New program aims to help establish new doctors
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/02/2024 (587 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A new program announced by the Manitoba government and Doctors Manitoba on Thursday is aimed at making it easier for new doctors to get established in the province.
Titled “New to Practice,” the program is receiving $300,000 in funding over a four-year period to help doctors who are either new to medicine or new to the province to navigate hurdles in their first five years after establishing a practice.
The support the program will offer includes helping doctors’ family members get settled in their new communities, providing advice on how to deal with common challenges and building connections with peers.
A media release from the province and Doctors Manitoba said the program is intended to assist with the retention and recruitment of new doctors.
“This initiative will make sure all doctors new to practising in Manitoba get the assistance and encouragement they need to thrive and provide excellent care to Manitobans. It shows the profession that we understand the demands of their job, particularly at the outset, and are here to help,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara was quoted as saying in the release.
Reached by phone on Thursday, Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Michael Boroditsky said that while the funding amount might seem small, “it’s probably going to be the best money spent because it really focuses beyond clinical and diagnostician practice.”
He said the program will concentrate on making sure new doctors have what they need to succeed in both urban and rural Manitoba, adding that it’s harder to sustain a practice than it is to start one.
“For people to stay in Manitoba, we need them to build roots,” Boroditsky said. “Not only will that benefit physicians to retain them so three years in they’re not leaving, but then that’ll also trickle down to benefit the population in Manitoba because you’ll have more satisfied, happy and productive physicians.”
The idea for the program, he said, came from a 2022 rural health summit with business and community leaders, politicians and other stakeholders where the desire not just to attract doctors but keep them in Manitoba was brought up.
To get the program off the ground, Boroditsky said his organization is hiring an advisor to help run it.
Going forward, the doctor said Manitoba also needs to establish strong recruitment incentives to make it a desirable destination for physicians and make it easier for foreign-trained doctors to enter the local health-care system.
The CBC reported Thursday that the provincial government is working on a new path for internationally trained health-care professionals of all kinds to get accredited in Manitoba.
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