February 23, 2000
(Health and Community Services)

Province seeing improvement in recruitment of health professionals

The province is making headway with recruitment of health professionals. Roger Grimes, Minister of Health and Community Services, said today that recruitment efforts underway are seeing more physicians, nurses and other health professionals working in this province compared to this time last year. The most recent success story comes as a result of the province�s announcement only three weeks ago to provide a $3,000 signing bonus to graduating nurses who commit to work in Newfoundland and Labrador for at least one year.

• To date, 86 student nurses out of 159 who are graduating in the spring of 2000 have applied for positions with health and community services boards around the province. There have also been expressions of interest from other students which could see the total number of new graduating nurses joining our health boards increase to about 100 by the Spring. The province has committed up to $600,000 for this initiative.

   

• Since January 1999, the Health Care Corporation of St. John�s has hired about 200 new nurses. About 80 per cent of these new or returning nurses have come from outside the province and country.

• The latest physician statistics show a net increase of 53 physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador as of mid-January. There were 39 new specialists and 14 new general practitioners, some of whom are fee-for-service physicians and others who are salaried.

• Government spends over $1 million a year on physician recruitment programs, including the practice incentive program for general practitioners; and, three programs for specialists - the traveling fellowship program; the medical resident bursary program; and the psychiatric resident bursary program. While these programs have the potential to attract approximately 16 new physicians to our province this year, we can also expect additional physicians to practice in Newfoundland and Labrador who have not been associated with an incentive or bursary program.

• Over $300,000 is being spent on seat purchase and bursary programs for Allied Health Professionals in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, audiology and speech pathology fields. Last year, 20 allied health professionals took up work in Newfoundland and Labrador.

• The first group of fourth year bachelor of nursing students are availing of a three-year $225,000 Rural Incentive Program announced by government last September. Up to 50 students each year can receive a $1500 stipend to assist with travel, transportation, room and board during their four week placement in rural communities of the province.

Three weeks ago, Minister Grimes agreed to follow-up with the Human Resource Sub-Committee on nursing to map out a longer term provincial nursing recruitment program. The committee has met on several occasions in the past three weeks, and has recommended further input be sought from student nurses. The minister has taken the group�s advice and asked them to complete their work on a timely basis so it can be addressed in the upcoming provincial budget. The committee is made up of representatives from the department, student nurses, the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses Union, the Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the health care boards.

Minister Grimes also encouraged nurses, licenced practical nurses and social workers to cooperate in the classification review process announced last Friday in Corner Brook by government. "The purposes of the review are clear: to ensure current classifications properly reflect the complexity of the work employees perform and to complete the review on a timely basis. This reflects the changing nature of many health care related professions which is evident by classification reviews already underway for such classes as physiotherapists, pharmacists and dieticians represented by the Association of Allied Health Professionals," said the minister.

"As I said on Friday of last week, we have heard the concerns of nurses, licenced practical nurses, social workers and the health care boards. Many of their concerns are related to classification levels. The review will commence as soon as possible, and be completed by this summer."

Media contact: Carl Cooper, Communications, (709) 729-1377.

2000 02 23                                                     11:30 p.m.