N.S. health authority hopes new recruitment website will help decrease doctor shortage 

The Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) has launched a new physician recruitment website, with hopes of chipping away at the family doctor shortage facing the province.

The website was launched on Wednesday, using feedback from physicians about their decisions to work and live in Nova Scotia.

READ MORE: Life on the wait list — Financial incentives for Nova Scotia doctors underutilized

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The health authority says the site will make it easier for physicians and specialists to see available and future opportunities, as well as provides an “enhanced visual sales pitch” about what makes Nova Scotia a great place to practise medicine.

“A key element of recruiting health care providers is showing what our communities have to offer, from employment opportunities, to social and cultural experiences,” said Health Minister Randy Delorey in a statement.

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“This is one more important step in our work to attract doctors.”

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WATCH: Stories of Nova Scotia’s family doctor shortage

1:58 Life on the wait list: Stories of Nova Scotia’s family doctor shortage

As of Sept. 1, the wait list for a family doctor in Nova Scotia stood at 56,630 — a 3.1 per cent increase from August, despite 19,072 residents finding a primary-care provider. Last week, Doctors Nova Scotia released a position paper calling for physician reform in the province

Doctors Nova Scotia says more than half of physicians in Nova Scotia — approximately 1,210 doctors — are over the age of 50.

The health authority says the website will help attract out-of-province doctors by highlighting why fellow physicians decided to stay and work in Nova Scotia.

“We know that the main traffic on our site is people seeking career information. We started this site to build a better job board and, in the process, have provided much more content which we hope will help us initiate relationships with potential candidates,” said Grayson Fulmer, NSHA’s senior director of medical affairs, in a statement.

READ MORE: Doctors Nova Scotia demand ‘immediate action’ on physician shortages

The province has forecasted that it will need to recruit 1,070 physicians over the next eight to 10 years to fill spots as doctors retire.