News

PCRC office closure for the Holidays

Please be advised that the PCRC office will be closed for business over the Holidays. The office will close at 12:00 noon Eastern Time on 24 December 2008 and will re-open at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on 5 January 2009.

Note: The office closure also applies to the Medical Council of Canada (MCC). Please visit www.mcc.ca for more information.

Mail and courier packages will be opened and date-stamped upon the office’s re-opening on 5 January. It may take a few days to open and forward all packages. Staff will respond to inquiries as quickly as possible upon their return to the office starting on 5 January. If you wish to call, we invite you to do so before or after the office closure.

Please note that Service Desk support for PCRC will not be available during the office closure. Should you have a question during the office closure, e-mail pcrc.sd@mcc.ca and your inquiry will be answered after the closure.

Any updates to your source verification statuses that are received during the office closure will be made after the office reopens on 5 January.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

More Canadian medical regulatory authorities signing on with the Physician Credentials Registry of Canada (PCRC)

In 2008, PCRC will be available as an online repository of source-verified medical credentials for use by international medical graduates applying to the majority of medical regulatory authorities in Canada. At this point in time, source verification and storage of medical credentials are offered by PCRC to international medical graduates who are presenting their credentials to the following medical regulatory authorities and other stakeholders:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (as of 3 July 2007)
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador (as of 1 December 2007)
College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (as of 1 November 2007)
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (as of 1 March 2008)
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (as of 2 July 2008)
College of Family Physicians of Canada (as of 2 July 2008)
Collège des médecins du Québec (as of January 1, 2009)

PCRC’s services are also available to medical graduates and students applying for Medical Council of Canada examinations.

Keep checking our website for updates on other agencies signing on with PCRC.

Survey results

The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) prepared a survey for international medical graduates and students to assess the services provided by the Physician Credentials Registry of Canada (PCRC) in getting credential documents source verified, and the services provided by the Medical Council of Canada to register candidates for the Evaluating Examination.

The survey was circulated to the first group of users who submitted credential documents to PCRC. The response rate was very high – over 46 per cent. Thank you to everybody who took the time to share their thoughts on their experience with PCRC and applying to the MCCEE.

Here are some key findings of the survey:

Overall, users rank the services they receive from PCRC and MCC quite highly
Survey respondents rated the most highly their ability to easily find information on the MCC and PCRC websites
Survey respondents indicated that areas for improvement included processing times, the level of communication on the status of a source verification request, and simplifying instructions for certification and translation requirements.

The Medical Council of Canada will use the survey feedback to improve services for future applicants.