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By Kelli Paddon, MLA for Chilliwack-Kent

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Bringing more doctors to British Columbia

Dec 14, 2022 | 10:30 AM

EVERYONE DESERVES QUALITY HEALTH CARE, when and where they need it. But I know that isn’t always the case for people in our community, and since the pandemic, our health care system has been under more pressure than ever.

Our government is intensely focused on strengthening the health care system, after it was gutted and increasingly privatized by the previous BC Liberal government.

Our latest initiative will help recruit more doctors for people, as we are increasing opportunities for internationally-trained doctors to become licensed to practice in British Columbia.

We are expanding the Practice Ready Assessment Program, which provides a pathway for family doctors who received their training outside of Canada to get the assessments and licence they need to practice here. By March 2023, we will have tripled the seats in the program from 32 to 96 to make it easier for more doctors to practice right here in B.C.

We are also supporting the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. in introducing an associate physicians class, where practitioners with specialty training can work under the supervision of practicing physicians until they become licensed.

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These changes mean that more people with health care education will be able to find jobs doing what they have trained for, while filling an important need in our health care system.

Nurses are an integral part of our health care system, too, and like physicians, we have many foreign-trained nurses already in British Columbia or looking to move here who would be amazing assets for patient care. That’s why our government also recently made it easier for internationally-trained nurses to become licensed here.

There are internationally-trained doctors in our communities right now who have had to work in other fields due to the difficulty in transitioning into our health sector. Our new initiatives will support these doctors and new members of our community to transition into the healthcare system.

These are big steps in improving access to quality healthcare here in B.C. and will benefit people in all corners of the province.

They come alongside other recent steps we’ve taken to improve access to care, including training more nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals, allowing pharmacists and nurse practitioners to prescribe more medication, and creating incentives to keep doctors here in beautiful British Columbia.

Keeping you and your family healthy is top of mind for our government, and we will continue to do the work to make British Columbia’s healthcare system as strong as possible.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.