Sent on behalf of Dr. Carl White Ulysse, PARO President – March 22nd, 2022
I am writing to provide you with three important updates: your PARO dues; applying for the LMCC; and the extension of the Medical Resident Redeployment Program.
More Money in Your Pocket
PARO is proud to be your representative voice and throughout the pandemic we have worked especially hard to make sure that your interests are well-represented. We are incredibly proud to have been successful in achieving pandemic pay for those who were employed during the period covered by the arbitrated settlement.
Our priority is to deliver exceptional services and support to our members in a way that is cost-efficient and ensures the long-term stability of the organization.
I am very pleased to tell you that at our meeting on March 11th, your General Council decided to instruct the paymasters not to collect dues from your base salary and call stipends for April, May, and June 2022. As an organization, we are committed to using the dues we collect from you efficiently, and only collect the amount of money from our members that is required to do our important work. We are proud to be able to provide this dues holiday while maintaining our level of service to you.
We are aware that some of our sites pay bi-weekly and some pay semi-monthly. We are working with each payroll centre to ensure that every member receives the same dues reduction.
Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada
As many of you may recall, PARO worked very closely with RDoC and the CPSO to remove the requirement for the MCCQE2 exam to qualify for an independent license in Ontario. If you have written your Part I exam and you have completed a full year of training, then you are eligible to apply for the LMCC. We strongly encourage everyone that meets those qualifications, to apply for your LMCC as soon as possible, regardless of whether you may still be a few years from finishing your training. Once you have your LMCC it cannot be revoked, and you will not be affected by any changes that the Medical Council of Canada might make in the future.
Medical Resident Redeployment Program
I am very pleased to report that we have worked with the Ministry of Health to have the MRRP extended until the end of September 2022. Early in the pandemic we realized that many of our members were being redeployed and asked to provide extra coverage voluntarily. We worked very closely with the CPSO, the PG Deans, the employer and ultimately, the Government to create the MRRP. The program has been very successful and ensures that any resident that volunteers to provide extra coverage receives additional compensation at a rate of $50/hr for this work. Details of the program can be found on our website.
We are incredibly proud of the contributions our members have made throughout the pandemic and know every one of you continues to go above and beyond on behalf of your patients. We are pleased that the Government has agreed to extend the program so that any additional, voluntary work our members do can be compensated. We are also in discussions with the Ministry about how the program might be used to compensate residents for providing extra coverage once hospitals begin to focus on dealing with the backlog of services that patients will require and that have accumulated during the pandemic.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our members who have worked so hard to provide outstanding care to our fellow citizens. I know all too well how tough these past few years have been and how tired many of us are. Being a resident has always been a demanding job – however, I am acutely aware that during these past two years, a lot of the fun things like program retreats, hanging out with your colleagues after work, and getting to know each other in social settings has been on hold. For your dedication, perseverance, and commitment to demonstrating that you are inspired by your love of medicine – thank you.