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Overview

Working in health care provides an opportunity to:

• develop a broad skillset to meet the growing needs of Ontarians across the province
• work as part of a highly specialized team
• develop long-lasting relationships with both patients and their families

Professions in health care are in high demand all across ��������. See what opportunities are available for a future career in health care and the supports available to help you along the way.

Nursing

Become a Registered Nurse (RN)

Registered nurses (RN) working in health care provide comprehensive care to patients with ever-increasing levels of complex needs.

They are clinical leaders in assessment, care planning, carrying out care and measuring what’s working or not for all patients. Registered nurses are also responsible for leading patient care teams, which can include a number of different designations and specialities.  

To become a registered nurse, you must:

• complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree offered by a university, college or through a college-university partnership
• complete the national registration examination
• be registered and in good standing with the

Education

In ��������, Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs are provided by:

• university stand-alone programs
• collaborative university-college programs
• college stand-alone programs

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Admission generally requires:

• an �������� Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent
• a minimum academic achievement average
• individual college or university program prerequisites

Programs are typically four years in length. However, some compressed and accelerated options are available for students with prior education and experience.

Financial aid may be available. Find more information about:

• �������� Student Assistance Program (OSAP)
• Tuition Support Program for Nurses
• �������� Learn and Stay Grant

Next steps

• Apply directly to an approved , the or the .
• Find information on the .
• Nursing Graduate Guarantee — If you are within 12 months of registering with the College of Nurses of ��������, and approved to participate in this program, �������� will guarantee you have the opportunity for full time employment.
•  — New nurses may be eligible to receive $25,000 in exchange for a two-year commitment to an employer.

Become a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN)

Registered practical nurses provide comprehensive care to patients across multiple health care settings. The level of autonomy they may exercise in practice can vary depending on such things as patient complexity, their own individual level of experience and competence and the nature of the environment in which they work (such as practice supports and consultation resources).

To become a registered practical nurse, you must:

• complete an approved program of practical nursing
• complete the national registration examination
• be registered and in good standing with the

Education

Registered approved by the College of Nurses of ��������, are offered at publicly-assisted colleges, as well as some Indigenous institutes in partnership with publicly-assisted colleges.

Admission generally requires:

• �������� Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent academic achievement
• individual college or program prerequisites

Programs are two-years long and lead to an �������� college diploma.

Financial aid may be available. Find more information about:

• �������� Student Assistance Program (OSAP)
• Tuition Support Program for Nurses
• Nursing Education Initiative

Next steps

• Apply directly to colleges or Indigenous institutes offering the or through the .
• Find information about the .
• Nursing Graduate Guarantee — If you are within 12 months of registering with the College of Nurses of ��������, and approved to participate in this program, �������� will guarantee you have the opportunity for full time employment.
•  — New nurses may be eligible to receive $25,000 in exchange for a two-year commitment to an employer.

Supports for a career in nursing

Supervised Practice Experience Partnership (CNO)

For Internationally Educated Nurses, this partnership program between the College of Nurses of �������� (CNO), Ministry of Health (MOH) and �������� Health (OH) offers internationally trained nurses the opportunity to undertake a supervised practice experience to demonstrate current nursing knowledge while allowing them to meet their evidence of practice and/or language proficiency requirements to enter practice as a nurse.

Enhanced Extern Program

This program supports hospitals in building capacity and health workforce by offering clinical learners an employment opportunity to work as externs in hospitals across ��������. Hospitals recruit and onboard clinical learners to work as part of a team under the supervision of a regulated health care professional. Externs work in an unregulated care provider role and can build on their training and experience working in a hospital-setting.

To learn more about the Enhanced Extern Program, contact �������� Health.

WeRPN Bridging Program

The Bridging Educational Grant In Nursing (BEGIN) initiative is jointly offered by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Long-Term Care and the WeRPN (Registered Practical Nurses Association of ��������) to provide tuition support to personal support workers and registered practical nurses so they can pursue further education to become registered practical nurses and registered nurses respectively.

