Yellowknife: Canada's First Circumpolar Family Medicine Residency Site

Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT), like other regions in the circumpolar north primarily inhabited by Indigenous peoples, faces challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians. Communities in this vast, diverse region depend largely on external medical professionals for health care. Consequently, these communities receive discontinuous medical care from physicians who lack local knowledge and are available only temporarily. The shortage of physicians for people residing in northern Canada requires a sustainable, long-term solution.

The authors describe establishing Canada's first circumpolar family medicine residency training site in Yellowknife, NWT. The site was launched in 2020 as a partnership between the University of Alberta, Alberta Health Services, and 3 local health authorities in the NWT. The residency site, which bases residents in the local community, is expected to positively impact family physician recruitment and retention by allowing residents to build connections with local communities and identify as a northern physician.

As of fall 2022, 4 residents had trained with the Yellowknife family medicine residency site. Two of these 4 residents graduated in 2022, both of whom plan to continue practicing medicine in the NWT. Residents have positively influenced medical care in the NWT, providing care in close to 20 small and remote communities. The presence of residents decreased appointment wait-times for some teams by as much as 60%, improved primary care screening, and enabled the provision of medical services at critical times. Furthermore, their presence has fostered academic spirit in the medical communities and had a positive impact on the communities as a whole.

The authors provide key insights and lessons learned from the establishment of the remote residency site. To develop and improve the site, continuous program evaluation is planned.