Latest news with #CollegeofPhysicians
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario expediting process for U.S. doctors, nurses to work in province
Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health speaks during Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston TORONTO — Doctors and nurses licensed in the United States will soon be able to more easily practise in Ontario, under changes announced today by the minister of health. Sylvia Jones says the move will increase the number of health-care professionals working in the province. The province is enabling qualified U.S.-licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and registered practical nurses to start working in Ontario health settings before they register with the regulatory college. They will be allowed to work for up to six months while seeking registration with either the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario or the College of Nurses of Ontario. Doctors and nurses would still have to go through he usual immigration processes, and to qualify they must be licensed in their home jurisdiction with no history of misconduct or incompetence. The government previously expedited the process for physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and medical laboratory technologists registered in other jurisdictions in Canada to work in Ontario while going through the registration process. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025. Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
CTV News
03-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Interprovincial partnership to help fast-track international doctors' careers in P.E.I.
McMaster University and the Government of Prince Edward Island have announced an interprovincial partnership for a physician fellowship program. (Source: Government of Prince Edward Island) McMaster University and the Government of Prince Edward Island have announced the first-of-its-kind interprovincial partnership. The PEI-McMaster Collaborative Hospitalist Fellowship is a training model designed for international medical graduates. The fellowship trains physicians to specialize in providing direct care to a wide range of patients, from the beginning to end of their stay, a news release from the provincial government said. 'This is a first-of-its-kind collaboration in Canada. Our approach provides an accelerated and practical route for highly trained specialist international physicians to transition into the Canadian health system and begin contributing to patient care quickly,' Haroon Yousuf, hospitalist fellowship director and associate professor in the department of medicine at McMaster University said. Fellows will complete most of their training at McMaster, with one of the 13 training blocks delivered in P.E.I. After completing the program, physicians are required to practice in the province for a minimum of one year. 'By collaborating with McMaster University and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Prince Edward Island, this initiative helps international physicians integrate into the Canadian health system while giving PEI a boost in our workforce,' said Mark McLane, minister of Health and Wellness for Prince Edward Island. 'It's a forward-looking strategy that benefits everyone and shows our commitment to expanding pathways for International Medical Graduates in the province.' The collaboration was inspired in part by the hiring of Ali Abdullah, an internationally trained internal medicine specialist, who completed McMaster's hospitalist fellowship and began his practice in P.E.I. in 2024. 'This collaboration shows what's possible when universities and governments work together to rethink training and recruitment,' Yousuf said. 'Together, we can break down barriers and create new opportunities, across the country and beyond.' Interested candidates can apply on McMaster University's website. For more P.E.I. news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Former B.C. health officer convicted of child sexual abuse relinquishes licence for life
A former Kelowna health official currently serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence for sexual interference with a young boy has agreed to permanently terminate his physicians' licence, the regulatory body says. Albert Stefanus De Villiers entered a consent agreement with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. on May 2, a summary of which was released to the public Tuesday. The college says De Villiers voluntarily surrendered his licence and agreed to not re-apply for registration to practise medicine in B.C., or any other jurisdiction, ever. The doctor was found guilty of sexual interference on Feb. 7, 2023, in Alberta court. A second charge of sexual assault was stayed, according to the college. De Villiers' crimes took place between 2018 and 2020 while he was employed as the top public health doctor in northern Alberta. His victim was seven years old when the abuse began. The boy testified De Villiers showed him pornography and touched him several times at the doctor's home in Grand Prairie. At the time of his arrest in 2021, De Villiers was the chief medical officer of health for B.C.'s Interior Health authority. The regulatory body says De Villiers' 'irrevocable commitment' to resign from the college is effective back to March 1, 2023. The college says it considered the judge's written reasons and his conviction of an indictable offence when deciding its own penalty against De Villiers, in addition to the court-imposed prison sentence. 'The inquiry committee concluded that Dr. De Villiers's conduct was egregious and determined that his irrevocable commitment to resign as a registrant of CPSBC and to never reapply for registration in British Columbia or any other jurisdictions was appropriate in the circumstances,' the decision reads. With files from The Canadian Press
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
B.C. opioid rules were to reduce overdoses. But they cut cancer patients' pain meds
Rule changes designed to reduce opioid overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2016 inadvertently harmed cancer and palliative-care patients by reducing their access to pain killers, a new study has found. The study published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal describes the impact of a practice standard issued by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. that June, about two months after the province declared a public health emergency over opioid deaths. The rule changes were designed to mitigate prescription drug misuse, including the over-prescribing of opioids among patients with chronic non-cancer related pain. The rules weren't meant for cancer and palliative-care patients, but lead author Dimitra Panagiotoglou said there was a "spillover" effect as doctors applied "aggressive tapering" of the painkillers. "(With) the ongoing messages that physicians were getting at the time — opioids being bad — individuals decided to pull back on their prescribing, but there was this larger population-level effect in doing so," she said. "We focus on these two groups because far and wide, it's considered completely acceptable to prescribe opioids for