Recruiting and retaining physicians in northern Canada

Attracting and retaining physicians in isolated Canadian communities has long been a concern. A survey of physicians who lived in the north and a comprehensive literature review show that being needed, good hospital equipment, active involvement of family doctors in a nearby hospital, and professional freedom were all considered important positive features of northern practice. The disadvantages are cost of continuing medical education, isolation, lack of opportunities for spouse and lack of specialist backup. Continuing medical education programs could be facilitated by a close liaison between northern districts and southern medical schools to ease the sense of isolation. Similarly, innovative funding approaches could encourage participation in out-of-district continuing medical education. Northern referral centres could be developed to increase specialist availability. Workload, another common problem, could be eased if rotating on-call schedules were encouraged where possible. Recruiting could incorporate a more personal touch than in the past.