Manitoba Locum Tenens Program

Coming soon!  www.manitobalocum.ca

RECORD NUMBER OF FUTURE DOCTORS ATTRACTED TO RURAL, NORTHERN COMMUNITIES UNDER EXPANDED RECRUITMENT GRANT PROGRAM: OSWALD

A record number of medical students has signed up to serve in rural and northern communities that need them the most in exchange for free medical school thanks to a recently expanded doctor-recruitment initiative, Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced today. The free medical school initiative supports the province’s commitment to ensure every Manitoban has access to a family doctor by 2015, the minister said.

“We’re committed to finding new ways to connect Manitobans with a doctor in their community,” said Oswald. “The incredible success we’ve seen in the first year of the free medical school program shows us we’re on the right track to recruiting more doctors to the rural and northern communities where they’re needed most.”

This year, over 251 undergraduate medical students and residents signed up for grants through the revamped Medical Student/Resident Financial Assistance Program in exchange for providing medical services after graduation, in under-served rural and northern communities. In total, this will result in nearly 250 years of medical services returned to Manitoba communities, Oswald said.

Under the expanded program, grants range from $12,000 to $25,000 per year, based on the year of study, the student’s specialty and where they choose to work after graduation. Students can apply for grants in each year of medical school and canaccess a maximum of $61,000 over four years, which covers tuition and other costs associated with studying medicine in exchange for a commitment to work for up to two and half years in communities identified as most in need of additional physicians.

“Our goal is to keep the majority of our graduating physicians here to serve the health-care needs of Manitobans across the province,” said Dr. Brian Postl, dean, faculty of medicine, University of Manitoba. “Thanks to this expanded and innovative program, more students are choosing to stay here, take advantage of the tuition-reimbursement incentives offered by the province and practise in under-served communities after graduation. It’s clearly a win-win.”

Since the program was established in 2001, over $35 million has been provided to approximately 1,300 students. Since 1999, rural and northern Manitoba has seen a net increase of 116 doctors.

The minister said Manitoba continues to make many important investments in physician training, recruitment and retention including:

• expanding the Medical Student/Resident Financial Assistance Program to cover the entire cost of a student’s four years of medical school, in exchange for a return-of-service agreement in communities chosen by the province;


• introducing a 60 per cent tuition rebate worth up to $25,000 for graduates who choose to live and work in Manitoba;


• introducing a unique northern/remote residency program to help attract more doctors to northern Manitoba;


• providing grants of $50,000 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;


• expanding medical school spaces to 110 from 70, creating the largest medical school class on record; and


• introducing the Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates in 2001 to assist foreign doctors in receiving conditional registration.
  
  For more information about the programs, visit www.manitoba.ca/health/msrfap/index.html.
  

MANITOBA TO FULLY COVER MEDICAL SCHOOL COSTS OF STUDENTS WHO AGREE TO WORK WHERE THEY ARE NEEDED MOST

December 9, 2010

Grants Part of Province's Plan to Provide All Manitobans Access to a Family Doctor by 2015: Selinger
-------------------------------------

Manitoba medical students who agree to work in areas most in need of doctors will have their medical school costs fully covered by the province under a new program announced today by Premier Greg Selinger.

"Today there are 405 more doctors and 40 more medical school spaces than there were in 1999 as a result of our government's aggressive education, recruitment and retention efforts," said Selinger. "With this new program we are strengthening incentives for medical school graduates willing to work where they are needed most so that all Manitoba families can benefit from our significant investments in health care."

Under the new grant program, Manitoba medical students will be eligible for grants of $12,000 in each of their four years of medical school. Each grant requires a commitment to return six months of service to under-serviced populations upon graduation.
In their fourth year, students will have the option of taking a
$25,000 grant by committing to an additional one-year return of service. In total, students will have access to a maximum of
$61,000 over four years in exchange for a two-and-a-half-year commitment to under-serviced communities.

"Graduates who accept these grants will be providing care to many families that don't have a family doctor today," said Health Minister Theresa Oswald. "By targeting areas most in need of doctors, we are taking a significant step toward ensuring all Manitobans have access to a family doctor by 2015, regardless of where they live."

The program is open to all medical school students, whether they are pursuing family medicine degrees or areas of specialty.
Students will also still be eligible for the Manitoba tuition-tax rebate and the federal textbook rebate. When combined with the tuition- and textbook-tax rebates, students will be able to cover other costs associated with medical school studies including school-related travel and living expenses.

"We are proud to serve as Manitoba's medical school," said Dr.
Brian Postl, dean, faculty of medicine, University of Manitoba.
"This strong commitment from the provincial government will ensure all areas of the province benefit going forward."

The new grant program replaces and strengthens existing provincial medical student grants that were only available in years three and four of studies. It will be available to medical students beginning in the fall of 2011.

The most in-need under-serviced populations will be determined annually based on information from regional health authorities, Manitoba Health and the faculty of medicine. After completing their residency, students will be able to review the communities designated as under-serviced that year and apply to return service where they choose.

Congratulations Dr. Anne Durcan

Dr. Anne Durcan is the recipient of the Manitoba Family Physician of the Year Award as well being named as one of Canada's 2010 family physicians of the year by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. (Manitoba College of Family Physicians)
A physician at Winnipeg's Mount Carmel Clinic has been named one of Canada's top 10 family doctors of 2010.

