Become an Assessor
The NSPRAP requires experienced family physicians to be physician assessors of foreign trained family physicians (FTFPs) who have applied to the NSPRAP. As family physician assessors, you will work alongside and supervise these candidates in family practice settings to help determine whether they are ready to practice independently with defined licenses in Nova Scotia. You will be paid stipends for providing supervision and assessing these candidates.
Each candidate will be placed in two different practices in two different zones for clinical field assessments (CFAs) of 6 weeks duration each. Practices will need to meet certain criteria to meet the needs of the candidate and assessment program (e.g. separate exam room, EMRs, varied scopes of practice and patient populations).
Each CFA site will have an identified Primary and Secondary assessor. Exposure to more family physician assessors is beneficial where possible.
Primary Assessor: this family physician must have a full license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (the College) and have been engaged in active clinical practice for at least five years.
Secondary Assessor(s): this family physician must, at a minimum, have a defined license from the College and have been engaged in active clinical practice for at least three years.
The CFA will occur outside the zone to which the candidate has been recruited to practice under a return of service contract. Assessors will NOT be assessing candidates who are being sponsored to return to their zone. The DHW and NSH will have identified which communities are eligible to sponsor an FTFP candidate and there will have been at minimum, some informal agreement as to which community each candidate is going to work in before they are sent out for clinical field assessments.
The CFA involves direct and indirect candidate supervision and evaluation of patient care by CPSNS -approved physician assessors. It is expected that candidates will be assessed in at least one practice setting which is typical of that in which they will be working under the return of service contract.
The CFA provides the NSPRAP with a comprehensive review of the candidate's clinical performance and also their professional and ethical practice. Assessors will attempt to ensure that candidates are given the opportunity to see the full range of patients cared for by family physicians and in a variety of settings which may include the office, hospital, emergency departments, nursing homes, and the patient's home. Candidates will also be required to participate in any after-hours and on-call responsibilities.
It is recognized that mentoring and teaching will inevitably occur during the clinical field assessments. However, the main role of assessors is to provide feedback to the FTFP candidates about their performance and document having done so, evaluate their performance using the assessment tools recommended by the NSPRAP, and ensure that all assessment forms are completed in a timely manner and forwarded to the NSPRAP office.
A decision as to whether the candidate is deemed practice-ready will be made by the NSPRAP Recommendations Committee.
For more information, please contact info@nsprap.ca.