Recruitment and retention for rural family physicians remains a high priority for the East Kootenay Division of Family Practice, which is making advances in building out a network of regional supports to help attract more doctors to the area.
The EK Division, which covers communities such as Cranbrook, Creston, Elkford, Fernie, Golden, Invermere, Kimberley and Sparwood, has recruited 41 family physicians, FP specialists and locums to the area over the last four years.
In particular, Cranbrook has seen 18 new recruits, according to the EK Division, as representatives recently delivered a presentation to Cranbrook Rotary Club members on May 2.
“When we’re looking to bring in new doctors, we focus a lot on finding the right fit for them and the community that they’ll be working in because we know that happy doctors are more likely to stick around,” said Jacqui van Zyl, program manager with the EK Division.
“So we put a lot of effort into matching them up well from the start and we also want them to find their own area of expertise and do well in it.”
With the East Kootenay Regional Hospital based out of Cranbrook, recruiting to communities in the Elk and Columbia Valleys is just as important to help alleviate strain on the health care system.
“With Cranbrook being our regional referral centre, we know that building up every community in the East Kootenay makes a difference to what happens in Cranbrook,” van Zyl added.
A number of factors have helped drive recent successful physician recruitment, including expanded scope of practice opportunities and revamped provincial payment structures. In some cases, that has helped physicians delay retirement or encouraged locums (part-time physicians) moving to full-time status.
The implementation of the East Kootenay Primary Care Network (PCN), along with the opening of the Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) in Cranbrook have also contributed to that success.
The EK PCN in particular has helped improve access to family physicians through a team-based approach, meaning that doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, allied health professionals, clinic staff, midwives and aboriginal care navigators all collaborate to improve patient care.
“In general, the idea behind a team-based approach is that we have everyone working to the top of their scope, and the physician or the nurse practitioner has a little more time and capacity to potentially take on more patients if they have a team supporting them, and are able to address patient concerns that maybe don’t need to land with that doctor,” said Megan Purcell, executive director with the EK Division.
In Cranbrook, primary care network services are co-located with the UPCC in the Baker Street Professional Cenetre, which include patient resources such as social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, mental wellness clinicians, dietitians, pharmacist, respiratory therapists and aboriginal health coordinators, in addition to family physicians and nurse practitioners.
The space also includes the Encompass Maternity Care Clinic, which includes clinical services and provides patient and community resources.
In terms of ongoing recruitment challenges, limited health care facilities, inadequate space and insufficient infrastructure pose hurdles, according to the EK Division. Other factors could potentially include spousal employment opportunities and family needs, while potential candidates also weigh quality of life, workload, financial compensation and availability of professional supports.
Underpinning those challenges is the fact that there are physician shortages across the country.
“While we’re recruiting, the whole of Canada’s recruiting,” van Zyl said.