds of it we should get the house on the market pronto as he should be able to start looking for jobs within 2/3 months. Maybe i'm being overly optomistic?

Yes, he began applying via HealthMatch BC in December but it took awhile to chase up his references - he had to turn up at a few places with chocolates to speed things along. However, it wasnt until Feb that he got them all back to move his application forward.I can't imagine how you managed to get all the references sorted - it must have been a nightmare! He works a fortnightly clinic in substance misuse as a gp specialist which was slow to get his reference done as they had to clear it with HR, but other than that it wasnt too bad.

As he always wanted to go into GP he made sure to get all the critical rotations during foundation year and GP training that luck will have it BC want - so he can bypass the MCCEE (which is a good saving). CPSBC had said provisionally that he should be accepted when they next meet (whenever that will be but hopefully it's quarterly) and despite having his MRCGP validated we're waiting on CCFP to notice and process.

2) He's still waiting on Physiciansapply to validate his Foundation and GP training years, but everything else is sorted.

3) We both went over to Canada back in 2009 for his elective (he did it in public health in Kelowna and LOVED IT!). We did a lot of travelling on Va island as well and so that is an option - we would prefer east side as it's a little more sheltered but preferably not Nanaimo. Port Alberni seemed ok but we passed through quickly). I like the sound of Port Moody, but we would need to visit. Also we will probably look at the sunshine coast as it wasnt an area that we visited but it's close enough to the island and Vancouver to make it attractive. We're also considering anywhere within Okanagan area (Kelowna, Vernon or Kamloops - but that area looks especially arid and as I really want to grow lots of veg and flowers it might not be the most suitable place. ) Most of BC is pretty amazing, to be honest. Where about are you focusing? I hope you enjoy your reccie in May - super jealous but well earned by the sounds of it.

We don't have to worry about schools, so anywhere which offers a good income option, fairly decent summers and access to great hiking and canoeing and we're happy little campers. Fairly affordable homes/plots would be a bonus.

R I C H

Vegetable and flower gardens exist in Kamloops. We have automated irrigation for around 30 minutes morning and night and have no problem keeping plants/lawn alive, despite the arid landscape here.

Verdant

You have a point, but if i'm honest I'd miss the verdant greenery a little (lived in Wales and the SW), but it's definitely on our radar. How's the hiking and where is the closest place to canoe?

R I C H

I enjoy only receiving 277mm of rain per year and all the sunshine Kamloops enjoys (as a comparison, Cardiff gets over 3x that amount), but it's not everyone's taste.

Spoiled for choice regarding canoeing, hiking, mountain biking and skiing here (over 100 lakes within an hour of the city):

Canoeing and Kayaking in Kamloops, British Columbia
https://www.sunpeaksresort.com/

snoopdawg

We are surrounded by trees so lots of green admittedly not quite the UK though. The valley gets greener as you go north until Kamloops area which seems to have its own dry climate, not sure why.
Hiking starts at our garden gate if we wished- we back onto a Provincial park- unlimited hiking - limited only by time!
Canoe- as the crow flies about 30 ft from edge of garden- although a cliff needs negotiating!
Many people grow flowers/veg here also as per RICH. The Okanagan is renowned for fruit, more than the UK. There are plenty of people who live off their own land. Stinky is a keen gardener, he would tell you some things love growing here, some are difficult but we have a beautiful garden. Deer can be a pain! Raccoons and bear steal our grapes. Fat marmots love the grass.
I'm sure you are aware, but the remote you are the more you have to do- e.g. hospital wise.

JonboyE

If you have aspirations for his'n'hers Porches you might have to put this on hold for a few years until you have your own practices, but most GPs scrape by.