title: Assessment of international medical graduates and their integration into family practice: the Clinician Assessment for Practice Program.
abstract: The Clinician Assessment for Practice Program (CAPP), a program of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (CPSNS), assesses the readiness for family practice of international medical graduates (IMGs) who have trained and practiced abroad with no formal Canadian residency training.CAPP has three parts. Part A, a therapeutics exam and an objective structured clinical examination, assesses practice readiness. Part B is a 12-month mentorship in which the CAPP physician is in active practice under a defined license and is mentored by an established family physician. The mentor provides teaching, supervision, guidance, and regular performance assessment. Each CAPP physician negotiates an individualized continuing medical education plan. An on-site assessment of each CAPP physician's practice is conducted by an external assessor who provides feedback to the CAPP physician and his or her mentor. Multisource feedback is administered at 10 months, using questionnaires from patients and colleagues. After 12 months, all assessment data are reviewed by the CPSNS to determine whether to continue the defined license. Part C, run by the registration department (not CAPP), may last three additional years until full licensure is obtained. To date, 148 IMGs have been assessed, 35 have been deemed eligible for a defined license, and 27 have entered family practice, virtually all in small or medium-sized communities in Nova Scotia. The program has been well received by participants and their communities. The mentorship, particularly valuable in assisting IMGs to integrate into their communities, has proven to be the defining feature of CAPP.
authors.affiliation: College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, Suite 200, 1559 Brunswick St., Halifax, NS B3J 2G1,Canada. rmaudsley@cpsns.ns.ca
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Maudsley
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002568:Certification / Q000592:standards; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005194:Family Practice; D005550:Foreign Medical Graduates / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008007:Licensure, Medical / Q000592:standards; D008611:Mentors; D009674:Nova Scotia; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000592:standards*; D016730:Program Development; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce