Associate Physician integration is based on current and anticipated health human resource gaps, clinical team readiness and a thorough assessment of their potential impact on quality and safety of care.
- New Provider Update: Associate Physicians & Physician Assistants
-
The below is intended for medical staff on behalf of Dr. Ben Williams, Vice President, Medicine, Quality and Chief Medical Officer
February 13, 2024
Colleagues,
As the Associate Physician and Physician Assistant programs at Island Health continue to unfold, we remain committed to keeping you up-to-date.
As most of you know, new provider roles such as Associate Physicians and Physician Assistants are being introduced as a component of British Columbia’s Health Human Resource Strategy to help address health care worker shortage.
To create sustainable program foundations for the Associate Physician and Physician Assistant roles at Island Health, medical staff input is needed to strategically place these limited resources. Advisory groups have been created to provide program oversight and input into decision making. Program updates and detail on the newly formed advisory groups are provided below.
Associate Physicians
The Associate Physician program continues to advance Island-wide with the following milestones:
- Island Health welcomed its first Associate Physician to the perinatal program at Victoria General Hospital on January 15.
- Eight additional Associate Physicians for the initial programs are expecting licensure from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC in the next month.
- An Associate Physician Advisory Committee (APAC) was formed in December to provide program consistency and to evaluate and approve Expressions of Interest submissions.
- APAC meets monthly and is comprised of Medical Directors, physician members representing South Island, Central Island and North Island communities, as well as MSA president representation. APAC has met twice and has approved two new Expressions of Interest since December (Nanaimo Regional General Hospital - Surgery and Internal Medicine).
Physician Assistants
The Physician Assistant program is well underway with key milestones planned for completion within the next two months:
- Saanich Peninsula Hospital is the prototype for the development of the Emergency Department Physician Assistant program for the province of B.C.
- The Ministry of Health has created a Physician Assistant Reference Group with membership from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, Health Employers Association of B.C. (HEABC) and Island Health to ensure that program development can be expanded provincially. Invitations have been extended to other B.C. health authorities to participate in this Reference Group.
- The Reference Group meets weekly to discuss program direction and includes Island Health Medical Directors, Medical Staff from Saanich Peninsula Hospital and an Executive Medical Director.
Thank you to all Advisory Group members for their participation and guidance as we embed these important roles within Island Health. I know that many of you are taking these advisory positions on in addition to your busy clinical schedules but your input it vital to inform program development. I would also like to extend a thanks to the on-site teams for your engagement on how to best integrate these roles during the pilot stage.
If you have any question relating to the Associate Physician or Physician Assistant programs, please contact: medstaffprograms@islandhelath.ca
Sincerely,
Dr. Ben Williams
- Associate Physician Update - Memo by Dr. Michelle Weizel
-
The following has been sent on behalf of Dr. Michelle Weizel, Associate Vice President, Medicine and Deputy Chief Medical Officer
October 24, 2023
Last month, Dr. Ben Williams, Vice President, Medicine, Quality and Chief Medical Officer announced that we will soon be welcoming new members of the care team, Associate Physicians, to Island Health.
We are closer to integrating Associate Physicians (APs) into the preliminary sites outlined in Dr. Williams’ memo, as we continue to work behind the scenes and exercise diligence in accordance with Ministry directives, Health Match BC, HEABC and the College of Physicians of Surgeons of BC.
The Associate Physician program is advancing but there are still some logistical issues to be resolved before the program can expand and become standardized. The AP program team is making headway with key milestones listed below.
Progress to date:
- We are pleased to announce that Adam Thomas, a critical care physician, has accepted the role of Medical Director for the Associate Physician program. Dr. Thomas brings a medical leadership perspective which will be integral to the program’s development and future expansion.
- An Associate Physician Advisory Committee (APAC) is being developed to ensure organizational oversight and consistency of the design, implementation and evaluation of AP 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.
- Expression of Interest: Associate Physician integration into care teams will be based on areas of need, clinical team readiness and a thorough assessment of their potential impact on quality and safety of patient care. If your program is interested in welcoming an AP into your care team, physician medical leads are invited to participate in preliminary discussions with AP leadership to understand program criteria. Physician medical leaders are invited to reach out to medstaffsupport@islandheath.ca to discuss program viability.
