B.C. says 780 U.S. healthcare workers applied for jobs in past 2 months

The B.C. government says thousands of healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, have “expressed interest” in moving to the province after it launched a recruitment campaign in March, including nearly 800 who filed applications in the past two months alone.

A total of 2,250 healthcare workers – such as doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and allied health professionals – either signed up for webinars or expressed interest in working in the province since March.

That total includes 827 doctors, 851 nurses, 254 nurse practitioners and 256 allied health professionals, the province said Wednesday.

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More recently, throughout May and June, the province says it received 780 job applications from U.S. healthcare workers for positions in B.C., including 112 for the Island Health region.

The applications come as the province works to ease foreign doctor recruitment requirements.

On July 7, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. (CPSBC) changed a bylaw to allow U.S.-trained doctors to become fully licenced in B.C. without needing to undergo a new examination or assessment – as long as they are certified under three U.S. medical boards, including the American Board of Medical Specialties, American Board of Family Medicine or the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians.

This change means U.S.-trained doctors can register faster, generally shortening their application time by several weeks, according to the province.

Since the bylaw changed just over a week ago, the province says 29 doctors have applied for jobs in B.C.

Meanwhile, the CPSBC also made a bylaw change that’s expected to streamline the application process for doctors trained outside of Canada and the U.S.

The change means doctors who were trained outside Canada and the U.S. who are applying for registration in B.C. no longer need to have the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada. Dropping this requirement is expected to save applicants approximately $1,500, and shorten the licensing process by several weeks, says the province.

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“When we began recruiting in the U.S. in March, we were confident it would yield strong results, and this success confirms that British Columbia’s universal health-care system and vibrant communities continue to stand out,” said Health Minister Josie Osborne.

“With the support of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C., we’re now making it easier than ever for internationally trained doctors to bring their skills to our province,” she said.

The bylaw changes by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. are similar to changes adopted in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, according to the province.

In June, the province also launched a recruitment campaign in Washington, Oregon and California, which included airing ads on podcasts and Netflix shows, and driving a “B.C. Healthcare Worker”-branded snack truck to offer free coffee and information to healthcare professionals in those three states.

Dr. Adam Hoverman, who works in Nanaimo but previously worked along the U.S. East Coast, says it is “deeply inspiring” to work in British Columbia.

“I chose to move from the U.S. to practise family medicine in B.C. as I can see the future of healthcare being born here, with improvement science and co-production of health and social care at the core of a system with the spirit, energy, optimism and cultural humility needed to improve,” he said in a release Wednesday.