Associate physician

The associate physician class of licensure permits a physician with medical training, acceptable to the College, who is not eligible for any other class of registration to work under supervision in accredited structured team-based care.

Associate physician

Practitioners who are not eligible for full or provisional licensure in BC may be eligible to apply for restricted licensure as associate physicians under the direction and supervision of attending physicians in acute care and community primary care settings.

Eligible practitioners must be put forward to the College by Health Match BC for potential employment by a health authority in an accredited associate physician program to initiate the application for registration process.

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Requirements

The health authority looking to employ the associate physician is required to obtain program accreditation from the College.

To be granted associate physician registration, an applicant must have the following prerequisites:

successfully obtain a preliminary assessment from the College of their eligibility for registration
fulfill the subjects listed in the preliminary assessment from the College
be a licentiate of the MCC or have successfully completed medical licensing examinations in the United States, acceptable to the registration committee
submit with the application a sponsorship letter from a health authority, satisfactory to the Registration Committee, that:
- identifies the applicant’s sponsor;
- describes how the applicant will engage in the practice of medicine; and
- notes that the applicant will be working under the direction and supervision of an attending physician

Clinical currency

Associate physicians must be current for practice at the time of registration with the College.

Clinical currency is defined as working at least 24 weeks in the preceding three years to the satisfaction of the College. There is no avenue to regain clinical currency in British Columbia prior to applying for an associate physician employment opportunity with a health authority.

How to apply

The College recommends prospective applicants to complete the pre-screening assessment through Health Match BC.

In your email to Health Match BC

Outline your interest in employment opportunities
Include a recent CV

Health Match BC will work with eligible candidates to:

apply for open positions as they are made available
assist successful applicants with submission of a registration package to the College.

Health Match BC will forward the application documentation to the College for preliminary assessment.

The application documentation must include a job description of an accredited associate physician program.

Applicant files are reviewed by the executive director of the registration department to determine initial eligibility for registration and licensure in the associate physician – specialty or associate physician – community primary care classes.

Applicants will receive a letter six to eight weeks after the College receives the application documentation from Health Match BC.

The applicant must fulfill pre-registration requirements outlined in the letter, including providing either a sponsorship letter or a contract of supervision that confirms employment and program accreditation.

The file manager will email an application package to the applicant.

The applicant submits to the College a completed application along with required documentation.

This step can take a minimum of six to eight weeks. The file manager will review the completed application to ensure that no additional follow-up is required.

If no additional follow-up is required, the file manager will submit the candidate file for a final review and approval.

A licence is issued once the file is approved.

Registration and licensure in the associate physician class is contingent on the following:

submission of a complete application for registration package
submission of written documentation confirming that the employment position offered to the associate physician applicant is in a health authority associate physician program that has been accredited by the College
sponsorship letter from the health authority that confirms employment for the applicant in the accredited associate physician program
compliance with the requirements for registration and licensure under the Health Professions Act and related Bylaws
the health authority obtains/maintains program accreditation

Associate physician