PROVINCE APPOINTS BOARD MEMBERS TO PHYSICIAN RECRUITMENT AGENCY AND LAUNCHES MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Health Minister Don McMorris has appointed nine members to the new provincial agency aimed at recruiting and retaining more physicians to rural and urban Saskatchewan. At the same time, he launched a marketing campaign aimed at retaining University of Saskatchewan medical students and recruiting expatriate physicians.

"I am very pleased to welcome the board members to the new provincial physician recruitment agency," McMorris said. "Our government is working hard to solve our physician shortage by establishing this physician recruitment agency and by launching a recruitment marketing strategy - both commitments flowing from the physician strategy I announced this past spring."

Announced in December, the physician recruitment agency will act as a one-stop point of contact for physicians seeking to set up practice in Saskatchewan. It will also enhance and co-ordinate recruitment efforts across the province, working closely with health regions and communities to address their need for physicians. Board members include:

• Chairperson Max Hendricks, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health;
• Vice Chairperson David Fan, CEO of Prairie North Health Region; 
• Rupen Pandya, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Advanced Education Employment and Labour;
• Dr. Martin Vogel, Saskatchewan Medical Association;
• Dr. Femi Olatunbosun, College of Medicine;
• Dr. Sue Sidhu, Professional Association of Interns and Residents of Saskatchewan;
• Darryl Senecal from the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities; 
• Roland Zimmer from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association; and 
• Jay Meyer, a public representative.

The marketing campaign takes a fresh approach to recruitment and includes a component whereby University of Saskatchewan students serve as ambassadors among their peers, promoting the benefits of practising medicine in Saskatchewan.

"We need to be innovative if we are to succeed in convincing more of our medical graduates to set up their practices in Saskatchewan, and to attracting more physicians to Saskatchewan," McMorris said.

The campaign also includes popular social media such as Facebook, You Tube and Twitter to sell Saskatchewan to physicians and medical students on the benefits of staying in Saskatchewan.

"I am very pleased to serve on this new physician recruitment agency," Prairie North Health Region CEO and Physician Recruitment Agency Board Vice Chairperson David Fan said. "Saskatchewan is a great place to live and work. I'm excited by the opportunities we'll have to recruit more physicians to the province and keep them once they're here."

"I feel this program will allow us to recruit and retain more physicians," Medical Resident Ambassador Jordan Buchko said. "It enables us to build upon an already strong physician base to provide the best medicine possible to the residents of this province."

Over the next four years, the physician recruitment strategy commits to:

• increase the number of University of Saskatchewan (U of S) medical students and residents exposed to training opportunities outside of Saskatoon by 25 per cent.
• increase the number of U of S medical graduates establishing in practices in Saskatchewan by 10 per cent; 
• reduce the annual turnover of physicians in Saskatchewan to less than 10 per cent; and 
• increase the percentage of Canadian-trained doctors working in Saskatchewan by 10 per cent.

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For more information, contact:

Karen Hill
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: khill@health.gov.sk.ca