Ontario Re-Entry Return of Service Qs and As

Transcription

1 Ontari Re-Entry Return f Service Qs and As 1) What are Return f Service (ROS) Prgrams? ROS prgrams ffer participants an pprtunity t partake in a ministry funded prgram in return fr a cmmitment t practise medicine in an eligible Ontari cmmunity. In the case f the Re-entry ROS prgram, participants are required t practise fr tw years in an eligible cmmunity in exchange fr pstgraduate medical training. Fr the Re-entry ROS, an eligible cmmunity is anywhere in the prvince f Ontari. 2) When and hw des my service begin? Service must begin within ne year after pstgraduate training has been cmpleted. If the participant is seeking additinal training r a fellwship, a deferral must be sught frm the Ministry f Health and Lng-Term Care (ministry) Fr service t cmmence, the participant must submit t the ministry a signed Practice Lcatin Agreement (PLA), which is an agreement between the participating physician, ministry and the practice cmmunity, which specifies the lcatin, and describes the terms and duratin f the ROS. The Practice Lcatin Agreement must be apprved by the ministry and als signed by an Agreed Representative(s). If a participant des nt begin returning service within ne year f cmpleting training, and the ministry has nt apprved a deferral (see questin 8), he r she will be cnsidered in breach f their cntract. 3) What service is eligible t cunt twards ROS? Only OHIP-insured services that are prvided n a full-time basis will cunt twards ROS. At the discretin f the ministry and with prir apprval, telemedicine services funded by the Ministry and prvided in an eligible cmmunity will cunt twards the ROS 1 P age

2 4) Are telemedicine services eligible fr ROS? Telemedicine services will be cnsidered fr ROS nly if these services are publicly funded and the participant can demnstrate that they are delivered t an eligible cmmunity. Please nte that nt all telemedicine services are OHIPinsured r publicly funded. Therefre any telemedicine prpsal will need t be cnsidered by the ministry prir t apprval. 5) Are academic appintments eligible fr ROS? Academic Appintments will be permitted at the discretin f the ministry and in specific circumstances. Physicians must demnstrate that 20 hurs f full time service per week will cnsist f clinical care that will be delivered in an eligible cmmunity. Requests fr the apprval f academic appintments must be accmpanied by: 1) A letter f appintment by the university clearly stating that 20 hurs f the appintment will be in clinical service in an eligible cmmunity; and 2) A PLA signed by an Agreed Representative f bth the university and the hspital where service will be returned. Please cntact the Prgram Officer by at: PPUPrgramOfficer@ntari.ca fr additinal infrmatin r if yu have any questins. 6) Are ROS physicians permitted t apply fr fellwships? If a ROS physician is still in residency, he r she may apply fr a fellwship t be cmpleted after his r her training. Fellwships are cnsidered additinal training and thus d nt cunt twards the ROS bligatin. Physicians must seek a deferral f their ROS bligatin prir t cmmencing their fellwship training. Once a physician has cmpleted the fellwship, he r she must fulfill his r her ROS bligatin in the specialty r sub-specialty in which he r she received training. 7) Can exceptins be made t where ROS service is prvided? At the discretin f the ministry exceptins may be made nly in exceptinal circumstances; hwever, requests fr exceptins will be reviewed n a case-bycase basis and nly with the required dcumentatin and prir apprval f the ministry. 2 P age

3 8) What if I am unable t return service? The ministry recgnizes that circumstances may arise which can make it challenging fr participants t fulfill the terms f their ROS Agreement. These circumstances include a lack f emplyment pprtunities in a specialty within an eligible cmmunity; injury, illness r disability; r maternity/parental leave. In these instances, the fllwing tw ptins are available: a) Seek a deferral f ROS; r b) Repay csts incurred by the ministry. If participants cannt meet their ROS bligatin, it is their respnsibility t infrm the ministry by cntacting the Prgram Officer by at: PPUPrgramOfficer@ntari.ca. There are substantial resurces and supprt fr physicians seeking emplyment, including the HealthFrceOntari Marketing and Recruitment Agency s Practice Ontari service. Practice Ontari is a free career-planning service fr pstgraduate medical residents that cnnects trainees with a persnal career advisr, knwn as a Reginal Advisr. The Reginal Advisr is a health human resurces expert with a wide prfessinal netwrk in Ontari s health-care sectr. 9) What if I have a disability and require special accmmdatin in rder t return service? When verified with the requisite dcumentatin, accmmdatins will be made in cmpliance with applicable legislatin. 10) What is the penalty fr breaching the ROS Agreement? If a participant breaches the ROS Agreement it terminates, subject t the ministry s discretin, and the participant must repay an amunt generally cnsisting f: The ttal amunt f training csts; Administrative csts; and Interest accrued n the ttal repayment amunt. Individuals in breach f the ROS Agreement must pay the amunt wing in full. Hwever, the ministry is cmmitted t balancing the fiscal respnsibility t Ontarians and will seek a reslutin that des nt cause undue hardship. The ministry may at its discretin prvide individuals with payment alternatives, such as a repayment schedule r an installment plan accrding t the debtr s financial capacity. 3 P age

4 11) Are individuals wh never cmpleted their pstgraduate training required t pay back their training csts? Yes. Any participant wh des nt cmply with the terms f the ROS Agreement is in breach. This includes participants wh d nt cmplete r have failed their residency training, including thse wh d nt pass their Assessment Verificatin Perid. These individuals are required t repay csts incurred by the ministry related t their pstgraduate training. 12) What happens if I g n maternity/parental leave during my ROS? A participant wh takes maternity/parental leave can request a deferral f his r her ROS. Once the participant returns t full-time practice, the ROS perid recmmences. Maternity/parental leave des nt cunt tward ROS. 13) Can my debt be reduced if I partially cmplete ROS? If an individual has partially cmpleted their ROS, upn request, the ministry will cnsider reducing the repayment amunt in prprtin t the length f service cmpleted. 14) What happens if a participant develps a medical issue r disability that prevents her r him frm fulfilling the ROS requirement? A participant wh requires a medical leave due t injury, illness r disability can request a deferral f the ROS fr up t ne year at a time. The deferral perid des nt cunt tward the ROS. 15) What if I transfer utside f Ontari t pursue a subspecialty? Residents with ROS bligatins may pursue sub-specialty training in Ontari r elsewhere in Canada. Fr thse matched t a psitin in Ontari, the existing ROS Agreement will carry frward t the sub-specialty training prgram and the participant will cmmence ROS fllwing the cmpletin f the sub-specialty prgram. Thse matched t a psitin utside f Ontari must cmmit t return t Ontari t return service in accrdance with their agreement upn cmpletin f the subspecialty training. They must submit an undertaking (letter) frm the ther prvince that any return f service in that prvince related t the sub-specialty training will be deferred until after the participant has cmpleted their ROS in Ontari. 4 P age

5 16) Where can I get further infrmatin? Enquiries regarding this dcument can be made t the ministry s Physician Planning Prgram Officer at: PPUPrgramOfficer@ntari.ca. 5 P age