Visiting physician

The �� grants short-term registration for up to six months to physicians from other jurisdictions, which allows them to provide limited medical care in a specific circumstance.

Scope and conditions

A physician from another jurisdiction may apply for a visiting physician licence for a variety of reasons:

familiarize themselves with aspects of the Canadian medical system
demonstrate or teach a procedure in which they have expertise
acquire expertise in a particular procedure

In all cases, a formal letter of request to the �� from a supervising physician is required at least six weeks prior to the visiting physician’s intended start date.

While a registrant with a visiting physician licence is allowed to provide limited medical care in a specific circumstance, they are subject to the following:

they cannot practice independently or bill
they are subject to supervision at all times
immediately prior to applying for registration, specialist physicians must hold certification from the Royal �� of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) for the scope of their intended clinical activity in BC, or from the relevant certifying body in their jurisdiction of practice
family physicians applying for this licence must have certification from the �� of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) or satisfactory postgraduate training in family medicine consistent with the applicant’s defined responsibilities and acceptable to the ��

Requirements

To be eligible for registration and licensure in the visitor class, applicants must:

have a medical degree, from a medical school listed in the which includes a Canadian sponsor note
have certification acceptable to the Registration Committee
- family physicians must hold certification from the CFPC or satisfactory postgraduate training in family medicine consistent with the applicant’s defined responsibilities, unless exempted by the Registration Committee
- specialists must hold certification from the RCPSC or recognition as a medical or surgical specialist in their jurisdiction of practice immediately prior to applying for registration, unless exempted by the Registration Committee
be legally able to visit or reside in British Columbia for the purpose of their educational experience
submit a request to grant the registration from a �� registrant in one of the full classes of registration or an organization acceptable to the registrar
specify the dates and locations where they will be carrying out their educational experience, and
provide the name of a �� registrant, acceptable to the Registration Committee, who where appropriate, will be responsible for supervising the applicant
meet the ��'s English language proficiency requirements or be granted an exemption

How to apply

The �� must receive a written letter of request from a supervising physician along with a copy of the visiting physician’s CV. These documents must arrive together, either by mail or by email to registration@cpsbc.ca, at least six weeks prior to the visiting physician’s intended start date.

The written request must come from a �� registrant in the full class who is in good standing.

In the request, the �� registrant must:

agree to supervise and be responsible for all clinical contact the visiting physician may have with patients
agree to ensure the visiting physician’s compliance with the ��’s professional standards and guidelines
detail the duration, parameters, responsibilities, benefits and goals
explain the nature and extent of the intended supervision

Once the written request and the visiting physician’s CV have been reviewed by the ��, an application package will be emailed to the visiting physician.

The application documents should be completed by the visiting physician and sent back to the ��.

The application documents will be reviewed to ensure that no additional follow-up is required.

If no additional follow-up is required, the applicant file will be submitted for a final review and approval. The review process can take up to one week.

Once the application is reviewed and approved, a licence will be issued within three business days.

Upon arrival, the supervising physician must review the visiting physician’s passport to verify identification. The supervising physician must then forward a signed photocopy of the visiting physician’s passport along with a signed confirmation of identity form within the first two days of licensure.

Maintaining the licence

Registration and licensure are granted for the duration of the visiting physician’s visit, as indicated in the initial supervising physician’s request letter.

The visiting physician’s licence will automatically lapse once the indicated duration has passed.

For more information about the requirements for registration and licensure, refer to:

section 20 of the
section 2 of the �� Bylaws
�� policies

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