Eligible personal support workers will receive up to $6,000 a year and eligible registered practical nurses will receive up to $10,000 a year in financial support. Candidates with additional needs may also be eligible for further supports that include a maximum of $5,000 per year to cover subsidies for course materials, tutoring, childcare, and travel costs.

Applicants to the BEGIN Program are required to sign a Return of Service Agreement committing to working in the long-term care or home and community care sectors following graduation.

Critical Care Nursing Upskilling (RN Certification Program)

This program allows nurses to learn to provide care in critical areas of hospital service delivery. �������� will fund specialized nursing education in critical care for 500 more nurses across the province. We are working with 7 colleges and universities on programming to upskill nurses at priority hospitals to work in critical care.

Nursing Enrollment Expansion

This program will add 1,500 registered practical nurses (RPNs) and 1,000 registered nurses (RN) to the health care system by 2026.

Beginning fall 2022 and winter 2023, 500 RPNs and 1,000 RN education seats will be added to college and university nursing programs across the province.

Clinical Scholar Program

This program pairs an experienced front-line nurse as a dedicated mentor with either newly graduated nurses, internationally educated nurses or nurses wanting to upskill. The mentorship ensures that nurses have the support they need to confidently transition into the nursing profession. Nurses interested in the program should contact their hospital organization's management and Professional Practice team.

Emergency Department Nursing Education, Retention, and Workforce Program

This program, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and �������� Health, provides access to education for nurses interested in upskilling to work in emergency care, or for emergency department nurses to build on their experience in advancing their critical care skills. Nurses can gain the tools and knowledge to provide highly specialized care in complex care settings.

Personal support workers (PSW)

Personal support workers are the backbone of the health care sector. On a day-to-day basis, they make the biggest difference to the patients’ quality of life and are involved in every aspect of care planning, including:

• personal care
• social and emotional well-being
• housekeeping
• culturally-specific supports

Given the support they provide across a wide range of needs, becoming a personal support worker in health care is a great opportunity to develop a wide range of valued skills like inter-personal communications, teamwork, adaptability and collaboration.

To become a PSW you must have:

• a high school diploma or equivalent (such as mature student status)
• a personal support worker program certificate

Education

Personal support worker education programs are offered by:

• Indigenous institutes

Programs take from five months to a year to complete.

Find more information about:

• �������� Student Assistance Program (OSAP)
• Second Career program

Supports for a career as a PSW

PSW Education Financial Incentive and Enrollment Expansion

In 2021-22, the government invested more than $200 million in financial assistance for students at publicly-assisted colleges, career colleges and district school boards to train up to 16,200 new PSWs in the health and long-term care sectors. 

The government’s 2021 Fall Economic Statement to support training another 8,000 PSWs in 2022-2023.

Supportive Care Worker Program

This tuition-free, employer-driven model of training is delivered at Conestoga College and is designed to prepare students to provide basic supportive care services and increase the pool of trained supportive care workers for the home and community care and long-term care sectors.

Graduates of the Supportive Care Worker program are eligible for advanced standing in Conestoga College’s PSW program.

Physicians

As a physician in ��������, you’ll join a diverse profession of regulated health care providers that offer safe, professional and ethical care to patients across the province.

To become a physician, you must:

• complete an undergraduate degree offered by a university or college
• complete a postgraduate medical degree from an approved medical school
• pass all necessary qualifying exams of the
• be licensed to practise medicine in the province of your practice

Licensing

All physicians practising in �������� must be registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of �������� (CPSO).

Learn more about licensing

Education

Medical education in �������� includes undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional development.

Undergraduate medical education is a three-year or four-year program of classroom learning and clinical training (clerkship). Graduates receive a Medical Doctor, or MD, degree.

