Internationally-trained physicians will soon start work in five communities in the B.C. interior as part of a provincial program to provide better primary health care in rural areas.
Enderby, Keremeos, Nakusp, Logan Lake and Trail will each be welcoming a single physician within the next month and a half.
WATCH BELOW: Doctor shortage in rural B.C. continues to frustrate residents
A release from the Interior Health Authority (IHA) said the internationally-trained doctors will be matched with B.C. doctors who will assess their skills over a three-month period.
READ MORE: Northern B.C. aggressively recruiting more doctors
From there, the new physicians will be placed in rural communities in need and have pledged to stay for a minimum of three years in their chosen locations, as long as the physicians are successful in their assessments and become fully accredited.
According to IHA, the focus on physician recruitment in areas designated as rural or remote is because family doctors in those areas support primary care in the community while also supporting care at IHA facilities.
The five doctors represent the third group to take part in the $2.8-million Practice Ready Assessment pilot program.
READ MORE: Fourteen new doctors begin work in rural B.C.
The program is part of the province’s larger strategy to improve access to integrated primary health-care services across the province.
According to the Ministry of Health’s website, since 2013, about 66,000 B.C. patients have been matched with a GP or other primary care provider.
Comments