these groups and the concerns around opioids are very different," she said of cancer and palliative-care patients. There were already downward trends in opioid prescriptions for people with chronic non-cancer pain and those receiving palliative care, Panagiotoglou said, and the study shows that trend continued after the change. But among cancer patients, there was a surprising "nose dive" in access to opioids right after the release of the new standard, said Panagiotoglou, who is an associate professor in the department of epidemiology, biostatistics and occupational health at McGill University. The rules were legally enforceable, and physicians found non-compliant could be disciplined or fined under the Health Professions Act and College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC bylaws. The rules were revised in 2018 to address concerns that they were being misinterpreted. The changes in 2016 set a recommended dose ceiling at 90 morphine milligram equivalents or less per day and used "strong language" around co-prescribing with benzodiazepines given the drug poisoning risk, Panagiotoglou said. Among cancer patients, the study found opioid dispensations were 15 per cent lower per person than expected two years after the implementation of the 2016 rules. Over 30 days, that translates to 4.5 fewer days of supply, it says. For people receiving palliative care, the per-person dosage was 6.1 per cent lower, translating to 1.8 fewer days' supply, the study says, while for patients with chronic non-cancer pain — the target population of the rules — dispensations were 8.2 per cent lower. "Over time, people were seeing a meaningful decline in their doses and in the days supplied," Panagiotoglou said of the period between the implementation of the 2016 practice standard and its revision in 2018. The study did not include opioids dispensed in hospitals or long-term care facilities, rather for prescriptions for people living at home. The study says the changes led doctors to increase "aggressive tapering" of patients' medication. Panagiotoglou said evidence suggests this can lead to pain and increase in overdose risk by pushing people toward illicit opioids. The B.C. college revised its standard in 2018 in response to concerns that misinterpretation was leading to "more conservative prescribing to all patients," not just those with chronic non-cancer pain, the study says. "When the language relaxed and ceiling thresholds were removed, for example, there's this rebound effect where you see, in fact, the amount being prescribed kind of stabilizes or inflects upwards," Panagiotoglou said. The study concludes that its findings show how practice standards can modify physician behaviour, but also highlight "how misinterpretation can harm patients." Panagiotoglou said the findings underscore the potential for "unintended consequences" of sweeping changes to practice standards. Physicians must be careful prescribing opioids, she said, especially given the underlying context of the toxic drug crisis that has claimed more than 16,000 lives in B.C. since the health emergency was declared in 2016. But Panagiotoglou said it's important to include a diversity of voices at the decision-making table, such as patient-care advocacy groups. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. said in an email it could not comment on the study because it was not directly involved in the research. But it said the 2016 practice standard was informed by the "best available guidance at the time," and it has since been "revised substantially." "In the 2016 practice standard, (the college) was explicit in acknowledging and endorsing the use of aggressive pharmacotherapy in the context of active cancer, palliative, and end-of-life care," it said in the statement. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025. Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
12-05-2025
- Globe and Mail
Toronto doctor has medical licence revoked after pleading guilty to harassment of more than a dozen girls
A Toronto doctor has had his medical licence revoked after he pleaded guilty to criminal harassment of more than a dozen girls and admitted to public masturbation. A tribunal at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found the facts admitted by Armen Parajian established professional misconduct and were grounds enough for a reprimand and to have his certification of registration revoked in March. The tribunal decision, released last week, says Parajian pleaded guilty in criminal court to harassing 13 female victims over a six-month period in the city's Beaches neighbourhood starting in November 2020. The ruling cites an agreed statement of fact court heard in 2021 that said Parajian would drive slowly near the girls in his white Jeep, noting 12 of the victims were between the ages of 10 and 15. On more than one occasion, it appeared to the victims that he was pretending to use his phone so he could record or photograph them, the statement of fact said. As a result, the victims reasonably feared for their safety based on their perception of the accused's conduct,' the statement reads. '... the accused was reckless as to whether his conduct of driving slowly in the vicinity of the victims would cause them to feel harassed. The tribunal ruling said Parajian, a thoracic surgeon, also admitted to masturbating in the passenger seat of his vehicle while parked on a residential street, as witnessed by an adult victim. It also noted that for about two years before the specified events, there were numerous reports of indecent exposure by a man in a white Jeep. A victim impact statement from a mother said that his actions have left her feeling stressed, sad and scared for the safety of her children and her community, and that she now worries when she has to take her child to a new doctor. 'I used to have a certain level of trust and respect for that physician simply because they were a medical professional. Now, that pre-established trust is gone,' the statement reads. 'I am anxious and skeptical of anyone who treats my children for the first time.' In another impact statement, parents wrote how their daughter kept having to look over her shoulder in the community, always on high alert. Character letters in support of Parajian, including from his wife and two friends, emphasized his kindness and compassion, according to the tribunal filings. For the criminal charges, Parajian was sentenced to probation for rehabilitation and ongoing community supervision for three years, which he has since completed. 'Dr. Parajian has been found guilty of a criminal offence relevant to his suitability to practise and his conduct would be reasonably regarded by registrants as disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional,' the tribunal wrote in its findings. 'Patients come to physicians for protection and healing. The publicity around these incidents has diminished the public's confidence that any physician they visit will care for them and they will be safe in their vulnerable relationships with them. Revocation will help maintain that confidence.' The documents show Parajian and the College jointly submitted that the penalty for his actions should be revocation of his registration.
