Whereas the Ministry of Health and Health Authorities, in partnership with Divisions of Family Practice, have initiated programs to develop Primary Care Networks PCNs and Urgent and Primary Care Centres UPCCs throughout the province to respond to a shortage of general practitioners and to provide conditions to attract general practitioners to rural areas; And whereas rural communities are extremely challenged to recruit and retain medical specialists in many fields: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province of British Columbia to establish a long-term program to identify the root cause of the chronic shortage of physicians, including specialists, and that they initiate a program to remove obstacles and fill vacancies in this essential service.
Ministry of Health Undergraduate Medical Education and Postgraduate Medical Education In alignment with HLTHs Provincial Health Human Resources Strategy, government recently announced a 40-seat expansion of UBCs regionally distributed undergraduate medical program, increasing annual intake from 288 to 328 seats by 202425. Expansion includes an 8-seat expansion of the Southern Medical Program SMP in Kelowna, increasing its annual intake from 32 seats in 202223 to 40 seats by 202425 as follows: - Vancouver-Fraser Medical Program by 16 from 192 seats to 208; - Northern Medical Program by 8 from 32 seats to 40; - Southern Medical Program by 8 from 32 seats to 40; and - Island Medical Program by 8 from 32 seats to 40. An increase in postgraduate medical residency seats will mirror the UGME expansion and will add a further 48 positions in both family and specialties by 202829. CCFP-EM - Emergency Medicine Program Starting in 202324, a new Emergency Medicine training site for family physicians will be established at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops to enable the development of advanced and effective skill sets in critical care and emergency medicine practice. With an initial intake of two new residents per year, the new program in Kamloops will bring emergency medicine training closer to home while also helping to increase emergency medicine capacity within regional communities over the short and longer terms. Anesthesia Since 2017, the Ministry has provided funding to double the number anesthesiology residents training in British Columbia by increasing UBCs intake of 10 2017 to 20 in 2022. As a result of this unprecedented investment, the number of anesthesiology residents training across BC will increase, including a significantly increase in anesthesia training rotations in the IHA from 4 rotations in 201718 to a planned increase to 36 rotations by 202627. Physician Recruitment BC has continuously striven to improve the recruitment and retention of physicians with a particular focus on sustaining medical services in rural and remote communities. BC funds a number of programs and services to support and sustain family physician FP and specialist services including: - Health Match BC which recruits FPs, specialists, and other health professionals to work in the province. - Rural Practice Programs that provide a variety of incentives to encourage physicians to establish and maintain practices in rural communities. - The Rural Coordination Centre of BC which supports and develops provincial initiatives by engaging and coordinating with rural healthcare providers to facilitate the development of local andor regional solutions, frameworks, and networks. Pathways to Practice for International Medical Graduates IMGs IMGs are a vital part of our health care system and the Province provides several pathways to practice for internationally educated FPs and specialists. BCs Return of Service program supports equitable access to physician services for citizens across BC through the development of valuable physician resources. The International Medical Graduate IMG-BC Return of Service ROS Program funds 58 UBC entry-level residency positions for IMGs; 52 family medicine positions and 6 specialist positions. In exchange, UBC family medicine IMGs complete a 2-year ROS practicing in a designated community of need in BC. IMG specialists complete a 3-year ROS. Health authorities identify communities in the most urgent need of medical services and prioritizes them for ROS placements. Practice Ready Assessment-BC Program PRA-BC is for IMGs who have completed residencies in family medicine outside of Canada. The program provides a pathway for these FPs to become licensed to practice in BC. PRA-BC assesses up to 32 FPs each year. All candidates must pass a rigorous assessment process to ensure they meet the standards of practice in BC before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC grants them a license to practice in BC. Upon graduation, FPs complete a 3-year ROS in a designated community of need. Re-entry Strategy The re-entry program with return of service ROS provides an opportunity for experienced practicing physicians to pursue training in a priority specialty that addresses a critical area of need in the province. As of July 2022, there are two dermatology re-entrants training in the UBC Dermatology program who will each complete their three-year ROS in the IHA by providing MSP-billable services in the public system. Both re-entrants will commence their ROS in the IHA in July 2023 and July 2025 respectively. In July 2022, the Ministry directed funding to implement a first ever re-entry with ROS position in psychiatry in BC. - The successful applicantre-entrant in that position is currently training in the IHA and will tentatively commence their three-year ROS in the IHA in July 2026. This re-entrant will also support the establishment of a brand new UBC PGME Psychiatry program site in the IHA in 202324 that will host two net new R1 psychiatry residency positions. Rural Benefits The Rural Continuing Medical Education RCME Program provides support through two separate benefits: RCME Individual Funds and RCME Community Program. The purpose of the RCME Program is to support physicians in participating in medical education to update and or enhance medical skills and credentials required for rural practice. These benefits are in addition to the CME entitlement provided for in the Benefits Subsidiary. Government is committed to supporting communities to recruit and retain physicians in rural communities in British Columbia. The Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement RSA is a subsidiary agreement of the Physician Master Agreement between the BC Government, Doctors of BC DoBC and the Medical Services Commission MSC. The Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues JSC is responsible for the overall governance and oversight of the Rural Practice Programs of RSA, and the JSC membership comprises both Doctors of BC board appointed rural physicians and Government representatives. The Rural Practice programs were established to encourage physicians to establish and maintain practices in rural communities. The goal is to enhance the availability and stability of physicians services in rural and remote areas of British Columbia. Physicians recruited into permanent positions in RSA communities may be eligible or a variety of incentives including the Rural Retention program RRP Flat Fee and Fee Premium, Rural Continuing Medical Education RCME, Rural Canadian Medical Protective Association R-CMPA, Rural Emergency Enhancement Fund REEF, Recruitment Incentive Fund RIF, Recruitment Contingency Fund RCF and the Rural Locum Programs. The incentives available to each RSA community vary based on their community designation A, B, C or D and assessed RRP points. Keremeos, Princeton, Oliver and Osoyoos are designated as RSA communities Penticton is not considered a RSA community. These communities currently have no specialists which are permanently practicing in the community but are supported instead by outreach physicians through the Northern and Isolation Travel Assistance Outreach Program NITAOP. The communities currently have funding approvals through NITAOP to receive support from visiting Internal Medicine, Methadone, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Urology specialists.