Our government acknowledges that recruitng and retaining physicians, especially in rural Saskatchewan, is a major challenge.

Health Minister Don McMorris has appointed nine members to the new provincial agency aimed at recruiting and retaining more physicians to rural and urban Saskatchewan. 

At the same time, he launched a marketing campaign aimed at retaining University of Saskatchewan medical students and recruiting expatriate physicians.

“I am very pleased to welcome the board members to the new provincial physician recruitment agency,” McMorris said.  “Our government is working hard to solve our physician shortage by establishing this physician recruitment agency and by launching a recruitment marketing strategy – both commitments flowing from the physician strategy I announced this past spring.”

Announced in December, the physician recruitment agency will act as a one-stop point of contact for physicians seeking to set up practice in Saskatchewan.

It will also enhance and co-ordinate recruitment efforts across the province, working closely with health regions and communities to address their need for physicians.

The marketing campaign takes a fresh approach to recruitment and includes a component whereby University of Saskatchewan students serve as ambassadors among their peers, promoting the benefits of practising medicine in Saskatchewan.

“We need to be innovative if we are to succeed in convincing more of our medical graduates to set up their practices in Saskatchewan, and to attracting more physicians to Saskatchewan,” McMorris said.