Cedar3

Hi and welcome.

1. Sounds like you're on the right track with the careers fair reps - just stick with the ones that are there on behalf of their province; there are no fees attached to working with them and they are usually the primary agency working on behalf of the province to recruit and incentivise Drs to move. We used Health Match BC and had a great experience with them. The person assigned to us was able to answer all the questions that might either be uncomfortable at interview or just need to be answered before or after the formal part with the hospital. A great resource. They later 'sponsored' our PR application and provided lots of support with that process too. Each Province has a website advertising its jobs and indeed.ca also seems to carry medical vacancies often. It can be tough to get in - on the one hand the college will let you work on a 'provisional' license for x years but on the other hand many hospitals will accept candidates with 'full' license only - you can't gain a full license without working in Canada so it can be catch 22 until the hospital decides it can't recruit and then the post opens up to internationally trained physicians. By definition, unless you're a Canadian citizen, you'll be looking at jobs in places that Canadian medics are not choosing. That was our experience for sure but now we're here I think their choice was to our benefit as we are in an awesome place for us.

2. Salary-wise; it's pretty variable but better than consultant pay in the UK on the face of it. However...things are set up differently here as you probably know and many many physicians are self-employed. Therefore before you get to enjoy your hard earned cash you'll be paying for a medical plan for your own family's healthcare and dental, your own pension and critical illness type plan because nobody else is paying them for you! You'll also have expenses for a building to do consultations and likely an administrator if not other assistants also (depending on your specialty). It can take time to build up a client list so upfront expenses could be higher and you'll not get any paid holiday either but the flexibility to take time off may be greater. You'll still earn a comfortable salary and plenty more than the average Canadian worker but it's hard to pin down exactly what it will look like unless you take a salaried position.

3. Comparisons - well, when we left the NHS there was already a political and societal culture of undervaluing doctors and health care professionals and focusing on their high wages rather than the personal cost of being a medic (in every sense not just financial) and you don't need me to tell you about that! Resourcing is different here, waiting lists can be frighteningly long compared to the UK and I think there is far greater health inequality. However I'm not a physician (my husband is) so I can only tell it from the sidelines. I wouldn't want to put him back in the NHS. At least he gets paid for what he does here, which goes some way to offset the impact of giving your heart and soul to healthcare and forever being late home and called out from family times. With the fee for service model if he has a super busy time he gets paid for it and an extra patient is an extra payment not just another missed evening meal/child's concert/anniversary etc. There seem to be positive work cultures and good team relations where we are and hubby enjoys his work. We expected to see more of him at home but in his particular situation he doesn't have the flexibility always. The particular specialities that you work in will affect how some of the challenges play out.

4. I imagine you'll hit the ground running as every doctor seems to do in every job both here and in the UK. There are many accounts of how people have managed the move, throughout this forum and it's hard to say without knowing more about your individual situation. We 'liquidated' our lives in the UK and arrived at the Canadian border to apply for our TWPs knowing that if we'd miscalculated and didn't get granted them we might simply be on an extended vacation while we figured out our next move! Admittedly, that approach wouldn't suit everyone

All the best as you pursue your next adventure.