Expanding physician extender programs

Doctor And Assistant Meeting At Computer

Expanding impact of physician extenders

The College regulates associate physicians and physician assistants. Importantly, it also approves and helps develop the structure, supervision, and scope of the programs in which they work, with periodic accreditation. This process is straight-forward and streamlined.

Physician extender programs create efficiency by enabling economies of scope. More patients are seen by appropriately trained and supervised professionals, allowing fully licensed physicians to focus on patients who truly need their expertise.

Physician extender programs are continuing to expand across the province, improving access to care for thousands of Nova Scotians. Seven such programs were added in 2025, bringing the total to 39 distributed across the province. (To put this in perspective, at the onset of the pandemic there were eight programs, all within the central zone.) In many instances, the presence of physician extenders, be they associate physicians or physician assistants, has enabled departments to remain open.

Doctor Meeting With Patient In A Hospital

With respect to physician assistants, while individual numbers remain small, the growth and their impact are undeniable. The College began regulating physician assistants in April 2024, with 21 licensed by the end of that year. As of January 1, 2026, the number has doubled to 42.

The number of associate physicians has risen to 63. Associate physicians are internationally trained physicians whose credentials and experience do not support independent licensure. They work in structured programs across the province and expand the impact and capacity of staff physicians.

An important associate physician pilot continues in the northern zone. The project offers a pathway for associate physicians to become attending physicians through a competency-based assessment of their performance over time. The ongoing pilot project involves associate physicians working in a hospitalist setting with oversight of fully licensed physicians. The three associate physicians currently involved in the pilot are now poised to begin their final assessment through PACE’s hospitalist assessment program at Colchester East Hants early in 2026.

Physician extender programs

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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.