Anne Durcan earned the recognition from the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) for her professional accomplishments, which include several initiatives aimed at the rural and aboriginal populations.

Since 1999, she has been one of the coordinators of the Inuit Health Program of the J. A. Hildes Northern Medical Unit. The unit provides service to hospitals and 12 nursing stations in northern Manitoba as well as eight Nunavut health centres.

She has also collaborated with Manitoba’s Office of Rural and Northern Health in developing ‘Rural Week’, an opportunity for first-year medical students at the University of Manitoba to get first-hand exposure to rural and northern medicine.

Durcan, who also mentors students at the WISH Clinic, an inner city student-run medical clinic, will be presented with the award at a ceremony at the College of Family Physicians annual Family Medicine Forum in Vancouver on Oct. 15.

She is also the recipient of the Manitoba Family Physician of the Year Award for 2010.

Durcan graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1992 and was certified in family medicine in 1994, following two years of residency training at Dalhousie University.

She practiced for two years in Nova Scotia, one year in Rankin Inlet and for the past 13 years at Mount Carmel Clinic.

Each year, the CFPC presents the Reg L. Perkin Award to one family physician from each province "in recognition of their exceptional care for patients, meaningful contributions to the health and well-being of communities, and dedication to research and teaching," states a news release from the College.

Award recipients are nominated by their peers, patients, colleagues, and community leaders.

2010 White Coat Ceremony - University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine

The University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine welcomed 110 new medical students at the annual Inaugural Day Exercises on August 25. The new admissions process casts a wide net to place value on applicants with a commitment to rural issues, and 49 per cent of the class has these attributes.

Of the 110 students, 104 are Manitobans and six are from out of province. Seven students, or 6 per cent, are self-declared Aboriginal. The average age is 23.3 years in the Class of 2014 with the youngest student just 19 and the oldest student 32 years of age.

IMPROVEMENTS TO DOCTOR EDUCATION, RECRUITMENT, RETENTION STRATEGY ANNOUNCED

New Resources Build on Successful Strategy, Resulting in a Net Increase of 345 Doctors Since 1999: Oswald


Health Minister Theresa Oswald today announced new resources to educate, recruit and retain more doctors with a specific focus on increasing the supply of family doctors throughout Manitoba.

“We have made significant progress in increasing the number of doctors who provide front-line care to Manitobans,” Oswald said. “But this is not the time to stand still. We must focus new attention to ensure our doctor strategy continues to meet the needs of our aging population while ensuring all patients have timely access to family doctors whether they live in Winnipeg, Brandon, rural or northern Manitoba.”

The minister said the following new initiatives will build on a strategy that has resulted in a net increase of 345 doctors in Manitoba since 1999:
· Supports for Students – The University of Manitoba school of medicine will see an increase in its funding of $1 million over the next two years. These resources will be used to sustain increased enrolment at the medical school, help encourage medical students to practise family medicine in rural, northern and urban centres, and fund other school improvements.
· Affordability – Tuition fees for medical students will be held at a five per cent increase to keep the cost of attending medical school affordable. This fee increase is in line with those approved for other undergraduate students.
· Improving Access to Doctors for all Manitobans – The Manitoba government will invest in a study to examine how education, recruitment and retention initiatives can further increase the supply of doctors throughout the province, with a particular emphasis on doctors serving rural and northern areas. In addition, the study will examine the potential of a greater role for Brandon University in educating medical professionals. Further improving access to family doctors in Winnipeg and Brandon will also be studied.

For more than a decade, the Manitoba government has embarked on an aggressive strategy to increase its doctor supply including:
· increasing the number of seats at the University of Manitoba school of medicine to 110 seats from 70 in 1999,
· providing a 60 per cent tuition fee rebate up to $25,000 for medical school graduates who choose to stay and practise in Manitoba,
· offering return-of-service grants for medical students who want to practise in rural and northern Manitoba,
· creating a $500,000 rural and northern doctor relief fund,
· implementing a $500,000 physician resettlement fund, and
· creating a northern and remote family medical residency program to recruit and retain more family doctors in underserved areas.

Manitoba Graduates Record Number of Doctors

The University of Manitoba has graduated a record number of doctors this year, and hopes are high that they will stay in the province to practice.

Dean of Medicine Dr. Dean Sandham said 104 medical students collected their diplomas after a Thursday ceremony at the school's Bannatyne Avenue campus.

According to Sandham, 63 of them have agreed to do their residency training in the province.

He said it took a lot of effort to convince that many to remain.

"[It took a] tremendous effort on the part of Manitoba Health and our provincial government to make this a desirable province … to do residency," Sandham said.

The government has made efforts to boost salaries for doctors in recent years, and there are also programs in place to forgive as much as $40,000 in student loans if a graduate chooses to work in Manitoba.

The average annual salary for a family physician in the province is $200,000. Specialists average about $250,000.

Class valedictorian Joe Kim wants to stay and work in Manitoba, which is what the provincial government is hoping grads do. (CBC)Class valedictorian Joe Kim said he's eager to work as a family doctor in Portage la Prairie, a town about 80 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

"I just love rural family medicine. I get distracted very easily and get bored really easily," Kim said with a smile.

"So I need a little bit of everything, and that's what rural family medicine offers - a little bit of everything. You get to work in emergency, family clinic, maybe assist in [an] operating room, it's just really fun," he said.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/05/13/man-doctors-grad-record.html#ixzz0nv39okSP