Ontario Government Helps
Internationally Trained Health Professionals
New Simulation Lab Opens With $175,000 In Ontario Government Funding
TORONTO, Feb. 9 /CNW/ - Internationally trained health professionals are getting high tech help to gain practical experience through a new simulation lab at Ryerson University, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Mike Colle announced today.
"This is the first simulation lab in Canada designed just for internationally trained healthcare professionals," Colle said. "It's a great way of helping internationally trained midwives and other healthcare professionals improve their language skills and get clinical experience."
Colle cut the ribbon to officially open the Chang School Simulation Lab for International Health Professionals at Ryerson University. The lab features electronic mannequins and trained actors to make virtual clinical cases as real life as possible for trainees. The lab was designed with midwives in mind, however scenarios will be added later to give internationally trained doctors and nurses hands-on experience as well.
"Simulation-based learning has proven to be a highly successful way of
helping our students get hands on experience," said Holliday Tyson, Director of the International Midwifery Pre-registration Program. "We have been using simulation to help our internationally trained midwives, and what a difference it makes. These opportunities for international health professionals will be greatly enhanced by this lab."
The simulation lab was made possible as a result of the success of
Ontario's midwifery bridge training program which prepares internationally trained midwives for licensing. To date, the Ontario government has invested in over 35 bridge training programs that help assess newcomer skills, provide training and Canadian work experience and ensure newcomers are not duplicating what they have previously learned. The pass rate for internationally trained midwives who participated in the program increased from 32 per cent to 100 per
cent. Eighty-five percent of students registered in the International Midwives Pre-Registration Program have found jobs.
The Ontario government invests about $31 million annually to help
newcomers with the skills training and experience needed to work in their
field.
