Internationally educated health-care workers finding it difficult to practise in Nova Scotia
There are a number of doctors and health care staff who recently arrived from Ukraine --- workers the Nova Scotia health-care system desperately needs.
But it seems getting credentials to practice in the province is proving to be a frustrating feat.
That’s why Dr. Aliks Shamlat finds himself at a career crossroads.
“Many people advised me to search for other work, but I am more than 50, I have many experiences in my life,” Dr. Shamlat says.
Most of the experiences he's talking about come from years of working as a general practitioner and gynecologist in Odessa, Ukraine.
He and his family landed in Halifax on June 23 after fleeing the Russian invasion. He was hopeful that a program run by the province to integrate Ukrainian health-care workers into its system would allow him to practice here, but he says he hasn't been getting the help he needs to become a part of the health-care industry.
“We can work, why not? We can work very hard. I’m thinking we can go to another job in the hospital. Not exactly like a doctor, maybe an assistant of the doctor, maybe an assistant for the laboratory, anything,” he says.
It’s those barriers and red tape facing health experts with international degrees that the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party wants removed.
“We’ve got over 200 medical professionals here from Ukraine that I’ve heard are ready to work and eager to get going. We really do have to simplify the certification process without jeopardizing standards,” Zach Churchill says.
The standards Churchill refers to are the same ones Schamalat says he’s trying to reach.
“I asked, maybe I will go to some courses in Canada (to) improve in my level of experience or knowledge, but they don’t want (me to),” says Dr. Shamlat.
Data released by the province shows 4,300 people found a family practice last month. However, 5,500 people added their names to the registry looking for a doctor, an increase of 4.6 per cent. As of August 1, more than 105,000 Nova Scotians are on the registry, without a family doctor.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'