Message from the Executive Director

Message from the Executive Director

It is a great pleasure to update you on new developments at CEHPEA during our second year of operation. Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine (COFM), the outstanding leadership of our Board of Directors and the expertise of our partners and staff, CEHPEA has become the largest assessment centre of its kind in Canada.

Although we were pleased with our progress during year one of our operational start up, we continue to grow in leaps and bounds - offering many more services and at the same time, creating a more streamlined and transparent assessment process.

When we started out, assessments and examinations for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) were our core business. But as the Ministry’s strategy for addressing health human resource challenges in this province evolved, so have we. We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt, respond and deliver as new needs emerge in this rapidly changing environment.

In 2008/09 CEHPEA increased the number of clinical and written examinations for Family Medicine and specialty streams to 739. Our educational programs doubled in the last year, with higher enrollment in our Pre-Residency Program (PRP) for IMGs accepted into Family Medicine residencies. Based on the popularity and success of the PRP, and at the request of Program Directors at Faculties of Medicine at Ontario Universities, we created the Orientation to Training and Practice in Canada Program for specialist streams. Already, 13 IMGs have been through the program and another 128 are expected. As well, we developed and led a four-month integration program for IMGs interested in applying for the new Physician Assistant role in Ontario. So far, 42 IMGs have participated and more are expected as the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care expands the Physician Assistant Pilot Project.

Another exciting initiative in 2008-09 was the development recruiting and training individuals to pose as patients as part of our General Comprehensive Clinical Examination. Created by our in-house patient simulation experts, the program provides a resource that is not readily available in Ontario. In order to accommodate the dramatic increase in examinations and education programs, in the past year we acquired additional space, with more conference rooms and expanded to 54 clinical examination rooms equipped with medical examination tables and diagnostic equipment.

Although initially our examinations and programs focused on physicians, we are actively working to expand our services to other professions, starting with Physician Assistants. We have also been working with other provinces and territories to create a national assessment system for internationally educated health professionals.

We look forward to the many new initiatives that are underway for next year, as we respond to the changing needs of the people of Ontario, the health system and the health professionals that we serve.

Anne Marie Crescenzi