- Preferred AP candidates for the preliminary sites below have been selected, with formal offers to follow.
- Surgery—Victoria General Hospital (VGH), Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH)
- Perinatal—VGH
- Critical Care—VGH, RJH
- 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 APs.
We remain committed to keeping you informed as the program matures and we will be planning an open forum to share more developments soon.
Questions may be directed to medstaffsupport@islandhealth.ca
Sincerely,
Dr. Michelle Weizel
Associate Vice President & Deputy Chief Medical Officer
- Associate Physician Program at Island Health - Memo by Dr. Ben Williams
-
The following has been sent on behalf of Dr. Ben Williams, Vice President, Medicine, Quality and Chief Medical Officer
September 6, 2023
Dear colleagues,
As many of you are aware, we are preparing to welcome new members of the care team, Associate Physicians, to Island Health.
Associate Physicians are international medical graduates who are not eligible for licensure as independent medical practitioners who can work as part of the care team under the supervision of a fully licensed physician.
The development of Associate Physician programs at Island Health and throughout the province is a key component of British Columbia’s Health Human Resource strategy to tackle the heath care worker shortage, in part, by recognizing the credentials of international medical graduates (IMGs).
To deliver on this strategy, Island Health is working with the Ministry to help meet urgent and emergent patient care needs by facilitating the integration of Associate Physicians.
Associate Physicians will be Island Health employees and as such, hiring decisions will be made at a site level.
It is important to acknowledge that the Associate Physician program is in its infancy and there are logistics to work out before the program can scale and reach its full potential.
Associate Physician programs must be accredited by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC. Clinical programs that provide team-based care will be eligible to apply for accreditation. More detail on how to apply for accreditation will be circulated in due course.
Progress to date:
Associate Physician deployment will be based on current and anticipated health human resource gaps, clinical team readiness and a thorough assessment of their potential impact on quality and safety of care.
1. The program will be piloted across three teams prior to regional expansion. Preliminary deployment of Associate Physicians will focus on the following accredited programs:
- Surgery—Victoria General Hospital (VGH), Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH)
- Perinatal—VGH
- Critical Care—VGH, RJH
2. Accreditation has also been submitted to the College for the following programs:
Inpatient Care—Cowichan District Hospital, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, Campbell River General Hospital, VGH, RJH.
3. Island-wide program development is currently in progress for Emergency Departments.
Please join me in welcoming these new team members when they come onboard. I am committed to keeping you informed and sharing information as the program evolves and is ready to expand to other sites.
Questions may be directed to medstaffsupport@islandhealth.ca
Sincerely,
Dr. Ben Williams
Pilot
The Associate Physician Program is currently being piloted across the following five teams prior to regional expansion.
- Perinatal - Victoria General Hospital
- Critical Care - Victoria General Hospital & Royal Jubilee Hospital
- Surgery - Victoria General Hospital & Royal Jubilee Hospital
Island Health welcomed its first Associate Physician to the Perinatal Program at Victoria General Hospital on January 15, 2024.
Eight additional Associate Physicians for the pilot Critical Care and Surgery programs are expecting licensure from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC in February/March 2024.
Program Expansion
The following additional programs have been accredited by the College:
1. Inpatient Care/Hospitalist Service:
- Campbell River General Hospital
- Cowichan District Hospital
- Nanaimo Regional General Hospital
- Saanich Peninsula Hospital
- Royal Jubilee Hospital
- Victoria General Hospital
2. Oceanside Emergent and Urgent Care
Engagement conversations are currently taking place with the physician leaders and accredited teams.
How to request an Associate Physician
Programs which are eligible for an Associate Physician program within it are structured programs that provide team based care – for example, surgical programs, intensive care units and cancer agency programs.
If you are interested in exploring the opportunity of introducing an Associate Physician to your team, contact Manager, Partnerships and Programs to enquire.
Click here to return to the Associate Physician Homepage.