Employment requirements for medical doctors in Canada

Medical DoctorsFinding a job in Canada may be different than in your home country and you may need help finding job vacancies, updating your resume, writing cover letters, preparing for interviews, and understanding what Canadian healthcare employers are looking for.

The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is Canada’s reference on occupations. It provides job descriptions, occupational statistics and labour market information:

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Credentials recognition

One of the first things you need to do is to find out the requirements to work as a medical doctor in Canada. Therefore, after you get your immigrant visa get in touch with the regulatory body that governs the medical profession in the province or territory where you intend to settle in Canada. They will advise you about the required documentation and the fees for the licensure process. It is highly recommended that you take this step before you arrive in Canada and accordingly decide your departure date to Canada.

Depending on the province you intend to settle in, your licensing process may include:

  • examinations (eligibility, program selection, qualifying, certification)
  • language proficiency tests
  • credentialing
  • postgraduate training/assessment
  • return-of-service agreements (commitment to practice in an underserved community for an agreed period of time).

Regardless of your education or experience, you need to get licensed in Canada in order to practice as a medical doctor.

It’s important not to rush your application and only do that once you are fully aware of the licensure procedure and the regulatory body’s expectations from you.

Note that the licensure process has many stages and can seem complicated; you have to have a significant financial and personal commitment to pursue the process.

  • Some immigrant-serving organizations offer study groups for the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) Evaluating Exam (MCC EE), Qualifying Examination Part I, and Qualifying Examination Part II. These study groups aim to facilitate focused learning and provide a learning environment in which Canadian medical content can be explored, discussed, and modelled with practising Canadian physician educators and senior residents.

Credentials assessment services

If you are planning to enrol in a college or university program to upgrade your skills, contact the institution in which you plan to study and find out the steps you should take and the credential assessment agency you should use.

World Education Services (WES) – Ontario
International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) – Alberta
The International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES) – British Columbia
The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC)
The Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada

To find more organizations and agencies providing credential evaluation, assessment and qualification recognition services click here. You can also visit the Foreign Credentials Referral Office for information, path-finding and referral services on foreign credential recognition to help internationally trained workers like you succeed and put their skills to work in Canada more quickly.

Best locations

According to a recent report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the number of doctors in Canada has increased in the last few years, with 72,500 physicians caring for patients in 2011, a rise of 14 per cent since 2007.

According to the same report, 51 per cent of Canada’s doctors practiced family medicine in 2011, while 49 per cent were medical and surgical specialists.

The provinces of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec had the highest physician-to-population ratios, while Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island had lowest. As well look for opportunities in rural areas, where there is a higher demand for family doctors and other types of physicians.

Choosing a City.

Major employers

Medical doctors usually work in private practice, including group or team practices, hospitals and clinics.

You can visit the Best Employers for New Canadians website to check for hospitals and healthcare centres which you might be interested in. This special designation recognizes Canada’s best employers for recent immigrants. These employers offer interesting programs to assist new Canadians in making the transition to a new workplace — and a new life in Canada.

Another website to check is TRIEC’s Immigrant Success Awards  which recognizes employer leadership and innovation in recruiting and retaining skilled immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area.

Annual salaries for medical doctors in Canada start at about 250,000 and may increase up to 800,000 depending on the type of doctor.