Reducing Barriers to Practice
The College is committed to finding new and creative ways to evaluate the competence and performance of individuals who wish to practise medicine in Ontario.
Council approved a position statement that will act as a guiding document to ground new programs and policies considered by Council and committees involved in the practical aspects of physician registration.
The College will:
- set and maintain registration standards for candidates who wish to practise medicine in Ontario which will not be compromised in response to physician human resource needs;
- govern and administer the registration process in accordance with all applicable legislation, regulations, by-laws, and policies;
- exempt individuals from the registration requirements only as allowed for in the regulation (O.Reg. 856/93, made under the Medicine Act, 1991) and as long as there are safeguards in place for patient care;
- proactively seek ways to reduce barriers to registration for qualified candidates by facilitating the development of pathways to registration that are fair, objective and consistent;
- collaborate and cooperate with our provincial and national partners in government, medical education and training, specialty certification and qualifying examinations to ensure a system-wide approach to physician registration;
- use valid and reliable practice-based assessment tools to evaluate the clinical knowledge, skill, judgement and performance of physicians who have extensive and independent clinical experience in another jurisdiction;
- facilitate practice monitoring and supervision for eligible physicians who are issued a restricted certificate of registration, in order to assure patient safety as each physician works towards achieving a certificate of registration to practise independently in Ontario;
- evaluate each physician's understanding and application in their practice of the ethical, legal and health care system aspects of medicine that prevail in Canada and Ontario.
