doctor and patient walking in hospital corridor

Access to Care Report

2025 in Review

In this report

  1. Message from the Registrar
  2. Licensing data
  3. World leading physician assessment centre launched
  4. Welcoming physicians to Nova Scotia
  5. New licensing pathways
  6. Practice Eligibility Route
  7. Lebanon and South Africa update
  8. Expanding impact of physician extenders
  9. More physicians on the Atlantic Registry
  10. Downloadable report [PDF 1.1 MB]
Dr. Gus Grant presenting at the Welcome Collaborative

Message from the Registrar & CEO

The College is committed to improving access to competent, safe care for Nova Scotians. It is the College’s primary strategic focus. While this remains a national crisis, we are seeing progress in Nova Scotia.

As the province works to expand its training seats to bolster our domestic supply of physicians, the College has made significant strides through the licensure of internationally trained physicians. Our licensing pathways continue to evolve and lead the country. Through the Physician Assessment Centre of Excellence, through tailored practice ready assessments, and through policy, we have made investments to identify and integrate competent internationally trained physicians into practices throughout the province.

The 2025 Access to Care Report provides highlights of the College’s notable efforts in upholding this commitment.

D.A. (Gus) Grant, AB, LLB, MD, CCFP, ICD.D
Registrar & CEO

Licensing data

Over the last four years, the College licensed 882 more physicians including 562 more family physicians
30%

Increase in physicians licensed December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2025

Licensed physicians in Nova Scotia: 4-year snapshot

(This data does not include postgraduate trainees.) 

Customize your view of licensing data by changing the chart type or click on the legend to show/hide each set of data.

Physician age distribution

(This data does not include postgraduate trainees.) 

Customize your view of licensing data by changing the chart type or click on the legend to show/hide each set of data.

PreviousAtlantic Registry

NextPhysician assessment centre launched

The College acknowledges that we are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. This territory is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship. We also acknowledge that people of African descent have been in Nova Scotia for over 400 years, and we honour and offer gratitude to those ancestors.