A new Medical Education Project Officer will be hired to enhance training opportunities for medical students and family medicine residents to work within our rural communities, says Health and Wellness Minister Carolyn Bertram.
“This will provide an opportunity for residents and medical students to learn more about practice in rural Prince Edward Island and in our new primary health care networks, which we ultimately hope will result in recruitment of physicians in these communities,” said Minister Bertram.
A majority of supervising physicians, or preceptors, currently working with our province’s undergraduate medical students and postgraduate residents are located within Charlottetown and Summerside. Because of this, students and residents do not often benefit during their training from exposure to the rural communities. Without this exposure, it becomes difficult to recruit physicians to vacancies in these communities.
To prepare for their future physician needs, over $300,000 will be invested over the next four years to increase the number and capacity of preceptors in rural communities. This funding will also be used to build the structure required for coordinating training and curriculum development for clinical rotations.
This funding will ultimately support the recruitment and retention of permanent physicians in rural communities. Residents and students who work within these communities will be better supported, helping to increase the likelihood that they will return to these areas after completion of their training. Preceptors in rural communities provide needed support to residents and to students during their training, and with their integration into the rural communities.
“Our health care system offers a tremendous atmosphere for learning, as well as outstanding physician preceptors and staff who are willing to share their knowledge and experience,” said Minister Bertram. “By expanding our preceptor and training opportunities, our goal is to allow students a more comprehensive experience of rural medicine and what our province has to offer.”
The Prince Edward Island Family Medical Residency Program welcomes five medical student graduates to the program each summer. The Program allows medical residents to work as qualified physicians under the supervision of a licensed physician, helping with patient workloads. There are currently 11 residents undertaking the program. The first four doctors to complete the program graduated this past June, two of whom stayed in the province to work as locums this summer. Three residents scheduled to graduate in 2012 have already signed Return in Service Agreements with the province. These Agreements mean that upon completion of their residency training they have committed to two years of full-time practice in the area of greatest need in Prince Edward Island.
In addition to the Family Medical Residency Program, the province offers a Medical Education Program which primarily provides elective and core clinical rotations to undergraduate students and medical residents. Last year, approximately 100 rotations were coordinated in Prince Edward Island. These rotations provide for a great exposure for students to be introduced into the Health Care system.
Studies show that medical residents are more inclined to practice medicine where they train. Therefore the program provides tremendous training opportunities and is a key component in helping to ensure we have an adequate number of family doctors in Prince Edward Island.
Enhancing training to prepare medical graduates to practice in Prince Edward Island is an important part of the government's physician strategy. The strategy also includes the development of a provincial Health Recruitment and Retention Secretariat, which took place in 2008; targeting sponsorship programs for students; and enhanced marketing of opportunities available for health care professionals.
The new Medical Education Project Officer will be jointly funded between the Province of Prince Edward Island and Health Canada’s Health Care Policy Contribution Program. For more information on physician recruitment and retention on Prince Edward Island, contact our Recruitment and Retention Secretariat at www.healthjobspei.ca.