Wanted: More Doctors

During the fall physicians in Ontario are normally required to cope with the shortage they experience hence many job fairs come up.

That is when communities with physician shortages begin staking out places at job fairs across the province, hoping to capture the interest of some soon to be practicing residents. Most of the time you can find the job fairs at Queen's University, the University of Toronto, the University of Western Ontario and the University of Ottawa in November. It was noted that the director of postgraduate education in the University of Ontario's Department of Family Medicine stated that medical schools make sure their students will be recruited by communities who need them. Communities always fear the future so despite getting full hires in the Ottawa fair they still have these inhibitions.

After A recent survey at the University of Toronto, which indicated that 40% of new family physicians who graduated from that school intend to head south this started to raise concerns. Even in Deep River, a small town in the upper Ottawa Valley they felt the concern. Even if they only have an 18 bed hospital which has not opened yet, many are still getting scared. Given that most of the students in the University of Toronto are planning to go to the US one cannot help but ask what will happen to the other communities says The past president of the Ontario Medical Association.

At the same time he mentioned that less than 5% of Ottawa graduates move to the US. He also says that geographical billing restrictions are a huge pressure for him. Apparently new doctors who set up in any of 4 major centers can be penalized up to 30% of the normal billing fee. What he teaches his students is to take into account all the options they have.

Students will want to get more training in areas such as obstetrics, mental health, geriatrics, emergency medicine and anesthesia now that they know what options they have after school. Residents and students attending the Ottawa fair said they like the rural areas more in terms of practice they say it is more broad. Working outside the city warrants physicians to have a wider set of services. Chances are in the city when something happens you have to refer it.

Special incentives are offered to doctors by communities to have them work there. Offers would be like free secretarial help and office space for a year. There are times when even recruiters would offer to knit sweaters for new doctors. According to them the US is still strong but they also have a lot to offer. They shouldn't be allowed to leave; the government is subsidizing their education.

A balanced lifestyle is offered by Marathon, a community of 5500 on the north shore of Lake Superior. Doctors in small towns work all the time so having the good lifestyle is good. Marathon is still looking at the moment for 2 or 3 more doctors so that existing staff can take sabbatical leaves and work fewer hours.

The incentives in Renfrew, a town of 9000 located 100 km west of Ottawa are office space and practice as they are looking for more doctors. It is difficult to compete with what the US has but people heading south manage to come back. They're just scared by the health care environment.

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