Welcome Messages

“For nearly 20 years, Touchstone Institute’s core work has been to design and deliver programs that support entry to practice for internationally educated health professionals.”

A Message From Our Chair

Ella Ferris

Chair of the Board, 2021-2025

I am pleased to report on the contributions of Touchstone Institute in supporting Canada’s health workforce.

For nearly 20 years, Touchstone’s core work has been to design and deliver programs that support entry to practice for internationally educated health professionals. We partner with governments, system partners and health providers to optimize the impacts of our work.

As part of our contribution to strengthening access to healthcare, Touchstone is leading Practice Ready Ontario (PRO). In fall 2024, an inaugural group of 28 family physicians participating in PRO began working in underserved communities. Intake of two additional PRO cohorts was also completed in 2024/25.

Development of PRO started two short years ago and the program now facilitates the largest number of candidates per year among practice ready assessment pilot programs in Canada. With the success of the pilot, we are excited for PRO’s continued expansion.

In another important development toward strengthening the health workforce, Touchstone welcomes the Government of Ontario’s move to increase the number of spots being made available to internationally educated residents. This year, our Pre-Residency Program oriented 330 international medical graduates to practice in Ontario, a significant expansion of 18 per cent.

Recognizing the complex challenges facing the health sector, this year the Board undertook a rigorous planning process to develop a new five-year Strategic Plan. With strong stakeholder engagement, the result is a clear roadmap with specific goals and areas for focus that will enable Touchstone to optimize future opportunities for impactful change. Ultimately, the plan will work to improve access to and strengthen the delivery of healthcare. We look forward to publication of the Strategic Plan later this year.

I would like to thank my colleagues on Touchstone’s Board of Directors. These individuals bring valuable, diverse perspectives, and we are fortunate to have their collective insights. And on behalf of the Board, I would like to acknowledge Touchstone’s management team for their leadership, and Touchstone staff who put vision into action.

A final word as I depart the Board. I have held great pride in Touchstone’s achievements since joining the Board in 2017. I continue to be proud of this work and have great confidence in future advancements from a team that is well positioned for the future with exceptional experience, sharp focus, and strong commitment.

A Message From Our CEO

Nicole Beben

Chief Executive Officer

Touchstone Institute’s leadership in strengthening Canada’s health workforce is rooted in our expertise. We open doors by facilitating entry to practice for internationally educated health professionals.

Today, we focus on health workforce solutions that can be scaled and implemented across multiple contexts. Working collaboratively and leveraging advanced technologies as needed, we build efficiencies to optimize the experience for participants of Touchstone’s programs.

In 2024/25, Touchstone pioneered the PRO portal, an information management system designed to screen, verify credentials, and assess candidate readiness to practice in Ontario. The portal upholds the program’s rigour, providing data-driven insights and ensuring efficiency, quality, and consistency.

It is inspiring to see technology leveraged in this powerful way to drive the timely addition of family doctors in high-need communities, and we are energized by the capability for faster, more effective credential verification to support other health professions.

Efforts to enhance Canada’s health workforce continued in 2024/25, with plans to conduct assessments for more than 1,000 candidates in 17 specialties in 2025 on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. 

This year, we also upgraded our assessment facilities and continued to strengthen quality assurance and improvement across programs. These changes help to ensure we continue to serve the needs of Canada’s health workforce with the highest standards. 

My sincere thanks to Touchstone’s dedicated staff, whose hard work drives our progress. I am grateful for all we have accomplished as we wind up the last year of our three-year Strategic Plan. I am energized for our future work, and confident in the progress to come, guided by our new five-year Strategic Plan.

In closing, I extend my thanks to the Touchstone Board of Directors for their strong commitment and great effort. A special note of gratitude to Ella Ferris, who this year completed her tenure on the Board, serving as Chair since 2021. We have been fortunate to benefit from her experience and guidance in setting a stable course for Touchstone at a time of great change.

“Today, we focus on health workforce solutions that can be scaled and implemented across multiple contexts. Working collaboratively and leveraging advanced technologies as needed, we build efficiencies to optimize the experience for Touchstone program participants.”

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