The Restricted Registration (RR) Program for Ontario Medical Residents has been a resource to many hospitals in Ontario with emergent and short-term staffing needs. The RR Program has helped the Mental Health and Addictions Program at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC). Dr. Kayhan Ghatavi, a psychiatrist with the Mental Health and Addictions Program at PRHC, shares: “I would definitely encourage other hospitals to employ RR residents. It’s a two-way thing.”
The program provides hospitals with access to a flexible pool of competent physicians during periods of high demand, while giving residents a chance to gain experience in a variety of practice settings and earn extra income. For hospitals in smaller centres such as Peterborough, the program offers recruitment opportunities while helping them meet clinical needs.
“The burnout factor is high in community hospital settings because there is a heavy call. So this program offers a bit of a break to regular staff on weekends,” says Dr. Ghatavi. But it’s more than just a benefit for hospitals, he adds. “It’s also good for residents to see transition-to-practice in action; it helps them learn practice management skills and makes them
more independent.”
Dr. Mohamed Attia, who worked at PRHC with an RR certificate, couldn’t agree more. “Residency can be a bit of a sheltered experience —you’re never really in charge. But this is a great program. More people need to find out about it and be part of it.”
For Dr. Attia, who is now at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health but still does some work in Peterborough, the program’s benefits are far-reaching. “This is an opportunity to excel clinically and also financially. It’s extremely motivating and makes you keen to learn and take on added responsibility.”
A more subtle advantage of the program may be the fact that it’s a good PR tool for hospitals. As Dr. Ghatavi explains: “It puts us and our community practice on the map because the recruits share their experience with other residents.”
PRHC has recruited six RR residents over the last few years to provide inpatient and outpatient psychiatry coverage at the hospital, says Dr. Ghatavi. This additional staffing has enabled them to whittle down their waitlist from nine months to 1-2 months, a move that benefits the entire community. And it all started when a clinical clerk who had done a previous elective with him, brought the program to his attention. That clinical clerk, Dr. Amy Colbourne, is now the acting chief of the Mental Health and Addictions Program at PRHC. “So, it worked out for all of us!”
About the RR Program
A Restricted Registration certificate is issued by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) to allow senior residents with a postgraduate license to practice under supervision for additional remuneration, outside of their residency training programs. Since the Program’s inception in 2006, over 600 residents have obtained an RR certificate and provided over 75,000 hours of care to patients in Ontario. To learn more about the program or to apply visit: restrictedregistrationontario.ca