Message from the President

We are in uncharted territory. We face a new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, a reality that has placed significant pressure to respond to our healthcare system and all those working in it.

As the regulator of the medical profession, the College has a role to play beyond supporting the leadership of the province and the office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. The College is responsible for a myriad of activities as mandated by the provincial Medical Act. Activities include licensing physicians, establishing and promoting professional standards of practice, assessing physician performance, promoting continuous quality improvement, and investigating professional conduct.

The College recognizes that the priority of the province, the public, and the profession is access to care. Improving access to healthcare, through leadership, collaboration, and flexibility has been the principal strategic focus of the College for the last year and into this pandemic.

Improving access to healthcare, through leadership, collaboration, and flexibility has been the principal strategic focus of the College for the last year and into this pandemic.

In responding to the immediate pressures of the pandemic, the College built emergency pathways for the reinstatement of retired physicians and the licensure of locums. Enabling licensure despite cancellation of examinations by the Medical Council of Canada and certifying colleges has also been prioritized.

Improving access to healthcare, through leadership, collaboration, and flexibility has been the principal strategic focus of the College for the last year and into this pandemic.

Initiatives prior to the pandemic included:

• responding to the need for specialists in an under-serviced area through a Clinical Assistant Program in Psychiatry;
• reducing the long wait times for surgery through a Physician Assistant Program in Orthopaedics;
• minimizing disruption in patient care with the offering of a Comprehensive Clinical Assessment of Practice for physicians nearing the end of their Defined licence;
• enabling continuity of care in rural areas through the issuance of restricted practice licenses to address identified scopes of practice;
• developing an efficient licensing process for all physicians by streamlining the registration processes;
• promoting the continuity of care through the redevelopment of polices on medical follow-up for patients without a primary physician; and
• exercising leadership on provincial responses to opioid addition, on regional licensure for physicians and on national regulation.

As we navigate through the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am proud of the contribution of the College and impressed by its commitment to nimble, flexible responsiveness. As a member of the public, I want to acknowledge and thank physicians and surgeons for their commitment and contributions to the continued well being of Nova Scotians.

Thank you.