Recruitment & Retention

We are involved in the following events:

• Resident Welcome Event
• Regional Resident Retreat
• Island Medical Program Welcome Event
• Annual Retirement information session

The R&R team participates in the following conferences as exhibitors:

• Family Medicine Forum (FMF)
• Pri-Med
• St. Paul’s Hospital CME Conference for Primary Care Physicians

Please visit our Work in Victoria page for current opportunities available in Victoria, these include jobs as Locums, Permanent FPs (PT/FT), Long Term Care, PCNs, Walk in Clinics and more! You can always reach out the Helen Welch, Director PMH Development, directly at [email protected] for a one-on-one review of available options.

A variety of licensing support services are available to physicians including:

1. Health Match BC is an organization that works directly with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC). As each province in Canada has different rules, if you plan on practicing as a family physician, please visit Health Match BC and create an account. Their physician services team will be able to assist you with licensing and registration procedures in BC. When creating you user account, be sure to upload your CV to your profile. A Health Match BC representative will contact you thereafter.
2. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC) is the licensing and registration body for physicians in BC. To be eligible to work in BC as a family physician, you must be licensed with CPSBC. For information on practice standards, guidelines, and more visit their website.
3. Provisional License: R&R works with family physicians within and outside Canada. If you are a family physician who completed their residency training in the UK, USA, Ireland, or Australia and you would like to work in BC, let us know and we can provide guidance on how to do so. Under a provisional license, you require a supervisor. In other words, there are only certain clinics that support and supervise a provisionally licensed family physician for the designated period of time. Therefore, please reach out to our team to inquire about clinics who have a supervisor if you are or will be a provisionally licensed family physician.

A variety of remuneration models are available to physicians practicing in BC. Please contact us to discuss them or visit BC Family Doctors or Doctors of BC. Please note both BC Family Doctors and Doctors of BC may require membership prior to accessing full details of the payment models available.

You can also access information about payment options on our website here.

The Victoria Division of Family Practice encourages all physicians looking for new patients to collaborate with the Provincial Health Connect Registry (HCR). Please connect with our HCR Coordinator Gemma Rose at [email protected] to learn more or visit the Victoria PCN website.

• Join the Victoria Division if you’re not yet a member, and get your free access to UptoDate and to Pathways through the Division
• Get your MSP billing number set up and explore these useful links to set up your practice
• Get your hospital privileges and CITRIX access through Island Health
• Get to know your Victoria physician community! Once you’re connected, things fall into place much more easily.
• Check out our events calendar for the next Bites ‘n Banter or other socials, and for our accredited CME learning events.
• Connect with Helen Welch at [email protected] if you have questions about living and working in Victoria, and check out Victoria’s recreational and community offerings. View a link tree here on resources when considering your move to Victoria.
• Explore how the Victoria Primary Care Network can support you
• Learn about Victoria’s Urban Locum Program that supports work-life balance for locums and host physicians
• Subscribe to our Newsflash to stay in the loop
• Add your name to the Health Connect Registry for you and your family to be connected to a family doctor as soon as possible. Contact the Physician Health Program to be connected to a family doctor for yourself.
• Explore this website to learn more about Division programs, services and contacts, and Clinical Tools & Resources for Victoria family physicians

Useful links as you consider setting up your practice:

• BC Ministry of Health
  www.gov.bc.ca/health
• Doctors of BC
  www.doctorsofbc.ca
• Health Match BC
  www.healthmatchbc.org/Physicians.aspx
• Island Health
  www.viha.ca
• Liability protection – Canadian Medical Protective Association
  https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/en/home
• Licensure – College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia
  www.cpsbc.ca/for-physicians/registration-licensing/applying
• Medical Services Plan – Billing Number
  health.gov.bc.ca/exforms/mspprac/2991fil.pdf
• Social Insurance Number
  www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/sin/index.shtml
• Taxes
  www.cra-arc.gc.ca/

Interested in supporting your fellow physicians to practice in BC by becoming a supervisor for those with a provisional license? It’s easier than you think! Read the Registration Policy – Supervisor Eligibility Requirements from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.

Resources when considering your move to Victoria:

• Child Care
  www.childcarechoices.ca/
• City of Victoria
  www.victoria.ca/
• Education
  https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training
• Driver’s Licence
  www.icbc.com/Pages/default.aspx
• Health Insurance
  http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/insurance/index.html
• Housing
  www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/after-housing.asp
• Real Estate
  www.realtor.ca/index.aspx?CultureId=1&
• Rental Accommodation
  www.rentbc.com/
• Tourism Victoria
  www.tourismvictoria.com/
  www.hellobc.com/victoria/things-to-do.aspx

Family Medicine residents and Island Medical Program (IMP) students are the key to a healthy supply of new physicians for Vancouver Island.

Along with the South Island Division of Family Practice we support the residents through our Resident Engagement Working Group (REWG).

The REWG consists of 2 or 3 R1 and R2 residents, Division staff and the UBC Site Coordinator. Meetings are held monthly and residents learn to use Division resources to most effectively enhance the resident experience in Victoria. We host welcome events, hold a series of learning sessions during the academic half days to introduce residents to the business of family practice. We also participate in the annual Vancouver Island Resident Retreat. In addition, resident members on the WG have seats on the respective Division Board of Directors to ensure the resident perspective is represented.

New in 2023 we are developing our strategy to better support IMP students and will develop programs and events to welcome the students into our existing and highly supportive community of family physicians.

Our region is proud to work collaboratively across Vancouver Island and our surrounding islands to help you find the right place to practice. We have something for everyone whether you prefer rural, urban or suburban please visit Islanddocs for an overview and connect with Helen Welch at [email protected] to explore how we can assist you.

True and false! Victoria is a great place to live but we still need more family physicians.