Public Consultation: Entering a New Practice Setting

April 17, 2026 |
Public Consultations Standard of Practice

CPSM requests feedback from the public, registrants, regulated health professions, and other stakeholders regarding a new Standard of Practice – Entering a New Practice Setting. 

 

Purpose of the Standard

The new Standard of Practice – Entering a New Practice Setting aims to ensure that registrants entering practice in Manitoba—whether newly licensed or transitioning from another jurisdiction—are effectively supported in their integration into the local clinical and community context.

 

The Standard seeks to:

  • Promote safe, ethical, and effective medical practice during transitions into new practice settings.
  • Clarify professional expectations for both new and receiving registrants.
  • Reinforce the shared professional responsibility to create inclusive, respectful, and supportive practice environments that align with Manitoba’s healthcare needs.
  • Emphasize the profession’s commitment to patient safety, cultural humility, inclusive professionalism, and ethical practice.

 

Rationale

 

Registrants entering practice in Manitoba bring diverse training, perspectives, and experience. Many also arrive with limited familiarity with local:

 

  • systems of care
  • clinical expectations
  • community context
  • administrative processes
  • cultural norms and patient expectations

To ensure safe patient care and effective integration, CPSM recognizes the need for structured support, clear expectations, and shared accountability among all registrants, including those already established in Manitoba.

 

Reports from Internationally Trained Physicians (ITPs)/International Medical Graduates (IMGs) highlight experiences of:

 

  • professional bias or assumptions about competence
  • systemic barriers
  • conditional belonging
  • reduced autonomy during provisional licensure

These findings reinforce the need for a Standard addressing inclusivity, cultural safety, mentorship, and system-level support.

Development of the Standard

 

The Standard was shaped by feedback collected through multiple, diverse focus groups of ITPs and IMGs, as well as a profession-wide survey. The survey results strongly supported the need for a Standard. Analysis continues and a report of survey findings is being developed for broader distribution to registrants and partners.

 

The IMG Working Group, which includes representatives from the Manitoba College of Family Physicians, the IMG Program at the University of Manitoba, Manitoba Health, Shared Health, Doctors Manitoba, and registrants with medical degrees obtained internationally, a clinical assistant and public representatives, reviewed and agreed on the principles of the Standard. 

 

Components of the Standard

 

1. Expectations for new registrants

 

The Standard clarifies responsibilities related to:

 

  • Accountability within Manitoba’s health system.
  • Communication expectations.
  • Professionalism, self-reflection, and openness to learning.

2. Expectations for receiving (established) registrants

Receiving registrants are expected to:

 

  • Foster safe, inclusive, and supportive working environments.
  • Participate in maintaining professional standards.
  • Engage in collaborative, respectful team-based care.
  • Address discrimination, promote cultural humility, and confront incivility.

3. Structured orientation & onboarding requirements

Practice settings must implement structured orientation and onboarding covering:

 

  • Indigenous health, anti-Indigenous racism, and trauma-informed practices.
  • Team-based care expectations.
  • Local clinical systems, administrative processes, and documentation standards.
  • Communication norms and local medical colloquialisms.
  • Mentorship networks for new registrants adapting to the Manitoba context.

4. Self-care & peer support

The Standard emphasizes:

 

  • Shared responsibility for physician health and wellness.
  • Modelling healthy boundaries and promoting wellness resources.
  • Psychological safety and help-seeking behaviours.

5. Equity, systemic safety & cultural humility

All registrants must:

 

  • Treat colleagues with dignity and respect.
  • Call out discrimination.
  • Promote inclusion and belonging.
  • Understand and address systemic inequities experienced by IMGs/ITPs and marginalized groups.

How to submit your feedback

  1. Review the draft Standard of Practice and the contextual documents.
  2. Submit your comments in one of the following ways:

By email: CPSMconsultation@cpsm.mb.ca

By mail:

The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba

1000-1661 Portage Avenue

Winnipeg, MB R3J 3T7

 

The deadline for feedback is Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CST