The Manitoba government’s significant investments into training and recruiting more doctors has seen a gain of 66 more physicians working in Manitoba this year, bringing the total to over 2,500 doctors. This announcement was made by Health Minister Theresa Oswald.
“More doctors in our province is great news for Manitoba families, as these new doctors will help provide timely access for specialized medical care in hospitals and also bring us closer to our goal of ensuring all Manitobans have access to a family physician by 2015,” said Oswald. “With investments in expanded medical training, new recruitment grants and improvements in health care, more doctors are choosing to practise in Manitoba at record levels.”
A total of 2,538 doctors are now practising in the province, a net increase of more than 500 physicians since 1999, according to recent registration statistics released by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba. This includes a record number of physicians practising in both Winnipeg and rural Manitoba, the minister noted.
“Working together, the province and other stakeholders have helped make Manitoba a more attractive place for doctors to work,” said Dr. Brock Wright, chief medical officer for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and chair of the Provincial Medical Leadership Council. “Having more physicians choosing to practise in Manitoba further strengthens our health-care system and benefits patients by reducing waits for care and improving access.”
The minister also announced the province has hired 11 new physician assistants over the last year to ensure more timely access to team-based care for Manitoba families.
“Manitoba is the first province in Canada to develop a physician assistant program and Manitobans are reaping the benefits,” said Advanced Education and Literary Minister Erin Selby today at an event on behalf of Oswald. “Hiring 11 new physician assistants builds on that work and will help patients access the care they need more quickly.”
Physician assistants work with physicians and are trained to perform a wide range of services including conducting patient exams, ordering diagnostic tests, undertaking minor procedures and prescribing needed medications and treatments. Up to 12 candidates are accepted into the University of Manitoba’s physician assistant program in each intake, a two-year faculty of medicine graduate program that includes both lectures and clinical-care courses.
“The University of Manitoba is proud to be a Canadian leader in physician assistant studies. Thanks to the support of the province, we are now educating and training skilled physician assistants who are contributing to health-care delivery across the province and across the spectrum of health care, to the benefit of all Manitobans,” said Dr. Brian Postl, dean of medicine, University of Manitoba.
Since the program began in 2008, 34 physician assistants have graduated with 85 per cent of them staying in Manitoba. Ten of the graduates from the 2012 class will be working in new positions in family medicine, primary care, surgery, acute care, oncology, critical care, mental health and emergency medicine in Manitoba.
The minister noted 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 undeserved 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 records, state-of-the-art medical equipment and other tools that help attract new physicians and deliver quality care to Manitobans.
