NOC Code suggestion

[dr.aam89]

Hi guyz need help determining my NOC for my work in public health in government services.

I had the following job responsibilities:

1. Shall be responsible for carrying out all the preventive health activities i.e. EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) campaign; Dengue, Other Vector borne diseases, all the Communicable diseases, T.B prevention; public health vaccination campaigns; flood relief activities etc.
2. Shall be in charge of all the Mother, Neonatal and Child Health activities to reduce infant mortality rate & maternal mortality rate.
3. Shall be responsible for supervising all the food and nutrition activities for pregnant women and children below the age of 5 years.
4. Shall supervise the work of all the community health workers for effective service delivery to pregnant women & children.
5. Shall be responsible for effective utilization of Ambulance services for pregnant women.

My qualifications are of a medical doctor. You can see my work was in government sector, as a public health / community preventive medicine physician. I am confused about the NOC codes 0411 and 3112.

NOC 3112 inclusions mention 'Community Preventive Medicine Physician' and 'Public Health Physician' but the lead statement and the job duties don't match except a few. My job didn't involve one-on-one patient interaction but involved communities as whole.

NOC 0411 lead statement matches 50% and job duties 50%. This NOC seems to have more autonomy in duties than I used to have.

This is really frustrating and I need help in selection of NOC. Please give suggestions.

 

[canuck78]

NOC3112

Just warning you that practicing medicine in Canada is unlikely. Getting jobs in public health are also extremely challenging to get. Public health and epidemiology are very popular masters and PhD programs and public health budgets are often being cut. Seems crazy to move to a country that makes getting relicensed as an MD extremely difficult when other countries are actively recruiting IMGs.

 

[canuck78]

Forgot to mention there was an IMG on this forum that did a masters in public health in Canada and still didn’t couldn’t get a job in public health so went back to school to become a nurse practionner. Just want you to be realistic. Sounds like you may have worked at one of the UN programs or maybe another NGO.

 

[dr.aam89]

Forgot to mention there was an IMG on this forum that did a masters in public health in Canada and still didn’t couldn’t get a job in public health so went back to school to become a nurse practionner. Just want you to be realistic. Sounds like you may have worked at one of the UN programs or maybe another NGO.

Thanks for the quick reply. NOC 3112 seems most likely if one looks at the inclusions but the lead statement and duties are creating doubts. Could you please explain how 3112 is appropriate for my duties?

I am aware of the challenging job market in Canadian Healthcare. I have a lot of family members in Canada who are encouraging me to get settled there.

I worked for the government, sometimes parallel to the WHO, but didn't work for the WHO. I was allocated a sub-district for my duties in the government's Health Department.

 

[canuck78]

Thanks for the quick reply. NOC 3112 seems most likely if one looks at the inclusions but the lead statement and duties are creating doubts. Could you please explain how 3112 is appropriate for my duties?

I am aware of the challenging job market in Canadian Healthcare. I have a lot of family members in Canada who are encouraging me to get settled there.

I worked for the government, sometimes parallel to the WHO, but didn't work for the WHO. I was allocated a sub-district for my duties in the government's Health Department.

You didn’t mention that you were in the government and weren’t in the field actively managing these projects and being in the clinics or hospitals as a head doctor. 0411 doesn’t require a medical degree so in many ways 3112 is better. If you weren’t actually on the ground ever interacting with patients or medical staff and were mostly in government offices 0411.

I would imagine you have a nice life given your position with a good salary. Your family members in Canada may have no understanding about healthcare hiring and budgets in Canada. Many hear about wait times and assume there are jobs available for doctors. The wait times are purely budgetary issues. Honestly it would be very difficult for you to get a similar job in Canada. If you get the opportunity to get relicensed you’d be looking at 1-2 years to pass your licensing exam and if you are lucky enough to be one of the few to ever secure a residency spot you would need to do another 5 years of residency. If you are in your upper 30s or older you will struggle to get selected for a residency because the cost of training would be too high versus the years you could practice. Not trying to be too harsh just want you to consider what you are leaving and what struggles you may face. You really need to look at the pros and cons when it comes to leaving. Your experience doesn’t really coincide with the realities of Canadian public health and between cutbacks and lack of opportunities to begin with there aren’t tons of jobs available. Many of the managers will have MBA or masters degrees. NGOs operating in Canada have pretty lean staffing like for example MSF Canada. Which has an office of around 15 people with half dealing with fundraising and PR. Many people who have your skills are the ones who have moved out of Canada permanently or who work out of Canada and return every six weeks or so to visit their family and leave again. Do you have close contacts in Canada in your field who have offered you positions or who have suggested they are ready to help you find a position. Are they high up in an organization or the government? Have you sought out what a typical salary of a non-physician may be like in some positions? Have you looked at the cost of living? Do you have a spouse who is also able to work full-time? Not sure how old you are or whether you have other reasons for moving out of your home country but we see lots of physicians arrive in Canada and realize most of their training and work won’t count in Canada. The ones who can leave often move out when they can’t find employment or find employment which they feel is demeaning based on their previous roles.

