Profile of the Week — July 23, 2012
Dr. Dennis Kendel
I regard the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) as a dynamic and innovative Canadian agency that is internationally recognized for its excellence in physician evaluation.
I also see the MCC as a unique Canadian institution that brings together the nation’s medical educators and medical regulators in a shared commitment to assuring Canadians the highest possible quality medical care.
As the former CEO of a provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons, I very much appreciate the willingness and capacity of the MCC to help the thirteen provincial/territorial medical regulatory authorities operate more effectively and efficiently.
The MCC’s development of a unique physician identifier (MINC) facilitates national physician human resource planning by eliminating the double-counting of physicians who hold concurrent registration in more than one province or territory.
The MCC’s development of a national medical credential verification strategy coupled with a national credentials repository helps the MRAs discharge public protection responsibilities while making it easier for physicians to safely store and transmit their verified credentials to any agency in need of this information.
The current effort by the MCC to develop and implement a national physician registration application process will make the registration application process easier and more seamless for both domestically and internationally educated physicians.
In summary, I see the MCC taking bold and innovative steps to advance the vision of Dr. Thomas Roddick who convinced the Canadian Parliament to establish the MCC one hundred years ago. Dr. Roddick was concerned that the division of powers in Canada’s constitution, which accorded the provinces and territories the responsibility for regulating physicians, would create variance in inter-jurisdictional standards for medical licensure. He envisioned a national agency that would assure uniformity of medical licensure standards and regulatory processes between Canada’s provinces and territories. The MCC is fulfilling Dr. Roddick’s dream of expedited inter-jurisdictional physician mobility and also ensuring a common standard of medical competence across Canada through its world-renowned physician evaluation processes.
Dr. Dennis Kendel is the former Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan. He was a Member of Council from 1990 to 2011. He has served on the Medical Council of Canada’s Legislation Committee as a Vice-Chair and member, was MCC President for the 1993-1994 term, and has chaired the MCC’s History and Archives Committee since 2004. Dr. Kendel was also the Chair of the MCC’s Finance Committee from 2005 to 2010.