Recruitment Program Attracts 31 Doctors

Nova Scotia is currently experiencing one of its most successful physician recruitment years with 31 doctors recruited to the province since January, Health Minister Jim Smith said today.

"Our physician recruitment program has never looked better," said Dr. Smith. "Since the first of this year, we've recruited 29 new general practitioners, with the vast majority of them going to rural Nova Scotia. Two new specialists have been recruited for positions outside of the Halifax area and discussions are ongoing with several more."

Eight of the new doctors are recent graduates of the Dalhousie Medical School. Twenty-one of the 31 have settled on practices outside of the Halifax area. Within the municipality itself, five family physicians are setting up offices in the Dartmouth area and a sixth doctor is in the final stages of recruitment.

Dr. Smith said the success in the first half of this year reflects the fact that Nova Scotia has one of the best physician recruitment programs in Canada.

The Nova Scotia government, through its Rural Incentive Program, provides incentives for physicians who agree to locate in under-serviced areas of the province. The government also pays doctors for on-call work at emergency departments in all 22 rural hospitals. In addition, the department employs full-time physicians who can relieve rural family doctors so they can take holidays or take advantage of educational programs.

"The department hasn't done this alone. We've been helped by the many community groups and local doctors across the province who have worked with our full-time recruiter in attracting new physicians, particularly to rural areas," the minister said.

Nova Scotia now has more than 1,900 physicians, resulting in the third-highest physician-patient ratio in Canada.