This spring, in fact, Saskatchewan will be rolling out its “Saskatchewan is Calling” campaign. The plan is an important step towards fixing a concerning physician exodus that has been plaguing the province. The project will focus on recruiting emergency medicine, anesthesiology, and family medicine physicians from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The Saskatchewan government has recognized the need for a robust healthcare workforce and is looking south of the border for solutions. The political climate in the United States continues to be unpredictable. In reply, the government is trying to woo American medical workers who wish to train in less dangerous and more accommodating environments. The ongoing cuts to health research funding in the U.S. have further prompted these doctors to consider opportunities in Canada.
The Protect Physician Campaign would work to ensure a safe professional environment. It addresses the burdens that patients and clinicians face. In fact, the Canadian Medical Association has reported that more and more American doctors are considering coming to Canada for just those reasons.
Jeremy Cockrill, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Health, emphasized the government’s commitment to creating an appealing work atmosphere.
“We are committed to ensuring that physicians in Saskatchewan are well-compensated for their hard work, enjoy career fulfillment and have a positive work-life balance with a lower cost of living.” – Jeremy Cockrill
Beyond recruitment initiatives, other provinces are raising the stakes. Other provinces like Nova Scotia and Manitoba are more actively seeking to recruit American doctors to practice across Canada. These conversations are part of a larger story as provinces continue to look for ways to improve our healthcare system in the face of staffing shortages.
Concerns remain regarding local healthcare professionals. Vicki Mowat, the opposition NDP health critic, raised alarm about the campaign in November. She contends that while the expedited process for foreign-trained doctors who are already accredited in the U.S. helps, it overlooks a more local solution – internationally trained physicians already in Saskatchewan but struggling to gain accreditation.
Mowat’s main target was Premier Scott Moe’s governing Saskatchewan Party. He charged them with not taking the steps necessary to support healthcare workers in the province. Long wait lists and long wait times for surgeries have grown into serious concerns in Saskatchewan’s healthcare system.
The Saskatchewan government is hoping to address these immediate issues with its targeted recruitment program. By getting more doctors, officials say they will be getting more eyes on patients and cutting wait times for lifesaving medical care.
