The provincial government says it is making progress in keeping more family doctors practising in Saskatchewan.
There are 10 new international medical graduates treating patients in the province thanks to the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA). The program assesses internationally-trained doctors on their education and clinical ability.
Also practising locally are 40 recent University of Saskatchewan (U of S) family medicine graduates.
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Over the past three years, the overall retention rate of local graduates has increased from 58 per cent to 75 per cent.
Dr. Rob Haver — a Saskatoon native and graduate of the U of S — completed his residency in Moose Jaw and has since stayed to practice.
“Wherever you do your training, you’re far more likely to stay. Residencies in family medicine are two years in duration, so if you stay there a couple of years that’s usually enough time that you will consider staying around,” Haver said.
“Thanks to the increased investments by our government in both home-grown and internationally trained doctors, we now have nearly 650 more physicians practising today than we did nine years ago,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said.
There are currently 120 post-graduate seats at the U of S College of Medicine.
“It is an important priority of our college to ensure our students have opportunities to gain experience and learn in rural and remote Saskatchewan settings,” said Dr. Preston Smith, dean of the college of medicine.
“That we are achieving success in retaining our graduates as rural physicians here in Saskatchewan is something we are very pleased about and for which we continue to strive.”
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One incentive offers recent graduates up to $120,000 over five years if they set up practice in a rural Saskatchewan community with under 10,000 people.
Anyone who wants more information from the province’s physician recruitment agency can email info@saskdocs.ca or call 306-933-5000 or 1-888-415-3627.
Krista Sharpe contributed to this story