Hi having difficulty finding out if my husband and I can work in Canada on our UK qualifications or if we have to sit canadian exams. I am a nurse and my husband is a hospital doctor who's speciality is pathology - any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. M

Not sure on your husband but you as a nurse once gone through province assessment and if given OK sit CRNE there is no reason why you can't work. CRNE is only sat 3 times a year in Canada which can be combined with a visit and look round. Do you have any areas you are thinking of?

I'm afraid I dont know about doctors too but certainly there are a few nurses that have got jobs here after taking an exam - Destinationnovascotia being one example.

It would be kind of stupid if a doctor couldnt practice here - the human body is the same in both UK and Canada after all - but I am aware there are issues with qualification recognition in quite a few industries.

Hi Mishi,

Good advice from Silver Dragon I think.

Yes, choose a 'Province' if you can. Check their 'Ministry of Health' License Board etc. Also get the name of the 'Chapter' or 'Group' who focus on your occupations, e.g. 'Alberta Medical Practitioners / Nurses Board....' or something. Board Registrar will have info. on that site, you can e-mail them.
'Trade magazine' for your profession in your chosen Province too...

I think other nurses / doctors on this amazing, vast forum will answer for you.

All The Best.

HL

Hi, we are 2 GPs trying to go to BC. I don't know anything about the nursing side of things but your husband will almost certainly have to sit exams. None of our UK qualifications are recognised! He will also need proof of his degree, pre-reg / post-reg posts and all qualifications gained even though they don't count for much!
He will need to look at the requirements for pathology himself but useful sites to help him on his way are;

http://www.mcc.ca/en/exams/ee/apply.shtml

http://www.pcrc.org/en/AboutPCRCPage.htm

http://www.healthmatchbc.org/ if you're interested in BC

http://www.ruralphysicianlink.ab.ca/index.html if you want rural Alberta.

The text book which is highly recommended (can be bought from Amazon UK) is "The Toronto Notes ", be warned, it's huge!!!!

http://www.torontonotes.ca/home/


That should get you thinking if all my links work! I don't know about hospital work, but for GPs, we have to get a post that has been advertised for at least 3 months and isn't wanted by a Canadian doctor, which means in BC outside Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna.

There was a discussion on here recently about a couple of GP's. It may be worth doing a search as some of the info may be relevant to any Dr

As for nurses, pretty much all you need to know is in the WIKI

There are vast hurdles to overcome if you wish to practise as a Dr. over here. I would say that it is probably the hardest profession to gain accreditation in. One of my friends is going through it at the moment and I wouldn't want to wish that on my worst enemy.

I understand that it is much easier if you only wish to work on a work permit (ie temporary), if you wish to obtain PR and work permanently, it is much more difficult - crazy I know

It's nowhere near as hard, expensive or long as dentistry - but that's another thread

OP, I think the Drs on here are Stavex, Ezvantree and Very_Optimistic. You might try PMing them if they don't see this thread.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

In terms of your husband the quick answer would be that yes he could practice in quite a few provinces relatively easily. I say relatively because as other posters have already stated there are a number of exams to sit and hoops to jump through.

In terms of BC, your best bet is to check the Healthmatch BC website and get in touch with them. He will need to pass the licensing exams (at some stage) and be eligible for the FRCPC.

Also have a look at the CPSBC website for more info on licensing requirements in BC

The MCC website has info about the licensing exams and sample questions etc.

The good news is that there is definitely a shortage of doctors in many specialities. The bad news is that firstly you have to choose a province you want to target and secondly all the exams !

Hope this helps.

Hi,
Thanks to all that have replied. Will follow up all leads. I did think it would be easier for me than for my husband. Why is it that if you qualify as a medical professional in the UK the qualifications are not transferable to USA or Canada - this makes no sense to me!
We would ideally like to go to Ontario, preferably in a more rural setting, but I am guessing there is probably not a shortage of Doctors there. My husband is a pathologist, and not really sure if there is a shortage of them in Canada or not.
I have alot of homework to do!!

You need to be aware that in Ontario nurses are required to have their degree whereas in other provinces diploma is usually accepted.

In terms of Ontario, check out the IMG (International Medical Graduate) section of the CPSO website.

In some respects it is a little tougher as an IMG to gain a licence in Ontario without having Canadian residency. The likely route for your OH would be through CEHPEA -basically a 6mth assessment followed by 5 years monitored practice. He would need to pass the licensing exam and his speciality exams within the 5 years.

Also check out the HealthForce Ontario website.

Good luck with the research.

Please consider New Brunswick we need Doctors and Nurses and it has a great quality of life

Because the medical professions in the USA and Canada effectively are unions that protect their turf. They say they're ensuring quality, and no doubt there is an element of truth to that. But a lot of the motivation is protectionism.
x

Well put, Judy.
Given the shortage of skilled health professionals, it's astounding that more is not done to accommodate qualified individuals. I'm sure a lot of immigrants would be happy with an 'aptitude test' and 'on-site practical assessment' for their skilled areas, instead of the 'whole hog, start on page 1 again approach....'

Alas, life was never meant to be easy.