234 Ukrainians are in the process of getting licensed to work in Nova Scotia’s health-care system

More than 230 Ukrainian nationals with health-care backgrounds are in the process of getting approved to join Nova Scotia's health-care system, which has been dealing with severe staffing shortages for years.

The Nova Scotia government says it’s working with Public Health and regulatory colleges to streamline licensing and support for Ukrainian health-care professionals.

"We have internationally educated and trained health-care professionals who want to put their skills to use helping others. They have chosen to make Nova Scotia their new home, and we want to help them find meaningful employment in our health system," said Nova Scotia Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson in a news release Thursday.

"We recognize the licensing process can take a lot of time, and we are working with Nova Scotia Health and the regulatory colleges to find ways to streamline the process and reduce barriers for these health professionals."

The province says the following work has been underway to support Ukrainian health-care nationals:

• A website was launched in June to collect information about the work experience and qualifications of Ukrainians who were already in the province and others interested in coming.
• Nova Scotia Health has hired three community navigators, and will soon hire more, to serve as liaisons between the Ukrainian community and health-care system, answering questions, helping with translation, and supporting candidates throughout their journey to employment.
• Everyone who submits an application on the website receives a weekly newsletter to keep them updated on Nova Scotia Health's employment efforts and to share information, stories, and resources to support their transition.
• The Nova Scotia Health Learning Institute for Healthcare Providers offers an eight-week online orientation to the Canadian system.

Support for doctors includes:

• The College of Physicians and Surgeons has developed a streamlined service to review the qualifications of international physicians, including those coming from Ukraine.
• The college has implemented a new pathway that will help more physicians receive their licence in less time, with less administrative burden and with a shorter but more robust period of assessment and supervision.
• The college works to identify eligible internationally trained family physicians through the Nova Scotia Practice Ready Assessment Program.
• The physician assistant and clinical assistant programs provide opportunities for internationally trained physicians whose training does not qualify them for independent practice.

Support for nurses includes:

• The Nova Scotia College of Nursing has made registration and licensing more efficient for internationally educated nurses.
• The government recently announced $340,000 for the college to find ways to further streamline the process.
• Nova Scotia Health is launching a pilot program in partnership with the college to provide internationally educated nurses with a streamlined process to access registered nurse bridging education programs.

"Nova Scotia Health is implementing multiple strategies to enhance health-care workforce retention and recruitment in Nova Scotia. This is what will set us up for success in the long-term and enhance the retention and recruitment of qualified health-care professionals in the province," said Gail Tomblin Murphy, the vice-president, research, innovation and discovery and chief nurse executive with Nova Scotia Health.

"We also have a unique opportunity in front of us to engage highly qualified professionals from Ukraine in Nova Scotia Health's system and are working at a rapid pace with multiple partners, including the Department of Health and Wellness and the Nova Scotia College of Nursing, to ensure we can make this happen."

The province says not all applicants will meet the qualifications to get licensed to work in their chosen field of their scope of practice. In such cases, Nova Scotia Health will explore alternative roles that will allow people to work while they work towards getting licensed.

As of Aug. 5, 234 Ukrainian nationals had expressed interest in working in Nova Scotia and are in various stages of licensing. Of those, 144 are physicians, 14 are registered nurses, 12 are licensed practical nurses and 64 are other health professionals.

Of those who have expressed interest, 43 are in Nova Scotia, 111 are elsewhere in Canada and 80 are outside of Canada. The province says Nova Scotia Health has referred about 90 people to the colleges.

As of August 1, more than 105,000 Nova Scotians were on the wait list to be assigned a family doctor.

Olena Kudenko and her husband, Dr. Alix Chamlat, fled their home in the port city of Odesa when the Russian missiles began flying.

Their escape led them to Bulgaria, Germany and eventually, Nova Scotia.

"I plan to make Nova Scotia our new home now. Really, thank you to all the Canadian people for welcoming us," said Kudenko.

Kudenko is one of three Ukrainian nationals hired by Nova Scotia Health to work as a community navigator. In her new role, she'll act as a liaison between the Ukrainian community and the health-care system, to help transition more Ukrainian health-care workers to new jobs in Nova Scotia.

Chamlat is working as a health support aide at the Colchester East Hants Health Centre in Truro, N.S. He's also currently working with the province and College of Physicians and Surgeons to get his licence to work as a doctor in Nova Scotia.

"This provides me with a wonderful starting point on my journey to becoming a physician in Nova Scotia. Through my work at the Colchester East Hants Health Centre, I'll have the opportunity to learn more about the Canadian health-care system and feel fully supported in my journey towards becoming a licensed, practising physician in Nova Scotia," said Chamlat.

Sue Smith is the CEO and registrar of the Nova Scotia College of Nursing. She says work at streamlining the process had been underway prior to the arrival of the Ukrainians because of the health system's growing need for more health professionals from outside of the province.

Smith said the college is simplifying requirements around proficiency in English, credit for previous accreditation in Canada and earlier access for writing the national nursing examination.

"We welcome this and truly have not viewed it as extraordinary or negative," Smith said.

Meanwhile, Thompson said similar work is underway with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia in order to review the qualifications of doctors trained outside of Canada.

"Anything is on the table," she said. "We know that there's a number of people that want to come and work here and we want them here."

With files from The Canadian Press.