The provincial government is spending around $90 million in incentives for physicians to set-up practices in rural communities around Alberta.
Applications open February 1, 2022 for the Rural Education Supplement and Integrated Doctor Experience (RESIDE) program, that will provide $2 million to 20 new family physicians in each of the next three years.
The Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP) will administer the $6 million RESIDE program.
Family physicians who choose to work in specific communities will be eligible for $60,000 in undergraduate tuition fee reimbursement, as well as a remote community incentive ranging from $20,000 to $40,000, depending on the remoteness of the community. In exchange for the incentives, successful physicians will provide three years of service in a designated rural community.
15 rural and/or remote communities have been identified in need of more physicians for the first year of the program:
- Fox Creek
- Grande Cache
- Fort Vermilion
- Wabasca
- High Level
- Rimbey
- Lloydminster
- Milk River
- Cold Lake
- Lac La Biche
- Rocky Mountain House
- Fort Macleod
- Barrhead
- Ponoka
- Athabasca
Health Minister Jason Copping was asked by the Trending 55 Newsroom if more rural and remote northwestern communities are to receive physicians. He responded with: “The list isn’t final; we’ll be adding to this list and the program (RESIDE) is targeting 20 doctors a year.” Copping noted there are other programs the province and other partners are working on to address rural physician recruitment and retention, such as:
- Rural and Remote Northern Program (RRNP): $57 million
- Rural Medical Education (RME): $6 million
- Rural Integrated Community Clerkship program (RICC): $4 million
- Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP): $9 million, including $2 million for RESIDE
- Locum programs: $3 million
- Rural Physician On Call Program (POC): $12 million
Communities eligible to receive a physician under RESIDE are chosen each year based on the available process. Should a community not get a doctor for any reason in the first year, there is a chance they could get one in subsequent years if it continues to be a community in need.
Interested new-in-practice family physicians can apply starting February 1, by filling out an application form on the RhPAP website. The deadline is March 31, 2022.
-Erika Rolling, Trending 55 Newsroom
