Last August, the New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists, with help of Community Grants Associates, received funding from Health Canada in excess of Cdn$500,000. The funding helped the Society a program to recruit medical lab technologists from abroad. We asked a member of our Board, Janelle Bourgeois, is helping to highlight the benefits of this funding. Special thanks New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists which allowed us to publish excerpts of the article. The article will also appear in the March Issue of the Canadian Journal of Medical Laboratory Science.
Board Member Janelle Bourgeois Provides Updates on a Grant Won With Our Help.
The New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists (NBSMLT) has recently obtained funding from Health Canada and the provincial government to develop a Bridging Program for Internationally Educated Medical Laboratory Technologists (IEMLTs). The NBSMLT is the provincial regulatory body and professional association for about 700 Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs). This four-year project started in August, 2011 and will come to a close on March, 2015. In light of this project, various new collaborations have been established with many key partners; including but not limited to educators, employers and the Government of New Brunswick. The NBSMLT had the opportunity to take part in an international event called Destination Canada which was held in Paris in November, 2011. Destination Canada is forum at which people interested in emigrating to Canada are welcome and/or recruited by Canadian employers. During the event, immigration officials, employers, and institutional representatives meet French candidates to explain the immigration process and discuss employment opportunities in Canada. Some employers conducted interviews and recruited candidates on-site. Due to the increasing shortage of MLTs in New Brunswick and given the various initiatives that are now in place for IEMLTs, the NBSMLT and Vitalité Health Network were invited to participate in this forum.
As the only healthcare representatives, we explained this process to French MLTs, but also provided information to other health care professionals who were interested in practicing within their own profession in Canada. If an internationally educated health care professional (IEHP) wishes to work in Canada, he or she must first communicate with the provincial regulatory body to determine the steps involved for credential recognition as well as the steps to obtain a license to practice before contacting a potential employer. Our profession is one of the few that has a national Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) process. We are very fortunate that the CSMLS has been on the leading edge in this area.
In addition to the great experience of Destination Canada forum, the Population Growth Division and Pôle emploi (France) arranged a meeting with l’Institut de foramation des techniciens de laboratoire medical (IFTLM) of l’Université Catholique de Lyon. In the morning, participants were invited to make a presentation on their respective organisations. The following organisations were represented: Collège Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, Vitalité Health Network, Population Growth Division and the NBSMLT. The NBSMLT presented on professional regulation and a learning assessment for MLTs in Canada. Next on the agenda was a presentation from the Director of the MLT program at IFTLM. In the afternoon, we welcomed 15 French Technologists who had an interest in immigrating to Canada. During this event, we were invited to a reception at the Ambassador`s residence for the launch of Destination Canada 2011 and had the opportunity to converse with the Canadian Ambassador to France, Mr Marc Lortie and his Minister.
This experience gave us an opportunity to establish provincial, national, and international networks and contributed to raising the profile of our profession. We hope to build on these efforts as the project unfolds. I was very proud to represent our profession as well as our province at this event.
This above provides an example of the interesting professional opportunities that develop from grant programs in both the United States and Canada. Special thanks to Janelle for sharing this information. If you are an organization, school, or government agency in the United States or Canada and how we can provide a comparative advantage in obtaining grant funding, please contact us at 617-202-3372 in the United States or 506-855-4428 in Canada.