Results of a mixed-methods study on barriers to physician recruitment in Newfoundland and Labrador

Like many rural and remote parts of Canada, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) struggles to maintain a skilled healthcare workforce. As many as 20% of people in the province are thought to be without a primary care physician. The purpose of this study was to determine the barriers recent Memorial University of Newfoundland medical alumni have faced in establishing medical practice in NL.

An online survey followed by question-standardised focus group sessions.

Two hundred and ninety-one physicians who graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland medical school between the years of 2003 and 2018 completed the survey. Nearly 80% of respondents recalled that NL was their preferred practice location at some point during training: 79.4% (n = 231) at the beginning of medical school and 77.7% (n = 226) at the beginning of residency training. However, at the time of the survey, only 160 (55.0%) respondents were working in NL. Respondents reported significant cultural and systemic barriers in trying to work in NL, including ineffective recruitment offices, lack of transparency in communication with health authorities, inequitable distribution of resources and workloads, lack of appropriate resources to support new positions, and return-of-service agreements that are not honoured or followed-up.

Our study outlines a number of ways in which recruitment and retention could be improved, ultimately improving provincial health care and helping to fulfil the mandate of the medical school.