Program for Licensure for international medical graduates in British Columbia: 7 years' experience

BRITISH COLUMBIA HAS FUNDED A PROGRAM FOR LICENSURE for international medic al graduates since 1992, providing 2 entry positions per year for postgradu ate training. Each year 25-35 candidates are eligible for the program, 13-1 6 enter the evaluation process, 4 go on to a clinical evaluation and 2 are offered funding by the Ministry of Health. Other candidates may access comm unity funding ii they meet the requirements of the program. Twenty of 26 ca ndidates have successfully completed the postgraduate training and achieved full licensure; 6 are still in training. In this article we describe the d evelopment of the program, the evaluation and selection process, characteri stics of the candidates and the outcomes of the program.