Members of another full class of 110 medical students are beginning their journey towards a rewarding career in medicine and this class has nearly as many women as men and includes many with rural roots. This announcement was made by Health Minister Theresa Oswald.
“Since we expanded the opportunities and the supports for medical students in Manitoba, we have seen that investment pay off,” said Oswald. “We have a record number of doctors practising in Manitoba and we hope this diverse group of students will make the most of the excellent training they receive and enjoy long and happy careers in Manitoba.”
The Manitoba government has made recruiting and retaining physicians in rural areas a priority, with extensive investments to encourage graduates to either return or experience the rewards of practising in a rural setting, the minister said.
“There’s a lot of hard work and study ahead, but we congratulate these dedicated students on their commitment to excellence. We will continue to invest in our health facilities and modern technology to make our province an attractive place for physicians to live and work, and we look forward to having them join the growing complement of Manitoba physicians when they graduate.”
The minister said significant investments have been made to train and recruit physicians since 1999 including:
- expanding medical school spaces by nearly 60 per cent at the University of Manitoba to 110 from 70 and introducing more medical residencies in rural Manitoba;
- introducing a tax rebate program to reimburse students for up to 60 per cent of their tuition costs;
- introducing financial grants to medical students who agree to return service in Manitoba including a new free medical school grant for students who practise in underserved communities;
- establishing new programs to help international medical graduates receive conditional registration to begin practising in Manitoba;
- introducing resettlement and specialist funds to encourage providers to practise in areas of need; and
- investing in new health facilities, electronic health records, state-of-the-art medical equipment and other tools that help attract new physicians and deliver quality care to Manitobans.
