Province announces support, mentorship program for doctors new to Manitoba

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This article was published 08/02/2024 (616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dr. Nichelle Desilets says a new provincially funded program designed to mentor and support doctors would have been a tremendous help in the first years of her practice in Manitoba.

“I was lucky to join a good group of physicians — there are eight of us here — but everyone is so busy,” said Desilets, a family doctor who has now practised in Neepawa for more than eight years.

“This new program has so many benefits. We want our future colleagues to feel welcome and supported and, if they have that, hopefully they will stay here.”

The province announced Thursday it will spend $300,000 in each of the next four years for a New to Practice Program in partnership with Doctors Manitoba.

The program plans to create support networks with experienced physicians offering to help new doctors settle into a practice and build professional connections, along with things such as assisting spouses find employment and accessing daycare for their kids.

Doctors Manitoba is currently recruiting for a program leader.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the hope is the program will keep doctors practising in Manitoba and cut down on the burnout many physicians experience.

“Every Manitoban deserves quality care, close to home,” Asagwara said in a statement Thursday. “To make sure that happens, we need to attract more doctors and keep doctors already in our system working here in Manitoba.

“This initiative will make sure all doctors new to practising in Manitoba get the assistance and encouragement they need to thrive and provide excellent care to Manitobans. It shows the profession that we understand the demands of their job, particularly at the outset, and are here to help.”

Manitoba, like other areas of the country, has a shortage of doctors, especially in family practice.

A Doctors Manitoba report last year found the province has the fewest number of family doctors per capita in the country: 111 for every 100,000 Manitobans. The Canadian average is 124.

It is so difficult to recruit doctors to come here that a family doctor who runs two clinics in north Winnipeg said recently that she had to shell out $700,000 of her own money to recruit 10 doctors from the United Kingdom.

The money included a $17,000 incentive payment for each physician, along with the cost of airfare to Canada for them and their immediate family members, and the costs of accommodations and vehicle rental for their first month in Manitoba.

Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Michael Boroditsky said the organization is pleased with Thursday’s announcement.

“For both recent Manitoba graduates or established physicians new to Manitoba, our New to Practice program will help with establishing and maintaining a strong practice and foundation of support, with the goal of reducing burnout and isolation while improving physician recruitment and retention,” Boroditsky said.

“We are very excited about this. We think it will help physicians stay and thrive here in this province.”

Boroditsky said the program will help doctors in areas not taught in medical school.

“You’re taught to be a clinician, but you aren’t told about everything else,” he said. “The first few years are the most stressful time of your career.”

Desilets said the program is also something that will be noticed by doctors looking for a province in which to practise.

“There’s a huge challenge across the country getting physicians and all the provinces are competing with each other,” she said.

“This would give Manitoba a leg up.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca