A group of Nova Scotia doctors will soon start playing a lead role in convincing and recruiting more physicians to practise in the province.
The Nova Scotia government said in a news release Wednesday that six doctors will serve as MD recruitment leads. They will participate in site visits and meet with potential candidates to share their firsthand experience of living and working in Nova Scotia.
"Doctors are a great asset in the process to recruit doctors, and these new positions will give them the time to do just that," said Brian Comer, the minister responsible for the office of addictions and mental health, in a news release Wednesday.
"Not only can they talk about what it is like to live in the community, they can talk about what it is like to work there."
The province says the MD recruitment leads will bring a clinical perspective to the local recruitment process by working with community organizations, Nova Scotia Health's recruitment team and the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment.
They will also play a key role in helping new doctors set up their practice and serve as a resource for them as they get settled in their new community.
The initiative will cost approximately $376,000 in 2022-23, according to the province.
A doctor will be working in each health zone, except for the province’s Northern Zone, where three doctors will be job-sharing the position.
The group of six doctors includes:
- Dr. Ade Akindele in the Central Zone
- Dr. Michelle Dow in the Western Zone
- Dr. Meaghan Keating in the Eastern Zone
- Dr. Justin Blaauwendraat, Dr. Janneke Gradstein and Dr. Brad MacDougall in the Northern Zone
"We have learned that the most effective recruitment conversations happen when you connect new physicians with doctors who are passionate about their work and their communities," said Dr. Janneke Gradstein, one of the MD recruitment leads in the Northern Zone.
"It's such a smart move to integrate community-based, regional physicians into Nova Scotia Health recruitment. We've been working hard to make this happen, and I am thrilled to be a part of the team."
Recruiting more doctors and other health-care professionals is one of six solutions in the province's Action for Health plan – the government's strategy to improve health care in Nova Scotia.
