Unveiled last November, the recruitment and retention plan is designed to make New Brunswick physician friendly. Dr. Furlong, a family physician, recently announced that the fund has already enabled three physicians to step into available positions rather than wait for special budget exemptions. The province is also seeing positive results from its commitment to expand opportunities for foreign medical graduates. Since November, we have received 10 applications from foreign-trained specialists to establish a practice in our province, and all 10 have been approved, Dr. Furlong said. As well, he said the health department has approved the first application for location grants provided for in the recruitment strategy.
Physicians can have the grant pro-rated or receive it as a lump sum.
New Brunswick has suffered for years from a chronic undersupply of physicians and is more than 300 doctors short of the national average per capita. Recently, there have been between 40 and 50 funded physician vacancies. One of the main hurdles is the fact New Brunswick traditionally ranks among the bottom one-third of provinces in terms of physician remuneration. The recruitment and retention plan commits the government to addressing the issue of long-term wage competitiveness with the rest of Atlantic Canada. It also promises flexibility in the province s physician resource management plan, seen as one of the most restrictive in the country.