This may seem overly harsh but there are physicians on this forum weekly who have done so little research on moving to Canada it is very shocking to me. Many are in specialties where the chances of getting a residency spot are zero and where current graduates are not able to find jobs and are having to move to the US. I know in any cultures your job and profession is tied to self-esteem and prestige in your family. Many people are not prepared to start over again or start from a much lower position. This is especially the case for IMGs. Just want people to make educated decisions. If your priority is to be close to your family no matter what then you should move to Canada but that isn’t the only thing that matters I would suggest you do a lot more research.

 

[dr.aam89]

You didn’t mention that you were in the government and weren’t in the field actively managing these projects and being in the clinics or hospitals as a head doctor. 0411 doesn’t require a medical degree so in many ways 3112 is better. If you weren’t actually on the ground ever interacting with patients or medical staff and were mostly in government offices 0411.

I would imagine you have a nice life given your position with a good salary. Your family members in Canada may have no understanding about healthcare hiring and budgets in Canada. Many hear about wait times and assume there are jobs available for doctors. The wait times are purely budgetary issues. Honestly it would be very difficult for you to get a similar job in Canada. If you get the opportunity to get relicensed you’d be looking at 1-2 years to pass your licensing exam and if you are lucky enough to be one of the few to ever secure a residency spot you would need to do another 5 years of residency. If you are in your upper 30s or older you will struggle to get selected for a residency because the cost of training would be too high versus the years you could practice. Not trying to be too harsh just want you to consider what you are leaving and what struggles you may face. You really need to look at the pros and cons when it comes to leaving. Your experience doesn’t really coincide with the realities of Canadian public health and between cutbacks and lack of opportunities to begin with there aren’t tons of jobs available. Many of the managers will have MBA or masters degrees. NGOs operating in Canada have pretty lean staffing like for example MSF Canada. Which has an office of around 15 people with half dealing with fundraising and PR. Many people who have your skills are the ones who have moved out of Canada permanently or who work out of Canada and return every six weeks or so to visit their family and leave again. Do you have close contacts in Canada in your field who have offered you positions or who have suggested they are ready to help you find a position. Are they high up in an organization or the government? Have you sought out what a typical salary of a non-physician may be like in some positions? Have you looked at the cost of living? Do you have a spouse who is also able to work full-time? Not sure how old you are or whether you have other reasons for moving out of your home country but we see lots of physicians arrive in Canada and realize most of their training and work won’t count in Canada. The ones who can leave often move out when they can’t find employment or find employment which they feel is demeaning based on their previous roles.

This may seem overly harsh but there are physicians on this forum weekly who have done so little research on moving to Canada it is very shocking to me. Many are in specialties where the chances of getting a residency spot are zero and where current graduates are not able to find jobs and are having to move to the US. I know in any cultures your job and profession is tied to self-esteem and prestige in your family. Many people are not prepared to start over again or start from a much lower position. This is especially the case for IMGs. Just want people to make educated decisions. If your priority is to be close to your family no matter what then you should move to Canada but that isn’t the only thing that matters I would suggest you do a lot more research.

Thank you for getting back to me and for the detailed reply. One had to have a license to practice medicine to work at the position. As a part of my job I conducted field visits only to supervise the community health workers but that never involved patient contact. My work mostly revolved around programs and projects. All the plannings, evaluations, decisions and reportings were done in my office.

As this is a public forum I won't be able to state much about my personal situation. I have researched in detail about moving to Canada as an IMG. I know it's practically impossible to get a job in healthcare in Canada. But given my situation I am willing to to take a step down my career ladder. I am well informed on the subject and I still believe Canada is the right place for me. But thanks for the heads up.