Message from the Director of Health Professional Affairs

Message from the Director of Health Professional Affairs

Responding to critical shortages of health care professionals in communities across the province, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care developed a comprehensive strategy to keep and attract health care providers, including expanded opportunities for internationally trained health professionals.

Supporting this expansion, CEHPEA plays a dual role – assessing International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to ensure that they meet the Canadian standards for training and practice, as well as providing educational programs that orient IMGs to training and practice in Canada.

While other provinces primarily focus on assessments of fully-trained physicians, Ontario (through CEHPEA) provides assessments of IMGs across the entire spectrum of readiness, ranging from candidates with no postgraduate experience, to those with partial training, to physicians that have medical practice experience in another country.

It is extremely gratifying that CEHPEA’s assessments have earned a reputation for unquestionable credibility. All exams created by CEHPEA are constructed and validated by our own experts, working in collaboration with medical education experts from Ontario’s universities. Throughout, we have always had rigorous processes in place to evaluate and ensure the accuracy and validity of the testing processes and the calculation of results.

Although we have focused on assessments of physicians, we are branching out to other health professions. In the past year, for example, we developed the assessment standards for IMGs applying to become Physician Assistants (PAs) – a new role in Ontario. Our medical experts recommended the competency level for IMGs applying for PA positions, based on the General Comprehensive Clinical Examination scores, and created the province’s first assessment and selection process.

In addition to our examinations, we have created and led educational programs to orient internationally educated health professionals to training and practice in Canada. Our academic staff members are all highly qualified educationprofessionals with many years of experience in evaluation, curriculum development and delivery. As a result of their skills and in partnership with Program Directors from Faculties of Medicine in Ontario, we currently offer the Pre-Residency Program for candidates entering the Family Medicine stream, the Orientation to Training and Practice in Canada for specialists and an Integration Program for IMGs selected for training as Physician Assistants.

We have been privileged to play a key role in the province’s efforts to increase access to medical professionals. As our activities continue to expand in the future, we will continue to ensure the highest standards for all of our assessment and education programs.

Murray Urowitz, MD, FACP, FRCP (C)