June 02, 2005

Health Minister Tim Sale and Advanced Education and Training Minister Diane McGifford today announced a new plan to educate and recruit more physicians to live and work in Manitoba.

The provincial strategy includes plans for a further expanded medical school, new incentives for Canadian physicians to work in Manitoba and for family physicians to upgrade their education levels, an expanded licensing program for international medical graduates and more aggressive recruitment campaigns.

“Communities across Manitoba, especially in the rural and northern parts of the province, are facing challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians because of intense competition from around the world,” said Sale.  “Educating more doctors here at home will help enhance access to health care and provide better care sooner for all Manitobans.”

“Our government is committed to increasing educational opportunities for Manitoba students considering careers as physicians,” said McGifford.  “The medical school expansion at the University of Manitoba will help to revitalize and sustain our supply of health-care professionals, especially for rural and northern Manitoba.”

Manitoba’s plan will:

·         Expand the University of Manitoba’s medical school.  Over the next two years, Manitoba’s medical school enrolment will increase by a total of 15 seats (eight spaces in 2005-06 and seven spaces in 2006-07), bringing the total number of available seats to 100, an increase of over 40 per cent since 1999.

·         Expand opportunities for Canadian family physicians to upgrade training levels.  Grants of $50,000 will be made available in return for service for family doctors to return to school to undertake a third year in an advanced skill area such as emergency medicine or anesthesiology.

·         Enhance and expand grant incentives for Canadian medical graduates.  Ten new grants will be made available to Canadian medical grads in return for service in Manitoba.  Five yearly grants of $15,000 for each year of full-time work in urban Manitoba and five grants of $25,000 for each year of full-time work in rural Manitoba to a maximum of four consecutive years will be provided.

·         Increase intake levels for the Medical Licensing Program for International Medical Graduates.  Intakes will increase over the next two years to further complement Manitoba’s international doctor supply.

·         Immediately establish a team of doctors to facilitate implementation of these steps and give advice on additional recruitment strategies.  Those who know best how to meet health-care challenges are those working on the front lines and their advice will be sought.

·         Aggressively market Manitoba as a destination of choice for doctors and medical graduates.  A one-stop-shop Internet site will be established for physicians wanting to work in Manitoba.

“No single strategy on its own will address this challenge,” said Sale.  “The province, along with regional health authorities and the University of Manitoba, must work together to develop comprehensive strategies to train, attract and retain doctors within our province.  Today’s announcement will help us not only train and recruit more doctors, but also give these doctors better reasons to stay and work right here in Manitoba.”

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MEDICAL DOCTOR TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT

·        There were 2,176 licensed medical doctors in Manitoba in 2004 according to the College of Physician and Surgeons.

·        According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the number of licensed doctors in Manitoba has increased every year over the last five years resulting in a net gain of 139 doctors, 52 of which are working in rural Manitoba.

·        Manitoba’s Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates (MLPIMG), launched in 2001, has helped license up to 10 international medical graduates a year, was the first of its kind in Canada and is a model adopted by other provinces.

·        Through Manitoba’s Medical Student/Resident Financial Assistance Program (MSRFA), 47 medical students have accepted grants conditional on working in rural Manitoba since the program’s launch.  Eight of these medical students will begin working in rural Manitoba in 2005.

·        Through the MSRFA program, 550 grants have been provided to Manitoba medical students and residents to support their education in return for promising to practise in Manitoba.

·        Manitoba has expanded its medical school from 70 to 85 seats.  It will be expanding the school from 85 to 100 seats over the next two years.  This will represent an increase of over 40 per cent over the last five years.

·        In 2004, 21 of the 85 medical students enrolled were from rural Manitoba, 10 more rural Manitobans than were enrolled five years ago.

·        According to Statistics Canada (2005), Manitoba ranks third in Canada for undergraduate medical school positions on a per-capita basis.

·        There are currently 22 anesthesia residents in training in Manitoba.  Seventeen of these students have received grants in return for promising to practise in Manitoba.

·        In the last five years, the number of anesthetists in Winnipeg increased from 89 in 1999 to 100 in 2004, a 12 per cent increase.