Index

Canada Rural Canadian Locum Manual

Is the prospect of going and practising real medicine in another setting interesting? Are you interested in the rockies, the arctic, the prairies, old growth forests, farming or fishing communities? A rural Canadian locum experience may be for you. But how to turn a "Wouldn't it be nice" into reality?

This page is an overview of the process needed to get a rural locum position in Canada. By understanding the process you will be able to arrange for a locum with the least fuss.

Finding a Position

There are hundreds of rural locums available with diverse practice settings and skill requirements. The first step is finding your potential locum location(s). There are several sources that can help you find an area.

If you are looking for a locum or are looking for a locum position Sign The SRPC Locum Guest book and View The SRPC Locum Guest book. indicate the time frame that applies (if any) or leave another note if you have found the position or locum that you wanted.
The SRPC CME Locum program provides locums and CME to you and your community
Notices about locums seeking work and practices seeking locums also often get posted to Rural Med
Check the classified sections of journals such as The Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine or medical tabloids such as The Medical Post please note that the online versions of these publications lack the classified sections
For British Columbia check out the Physician Recruitment pages of Health Match BC
For Alberta check with the Rural Physician Action Plan and Alberta Medical Association Home Page.
For Canadians wishing to locum in Ontario, check with the placement service of the OMA (OMAPS)

Physicians in Canada are are usually paid fee for service by the provincial governments which provides over 90% of the income for most practices. Only services not covered by the provincial schemes can be billed to the patient. Locums in Canada are usually paid a percentage of gross billings generated. An arrangement of 60% of Gross billings plus accommodation for the locum in the incumbent's residence is not uncommon. In any case this or other arrangements are usually determined by negotiation with the practice. Some provincial rural support schemes may offer guaranteed minimums and other incentives that help rural physicians attract locums. These programs are listed in the regional pages and are summarised (35Kb pdf format)

Licensing

In Canada, each provincial and territorial government is responsible for licensing physicians to practice medicine within its boundaries. The governments of the provinces and territories have delegated this responsibility to medical licensing authorities. The medical licensing authorities may be called: licensing authority, college of physicians and surgeons, or medical board.

The SRPC is working with the licensing authorities towards developing a portable locum license. Alas, until this happens, you will likely have to apply for full licensure in whatever province they wish to practice. Luckily for most Canadian graduates, this is more headache than obstacle.

Are you an international medical graduate (IMG) without Canadian licensure? This requires some special arrangements. NOTE that the SRPC is not a placement agency and cannot help you with the details.
Are you a Canadian looking to locum elsewhere? Why not consider Australia.

Last Updated August 1st, 2001