Nurses, doctors at centre of federal student loan forgiveness program

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This article was published 19/04/2022 (1260 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Graduating doctors and nurses in Brandon can look forward to a significant cut to their student debts in the 2022 federal budget. 

In the proposed budget, $33 million has been allocated for loan forgiveness for anyone enrolled in health sciences studies and are working toward a physician or nursing career. Nurses can get up to $30,000 for National Student Loan forgiveness and doctors can get up to $60,000. 

As part of the loan repayment, physicians and nurses must practise in Manitoba for five years. 

This is an addition to a federal 2019 program for student family doctors and nurses. A family doctor or resident in family medicine could get up to $40,000 over a maximum of five years. A nurse or nurse practitioner could get up to $20,000 over the same time period. 

Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings made the announcement on Tuesday while touring Brandon University’s faculty of health studies, which houses the school’s nursing programs. 

The minister was in Brandon for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities spring convention to discuss various issues — among them is attracting more medical professionals to rural and remote areas. 

“I’m here to listen to what the municipalities have to say so we can fine-tune this loan forgiveness proposal and see what needs to be done to help them in many other areas,” Hutchings said. “This is to show Canadians I work from the ground up, not top down when it comes to rural development, and one of those key areas is having reliable medical care in many forms. You cannot grow a community without healthy people.” 

The program still needs to be approved, Hutchings said, but with the NDP’s support behind the budget, she expects it to pass. All that is left is to get feedback from municipalities. 

As someone from a rural and remote area, Hutchings said the definition of rural can vary across the country. In her riding of Long Range Mountains, N.L., there are some communities with only a few dozen residents, and five that can only be accessed by boat. 

Parts of Westman saw population declines as recorded by the 2021 census. Exceptions were in areas that had meat production like Neepawa. 

Another concern is making sure physicians and nurses are also cared for. Not only are communities and governments working to protect their work-life balance, they are integrating virtual medicine into the system to make it easier for medical personnel to see and treat patients, the minister said. 

The proposed loan forgiveness initiative was exciting news, and the timing is perfect, said Brandon University president David Docherty. It’s exam preparation time for graduating students and the announcement will come as a relief to many. 

It also helps the university position itself to attract more nursing students and make itself more appealing as an employer and research hub. 

“Rural education needs are different than larger centres and while Brandon is a city, we are a service hub for many smaller communities,” he said. “People who study at a rural university like ours tend to stay here, raise families, pay taxes and help grow their community. We are an economic, cultural and social hub.”

The loan forgiveness program will help many students establish themselves once they are licensed, said Ashley Pylypowich, a nurse practitioner and assistant professor in the university’s faculty of health studies. She was especially pleased when Hutchings told her the government is looking at ways to extend loan forgiveness to all who work in health care. 

“Graduation is a very stressful time for them, so to have support from the federal government is excellent,” she said. “I just want to make sure that extension goes to our nurse practitioner programs because we are an answer to primary care service inequities we find in rural Canada.” 

Nurse practitioners in Manitoba have one of the largest practice books in Canada, Pylypowich said. They can diagnose, write prescriptions, and treat clients across their lifespan. They are working in communities that need them to do all those things, so they want to see more of a pledge for help from provincial and federal governments. 

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com

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