- What is an Associate Physician?
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Associate Physicians are a new restricted class of physician practitioners introduced by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (the College). Associate Physicians are individuals with a medical degree and some post-graduate training, who will work within an accredited program under the supervision of a physician with active or provisional medical staff privileges and who meets the licensure requirement of the College.
- Why has the Associate Physician role been introduced?
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Island Health has introduced the Associate Physician role to help strengthen and diversify the organization’s workforce, and address critical staffing gaps arising across a range of sites and services, and provide an additional mechanism to address anticipated growth in health human resource requirements.
- How does an international medical graduate receive qualification to work as an Associate Physician?
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To obtain the appropriate licensing to work as an Associate Physician, an individual must complete a seven-step application process that is determined by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (the College) including:
1. Pre-screening with Health Match BC
2. Preliminary assessment by the College
3. Eligibility review by the College
4. Pre-registration
5. Completion of application package
6. Application processing
7. Registration and licensure
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (the College) evaluates and accredits all Associate Physician programs in British Columbia. Please visit the College website for further details.
- What are the qualifications of an Associate Physician?
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Determined by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, registration in the associate physician – acute care class permits a registrant to practise in accredited acute care settings within the scope of their education, qualifications, and experience. Please visit the College website for further details.
- Is the Associate Physician program a pathway for an Associate Physician to become a full physician?
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The Associate Physician program is not a path to become a full physician. The associate physician class is for physicians who are not eligible for full or provisional licensure in the province of British Columbia. They may be eligible to apply for restricted licensure as associate physicians under the direction and supervision of attending physicians in acute care and community primary care settings.
- How does Island Health ensure appropriate Associate Physician program oversight and continuous improvement?
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Island Health is committed to provide institutional oversight for all Associate Physician programs. An Associate Physician Advisory Committee (APAC) is being developed to ensure organizational oversight and consistency of the design, implementation and evaluation of Associate Physician programs within Island Health. We will soon be recruiting physician leaders from South, Central and North Island to achieve diversity of input for practice location and medical speciality.
Please click here for more details on APAC.
- How will Island Health ensure that the Associate Physician program is optimized as it scales and expands across the authority?
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Guiding documentation is in development and team-based support for the program’s integration into pilot sites is underway and will be shared soon. Key learnings from preliminary sites will be incorporated into future planning to promote continuous improvement and support future programs interested in integrating Associate Physicians.
- Do Associate Physicians have a minimum number of years they are required to stay at their assigned hospital/ program? (E.g. return of service)
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There is no “return of service” time to pay back to the hospital. There is no amount of time that an Associate Physician is required to stay with a particular health authority or hospital. The licensing for the Associate Physician is program-specific and they would need to re-apply if they wish to change their program/ hospital or health authority.
- How many Associate Physicians will be employed at Island Health?
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The Ministry of Health has directed all health authorities across the province of British Columbia to introduce Associate Physicians into their health authority, with the goal to have ten Associate Physicians join annually.
- What happens if there are quality of care or competency concerns regarding an Associate Physician?
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The oversight for the clinical quality of care falls under the purview of the Associate Physician Lead. If significant gaps in clinical skills are identified, the Associate Physician Lead can require the Associate Physician to complete skills specific training.
Oversight for HR related issues lie with the Associate Physician Manager. In all matters related to Associate Physician employment, the relationship is subject to the Non- Contract Employees Terms and Conditions.
- How do I escalate competency concerns regarding an Associate Physician?
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Similar to other care team colleagues, care team members are welcome to provide feedback to their supervisor about an Associate Physician. If deemed necessary, the care team supervisor can escalate concerns to the Associate Physician hiring manager or the Associate Physician Lead.
- How should an Associate Physicians present themselves to a patient?
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Physicians registered in the associate physician class with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (the College) may use the title “associate physician.”
When practising, a registrant in the associate physician class must introduce themselves as an associate physician to patients, health care professionals and allied health care members. They must state that they are working under the supervision of a named attending physician.
Example ‘Hi, I am Dr. Smith and I am an Associate Physician working under the supervision of Dr. Jones’.
- Can an Associate Physician be a most responsible physician (MRP)?
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No, an Associate Physician can never be an MRP. Associate Physicians are clinically supervised by a privileged physician and all reports, orders and requests must be signed off by the Associate Physician Lead. They hold similar authority as a senior resident.
- Who is responsible for assessing Associate Physician conduct?
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With input from the Attending Physicians, a Associate Physician Lead is responsible for evaluating the Associate Physician at 3, 6, and 12 months. The evaluation criteria includes:
- Clinical skills
- Communication skills
- Ability and willingness to function as a member of a clinical team
- Special knowledge and skills applicable to the intended clinical placement
- Clinical decision-making and the appropriate use of clinical and diagnostic resources
- Clinical documentation
- Procedures required to function effectively within the team environment
- How are Associate Physicians supervised and managed?
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Associate Physisicans will have a matrix supervision and reporting structure. Associate Physicians are unable to practice independently and must practice under a qualified Associate Physician Lead. As Associate Physicians are Island Health staff, not medical staff, they also require a health authority manager. This manager will be assigned by the Executive Director responsible for the program area.
- Who provides daily supervision and oversight for the Associate Physician?
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The Associate Physician Lead will be responsible for the overall supervision of the Associate Physician; however, daily supervision will be the responsibility of the Attending physicians with whom the Associate Physician is working with on a particular shift. The Attending physician will be asked to contribute to the orientation, training and assessment of the Associate Physicians.
As Associate Physicians are Island Health staff, not medical staff, they also require a health authority manager. The manager will be assigned by the Executive Director responsible for the program area.
- What are the roles and responsibilities of the Associate Physician Lead?
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An Associate Physician Lead of an Associate Physician will perform the following duties:
- Co-lead with the designated Associate Physicians Manager to ensure the Associate Physician program maintains congruency with the terms of its accreditation and the Island Health Associate Physician framework.
- Participate in the recruitment and selection of qualified Associate Physicians.
- Ensure effective oversight and supervision of Associate Physicians under their purview.
- Establish processes and structures to ensure appropriate onboarding and training of all Associate Physicians.
- Complete Associate Physician assessments and participate in performance monitoring/management in accordance with accreditation standards and Island Health policy.
- Inform individual Associate Physician professional development plans and review professional development activities annually in collaboration with the Associate Physician Manager.
- Collaborate with the Associate Physician Manager on developing the Associate Physician schedule.
- Ensure Associate Physicians are included, as appropriate, in department quality improvement efforts.
- Support change management plans to engage and support physicians and other members of the care team through changes associated with the introduction of Associate Physicians.
- Participate in the annual accreditation process for the Associate Physician program.
- Collaborate with the Medical Director – Associate Physician Program, as needed, on local or regional matters related to Associate Physicians within Island Health.
- What is the criteria to become a Associate Physician Lead?
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A qualified lead is a member of the Island Health medical staff with active privileges and holds an unrestricted license from the College.
- How are Associate Physician Leads compensated?
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Associate Physician Leads will be compensated at 0.1 FTE.
Click here to learn more details regarding the application process.
Questions may be directed to medstaffsupport@islandhealth.ca
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