After reading this article, I find it difficult to see how such a well-conceived, integrated approach could fail to succeed.
Current events indicate that the plan is a failure or, at best, inadequate.
In the 2 years since the evaluation mentioned in the article, the number of rural physicians in the province has declined substantially. This article leaves the impression that RPAP is bringing the problem of rural physician recruitment under control, and it is unfortunate that it appeared in the midst of the AMA's negotiations with Alberta Health. The province's rural physicians had hoped that the problems of rural recruitment and retention would be dealt with adequately during those negotiations. David P. O'Neil, MD Trochu, Alta. Quarterly physician manpower statistics.