Non-Resident
Locum Status

1. Physicians registered in the Medical Register, and working in Nova Scotia shall be registered as “Resident in Nova Scotia”, and shall be called resident physicians.

2. Physicians registered in the Medical Register, and working outside of Nova Scotia, shall be registered as “Non-Resident Physicians”, and shall be called non-resident physicians.

3. In determining resident status the following may be taken into account:

a) normally residential status shall be determined by the place where (s)he in the settled routine of his/her life, regularly, normally or customarily works.

b) there must be a degree of permanence of work outside of Nova Scotia to be considered a non-resident.

c) other factors to be taken into consideration may include:

i) hospital appointments;

ii) academic appointments;

iii) contracts of service;

iv) permanence and purpose of work outside of Nova Scotia.

4. A Non-Resident physician may work in Nova Scotia only if (s)he provides the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (College) with a Certificate of Standing/Professional Conduct from the licensing authority where (s)he is currently practicing that will remain in effect for the calendar year of licensure. However, it is the physician’s responsibility to inform the College if (s)he becomes subject to a complaint/disciplinary action or if his/her hospital privileges have been altered in any way within the calendar year. Failure to do so may be viewed by the College as professional misconduct.

The certificate can be obtained and forwarded to the College preferably during annual license renewal time OR any time prior to starting work in Nova Scotia.

5. Once the College has received the Certificate of Standing/Professional Conduct, the College shall notify Medical Services Insurance (MSI), Doctors Nova Scotia, etc. of the following information:

a) that the physician has a Nova Scotia license as a non-resident for the current registration yar;

b) the physician is eligible to work in Nova Scotia at any time during the current registration year.

Obtaining a billing number with MSI, however, is the sole responsibility of the physician.

6. A non-resident physician may become a resident physician by notifying the College as such, and meeting residence qualifications.

Approved by Council: December 8, 2006.

For further infomation, contact:
Registration Department
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
Email: registration@cpsns.ns.ca
Phone (902) 422-5823
Phone toll-free in Nova Scotia 1-877-282-7767
Fax: (902) 422-5035