Singhson, i am very impressed by your knowledge and you are definitely an asset to everybody here. I think alberta is one of the toughest province to get your license for medical practice. Alberta has its own exam and now they have just introduced another examination for foreign educated physicians.
The waiting times are humungous. Today if somebody is injured, to book an mri in Calgary, he has to wait for a minimum of 10 to 12 months. And further to see a surgeon, he has to wait for 3 to 4 months after his mri. The specialist would not even touch a patient without mri. Ya, for private mri, the waiting time is 2 minutes and the minimum cost is 800$. There is a shortage of physicians and specialist. And because of this shortage the existing physicians are paid very well. They can charge anything. If the physicians supply increase there overall pay would be affected.
@ shiva
I am a physiotherapist. Patients here are booked for surgeries on a priority basis. Work related injuries are given high priority. If you are below 55, you have to wait for a very long time to get your knee replaced. The health care system is ruled by physicians and they have a very tight grip. They would not allow foreign educated physicians or any other health care professionals to take over