Postgraduate residency programs provide clinical training in an area of specialization (for example, family medicine, surgery or psychiatry). Residents work and are paid during their training. Those who successfully complete their residency become eligible to take the national certification exams, which are necessary to enter practice.

The following universities offer both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in ��������:

Supports for a career as a physician or physician assistant

International Medical Graduates (IMG)

IMGs are a valuable part of ��������’s health care system and play an important role in providing care to Ontarians. There are a range of supports for IMGs seeking to practise medicine in ��������.

Learn more about International Medical Graduates (IMG)

Physician Return of Service (ROS) Programs

These programs are part of ��������’s strategy to help ensure a stable physician supply, improve retention and enhance distribution to provide better care for Ontarians.

Learn more about Physician Return of Service (ROS) programs

Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative

The Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention (NRRR) Initiative offers taxable financial incentives to each eligible physician who establishes a full-time practice in an eligible community of the province. The grants range between $80,000 and $117,600 paid over a four-year period. The grants will be awarded based on eligibility criteria and considerations related to total NRRR Initiative budget allocations.

Learn more about the Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative

Practice Ready �������� Program 

This program breaks down barriers for internationally educated physicians by removing the requirement to complete lengthy re-education programs, allowing them to practice in �������� immediately. This program will add more than 50 new physicians to the province’s workforce by 2024.

�������� Health-HealthForce��������

�������� Health-HealthForce�������� helps health care professionals find employment opportunities in �������� communities.

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Practice ��������

Practice �������� is a free career-planning service for postgraduate medical residents created by the �������� Health-HealthForce�������� Marketing and Recruitment Agency.

Supplemental Emergency Medicine Experience

The is funded through the Ministry of Health and the University of Toronto to provide family physicians practising in smaller and rural communities with a three-month, full-time, remunerated fellowship in emergency medicine.

Physician Assistant Career Start Program

Helps recent graduates from ��������’s Physician Assistant programs find positions in the province’s health care system.

Learn more about the Physician Assistant Career Start program

Internationally Educated Physicians Advisory Committee (IEPAC)

Building on the province’s ongoing work to grow the health workforce, the Internationally Educated Physicians Advisory Committee (IEPAC) works with the province to break down barriers to make it faster and easier to recruit, license and register internationally educated physicians and medical graduates so they can begin working in �������� and caring for patients sooner.

The committee provides advice on:

• how to increase access to postgraduate residency spots in �������� for international medical graduates, including Canadians who trained abroad
• making it easier and faster for internationally educated physicians to begin practicing in ��������

This work builds on the innovative programs the government has already launched to grow ��������’s health care workforce by speeding up the registration process for internationally and interprovincially educated physicians, including:

• “As of Right” rules allow physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and medical laboratory technologists registered in other Canadian provinces and territories to immediately start working in ��������.
• Practice Ready �������� Program removes the requirement for international students to complete lengthy re-education programs, allowing them to practice in �������� immediately.
• Expansion of international medical graduate residency positions

Members of the Internationally Educated Physicians Advisory Committee 

• Dr. Adam Kassam, Co-Chair
• Dr. Nancy Whitmore, Registrar, College of Physicians and Surgeons of ��������
• Shamira Madhany, Managing Director and deputy Executive Director, World Education Services
• Dr. Sarah Newbery, Associate Dean of Physician Workforce Strategy, Northern �������� School of Medicine University
• Dr. Makini McGuire-Brown, Board Chair – Internationally Trained Physicians of ��������
• Dr. Jane Philpott, Dean, Queen’s University School of Medicine

For further information on IEPAC, please email HHRSupports@ontario.ca.

Other professional development opportunities

Other organizations offering professional development opportunities include:

As of Right rules allow physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and medical laboratory technologists registered in other Canadian provinces and territories who meet specific conditions to immediately start working in ��������, without having to first register with one of the province’s health regulatory colleges. These changes will help health care workers overcome bureaucratic delays and begin caring for Ontarians sooner.

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