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Future rural doctors, nurses to get loan relief

By: Katherine Dow

Posted: 08/4/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Simcoe-Grey MP Dr. Kellie Leitch announced the student loan relief program for doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners Friday at the University of Manitoba's Buhler Atrium. (WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

The federal government announced Friday it will forgive student loans to some medical professionals who work in rural communities.

At a press conference held Friday at the University of Manitoba, MP Dr. Kellie Leitch announced family doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners working in rural communities will have a portion of their Canada Student Loan forgiven starting in the spring of 2013.

Family doctors and residents in family medicine will be able to receive up to $8,000 per year in Canada Student Loan forgiveness to a maximum of $40,000 over five years.

Nurses and nurse practitioners will be eligible to receive up to $4,000 per year to a maximum of $20,000 over five years.

"Today's announcement will not only alleviate the high cost of education and training for many Canadians in this field, but will also encourage more health-care professionals to work in rural communities that need them most," said Leitch.

Jarrod Nickel, a third-year medical student at the University of Manitoba, said the announcement means less stress about his student loans and more reason to consider moving to rural communities where doctors are needed.

"Nobody likes being in debt. If I applied for this plan and it works out for me, well then there goes my student loan. That's an exciting thing," said Nickel.

He said medical school tuition is about $7,500 per year in Manitoba and students can be in school for up to seven years depending on their specialization.

"I come from a rural community myself that's always struggled with keeping a regular doctor," Nickel said. "It's always just been come-and-go doctors for a couple of years. I know there's been a problem keeping doctors in remote areas, so I hope this would help. Plus it gives me more motivation to practise rurally. It seems to work out for both sides."

Leitch said the program will apply to rural communities that have a population of 50,000 or less, including communities that provide health services to First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations.

Provincial Health Minister Theresa Oswald applauded the announcement in a prepared statement released Friday.

"Training and hiring more doctors and nurses is a priority for our government and all Manitobans. We are happy that the federal government has made this important investment, which complements the programs and initiatives already in place to recruit and retain doctors and nurses in rural Manitoba," Oswald said.

"Funding and delivering high-quality, timely care for families is a shared responsibility between the federal government and the provinces and we look forward to working with them to find solutions to keep improving health care."

katherine.dow@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 4, 2012 A12

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