American doctors and nurses are beginning to respond to B.C.'s call to come north.
As of July 16, the province's recruitment campaign to attract U.S. healthcare workers yielded approximately 780 applications, with 188 from doctors and 399 from nurses.
B.C.'s campaign to attract doctors, nurses, and other health professionals began in March, followed with a June advertising blitz targeting workers in Washington, Oregon, and California.
The province's health-care worker shortage is system-wide, but is particularly acute for family physicians.
Health Minister Josie Osborne did not answer a direct question at a news conference on Wednesday morning (July 16) asking how many people in B.C. are still without a family doctor. In September, Premier David Eby said approximately 300,000 people were on the Health Connect Registry waiting list to be connected to a primary care provider.
The province's hospitals have also dealt with increasing forced closures due to doctor shortages in recent years. A recent in 麻豆精选, which ended on July 13, is just one high-profile example.
To ease relocation requirements, the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives streamlined the process for nurses to transfer their qualifications without third-party assessment. It is also collaborating with counterparts in the U.S. to access databases to verify employment and educational information.
So far, 399 nurses have applied, and 320 have already received registration this way.
Then, on July 7, the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons approved similar changes to allow U.S.-trained doctors to become fully licensed in B.C. without further assessment if they already hold certification from one of several American accrediting bodies.
This clears the way for doctors to be registered in a matter of weeks. In the nine days since those changes were made, B.C. has received 29 applications from U.S. doctors.
Simultaneously, the college is waiving the requirement for doctors trained outside the U.S. or Canada to hold the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada, saving them $1,500 and several weeks as they go through the process to get licensed to practice in B.C.
The college is also assessing whether to alter bylaws further to streamline registration and licensure for internationally trained doctors from countries including Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., South Africa, Switzerland and Ireland. That process is open for feedback from the college's members through Sept. 15.
"With these changes, we expect the number of job applications to grow even further," Osborne said.
Health-care workers seeking to move to B.C. still need to go through the federal immigration process.
Osborne said the goal is to attract healthcare workers who are opposed to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.
"We saw an opportunity that we just couldn't miss, a chance to recruit some of the best and the brightest people who would hit the ground running and make an immediate impact for people in British Columbia," she said.
One of those doctors is Dr. Avi Kopstick, a pediatric critical care provider moving from Texas to 麻豆精选. Kopstick's path is a bit easier because he is originally from Toronto, so he does not need to deal with an immigration application.
"I'm really thrilled to be coming home and joining the team in 麻豆精选," he said. "I chose British Columbia because the healthcare system over there aligns deeply with my values."
