Stinkypup

Ok, as you asked nicely, that is fine- she will never notice! Just add a few road signs "Welcome to the very South Okanagan, it's better than the Northern bit" that should do it!

Tootlepootle

skybluepink

we are open to suggestion at this stage! Do Coquitlam GPs have to have the same hospital duties that Okanagen docs do ? What's it like living in Coquitlam?

snoopdawg

Not sure about Vancouver at all- at the time we moved it was not considered an area of need- it is now.There is more of an established culture of hospitalists in and around Vancouver , but Coquitlam itself ?? Even if they have them, it does not mean that your sponsoring health authority won't insist on you having privileges.
The issue is that hospital work is paid by Health Authorities but general GP work is centrally paid for by MSP- at least that's what I'm led to believe.
So- the local HA has little financial incentive to attract new GPs to look after the orphan patients- they just rely on WICs to do that. It's short sighted as hopefully a patient will a regular GP will be LESS likely to need hospital care as decent CDM will be done- again hopefully!!!!
Your best bet is to be honest with Healthmatch and see what they say, plus contacting GPs in any area you are interested in- but that is difficult as you may be seen with suspicion- ( poaching good patients) or you may be unlucky enough to talk to a GP who believes all GPs should cover the hospital.
The previous influx of South African GPs seems to have died down a bit- really you would think someone would think to make it a little easier and not ask us to do things we have never trained for.

Tootlepootle

Not sure about GP duties but we are happy living here. Close enough to head into Vancouver but also easy access for heading to the mountains etc. More than happy to answer questions about the local area.

skybluepink

I'm going to check with healthmatch re hospital duties, but some of the job adverts on their website seem to say hospital privileges optional - whether that's a misleading statement is another thing ! WIC work doesn't appeal to me either as CDM is the cornerstone of good primary care. That and continuity of care,both of which may be tough in a WIC. Anyway it's good to have our eyes open about the situation right from the off, so thankyou again for your wise words.
Coquitlam is Fraser health , I think.. Must check if it's different to IH...
What are the schools like in your experience - is it as much of a mixed bag as in the UK?

Tootlepootle

We only have one 7 year old so don't have a lot of experience in either system. She seems to be settled and learning stuff, although her present teacher is off sick so having substitutes at the moment. That could've happened in the UK though! We are in a Bilingual school which certainly adds a different dimension.

snoopdawg

Hopefully not! Another thought- if you are keen on the Okanagan- is to just tough it out for as short a time as possible, get fully licensed and give up privileges or work elsewhere until you get full licence then move- depends on the ages of your kids.
The jobs listed will be the tip of the iceberg- once Healthmatch send out your resume, there will be many more!! You hold all the cards, make sure no-one takes advantage of you.
I would strongly agree that a trip is needed and agree to nothing until you've been.

Hasan78

hi SKybluepink!

Go to BMJ Career fairs as for BC you can meet the representative from HealthmatchBC! they usually come to London and have stall.

do your mcc.ca-physicianapply.ca and get the MCCEE exam done in UK as that is the minimum you probably require for BC restricted registration!

good luck...

UK Chrissie

Hi,

Please check out your GP certification etc and acceptance within BC, Canada before leaving the UK. I have known three GP recruited from England only to find out after they have moved to BC and started working in a local clinic that all three had to retake the BC GP's exams ! They were allowed to practice for three years,during this time they had to become BC certified ( whatever that looks like). I'm pleased to say all three passed . However it was stressful and stated " If only I had known before we moved over , this could have been achieved before leaving the uk." I have no idea what BC accepts, it's just a thought . I believe, if it's not in writing - it's not been agreed and has no value.
All the best BC is a fun province.... Your children will love the real winters and real summer here. Your enjoy the BC fresh fruit and BC wine, it's really an amazing quality .

Tirytory

I think the only province that exempts you from exams is Alberta but op has defined reasons for BC and really sitting the exams here or back in UK doesn't make a huge difference. My husband in Ontario has just passed the first one and second booked for May so fingers crossed!

Gowest

Hi
I'm another GP on this path. I've done the applications bit so I'm a bit further forward than the OP. Just waiting for my documents to be certified etc. we are looking at lower mainland or Victoria or Okanagan. We are coming over in July to explore further. I would actually love to go for Coquitlam but desperate they may be but there are no jobs advertised on Healthmatch bc

skybluepink

Hi all,
Thanks for all your replies and helpful advice. Go West - hello and it's good to be in contact with you as you are in a similar position though further along.
We are also planning a trip in July during the children's summer hols providing my paperwork is passed through. I'm currently waiting for GMC to send a letter re my training posts as I trained when it was JCTPGP so the individual posts aren't listed like they are now in CCT ( I believe)
I think once we have visited Canada this summer, if it's all looking good, I will do the first exam and maybe leave the 2nd till after I've worked in Canada for a bit.
Snoopdawg, when do CVs get sent out by healthmatch? Is it only after the CPSBC approves you?
Hope everyone's had a good day at work or whatever you've been upto. I had to attend a cluster meeting ( GPs in the same area trying to brain Storm and problem solve service provision issues) not sure if that's just a Wales initiative..

Bye for now

snoopdawg

I find this hard to believe. It is made absolutely clear to you when moving that Canadian medical exams are required.Canadian graduates have to do them also. There is no way it will have come as a surprise. Canada absolutely has a right to know that physicians arriving from other countries are safe to work and to be honest if these 3 doctors were genuinely dim enough not to know about the exams then they really needed to do them!!! I'm pretty sure the second two exams have to be done after working in BC so very little time was lost.
UK graduates already get special treatment, along with Americans,Australians, Kiwis, South Africans and the Irish. We are lucky that we don't have to jump through the hoops that rest of the world has to. I know of a Pakistani trained doctor who gave up trying to get a licence in Canada due to family commitments- she needed to work - she now is an excellent social worker.

snoopdawg

If you really want to move to Coquitlam, don't give up on it. The average Canadian GP does not know about Healthmatch, they will often be aiming their job vacancies within BC.
Each area generally has a local physician who is responsible for attracting/recruiting doctors. Healthmatch will send out your CV to areas that you are interested in, ask them to specifically target Coquitlam. If you don't get any hits, just ask them to send again- and again if need be.
We really wanted to live in the town where we currently live- but for 3-4 months before our reccie trip had heard nothing from here. We kept asking Healthmatch to try again.
The day before we where due to arrive, the guy who should have been distributing our CVs locally, actually did so. In 1 day, we had 3-4 calls, none of these jobs were advertised by Healthmatch.
So don't give up- still visit and try to make contact with doctors even if you hear nothing. Another route may be using the local Division of Family practice-https://www.divisionsbc.ca/fraser-northwest - ask them to send an email to all local GPs with a brief resume attached or whoever is in charge of medical staffing at the local hospital- they can also send out bulk emails. I have known doctors use both locally.
HTH