British Columbia's health minister Josie Osborne says "now is the time" for American doctors and nurses to move to the province as it fast tracks recognition of their credentials during an escalating trade war between Canada and the United States. Osborne, speaks during a news conference in Burnaby, B.C., on June 10, 2024.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The British Columbia government says its measure to fast-track American nurse applications to the province’s health care system has resulted in more than 100 registrants available to work in the span of five weeks.
The positive initial response was achieved without advertising, B.C. Premier David Eby said in a press conference Monday, but the province will launch a recruitment campaign next month across three American states urging nurses and other health care professionals to relocate.
The province, working with the BC College of Nurses and Midwives, has cut the accreditation process down to a few days from four months by using a third-party assessment organization to confirm a U.S. applicant’s credentials, Mr. Eby said.
Since the new process was rolled out in early April, the B.C. government said applications have increased by 127 per cent, and 113 nurses have been registered with the college, making them eligible for work.
The Premier said the province is taking advantage of an opportunity created by the shift in U.S. politics under President Donald Trump to lure health care workers north. B.C. continues to face a shortage of doctors and nurses, a challenge that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and that has led to emergency-room closures around the province.
Louise Aerts, acting registrar and chief executive officer of the BC College of Nurses and Midwives, said the agency has been working with the province for several years to improve the application process for internationally educated nurses.
“It’s a complex process, but in this case, a simple solution has created a big impact by focusing on the similarities between nursing in Canada and the U.S. – things like education, scope of practice, regulatory exams,” she said at Monday’s press conference.
The college then tapped into an existing database that allows them to quickly confirm an applicant’s training and working history: “We‘ve streamlined the application process for American nurses without sacrificing patient safety.”
When those nurses might start working in B.C. remains unclear. Rachel Smith Taylor, a U.S. nurse who joined the press conference, said she put her registration application in after a recent visit to Nanaimo to explore job opportunities.
However, she said she isn’t sure if or when she might transfer, because moving to another country involves a lot of logistics: “A nurse‘s opportunities are endless,” she added.
Mr. Eby said there are myriad reasons why nurses and doctors in the U.S. are looking for a new place to work, from the U.S. government’s recent attacks on reproductive rights to Mr. Trump’s appointment of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
British Columbia’s health policies, the Premier said, offer health care workers a more stable working environment: “It’s a competitive advantage for us, and is driving interest from American health care professionals.”
Health Minister Josie Osborne said the early results of fast-tracking accreditation is a “huge win” and she promised supports to help potential recruits to find the right job.
“It is very clear to us that U.S. professionals are looking for something better,” she said, “and here in British Columbia, we are offering just that.”
Ms. Osborne said the government’s efforts to recruit physicians has also been successful, but did not release figures, saying a separate announcement will be made in the coming weeks.
The province‘s coming recruitment campaign in the U.S. will target nurses and doctors in Oregon, Washington and select cities in California.
In 2022, the province overhauled the way it pays family doctors with a new model that paid roughly $135,000 more in gross annual pay, as part of a package aimed at recruiting and retaining general practitioners.
Ms. Osborne said those changes mean that B.C. is now offering competitive pay for U.S. doctors who are considering a new location.