CHOOSING WISELY CANADA
NEW SMA PROGRAM TARGETS
SPECIALIST RESIDENTS
By Maria Ryhorski | Photo credit to Aaron Slusar, Class of 2017
B
uilding on the success of the Roadmap Program for Students and Residents, an initiative of the Committee on
Rural and Regional Practice (CORRP) designed to give medical students and family medicine residents positive experiences in rural practice settings, the Specialist Recruitment
& Retention Committee (SR&R) has launched the Roadmap
Program for Specialist Residents. This program will introduce specialist residents to the opportunities for them in
rural and regional Saskatchewan through a variety of events
and contests.
“There is a shortage of specialist physicians in Saskatchewan and we’re seeing the effects particularly in rural and
regional centres,” says Dr. Brian Geller, Director of Professional Affairs at the SMA and one of the minds behind the
Roadmap Program. “Evidence shows that physicians who
have exposure to rural and regional practice early in their
training are more likely to practise in rural and regional centres down the road. The Roadmap Program for Specialist
Residents aims to improve retention of Saskatchewan grads
using this model.”
It is expected that by exposing specialist residents to the
practice opportunities available to them in rural and regional Saskatchewan and facilitating introductions and relationship-building with local physicians, an increased number of
specialist residents will set up practice in Saskatchewan.
“We’ve seen promising results from the Roadmap Program
for Students and Residents,” says Dr. Geller of the original
program which is now in its third year.
“With every event we see student and resident involvement
going up, to the point that we’ve had to book additional
40
SMA DIGEST | WINTER 2015
transportation on a number of occasions,” he continues,
“and the feedback we’re getting, overwhelmingly, is that
significant numbers of students are now considering the
possibility of rural practice, and many attribute that to the
eye-opening experiences they’ve had on our Roadmap
tours to rural practice centres. We hope to give similar opportunities to our specialist residents.”
The key events so far in the original Roadmap Program
for Students and Residents, have involved tours to rural
practice centres such as Ile-a-la-Crosse and Carlyle, where
medical learners have the opportunity to explore the local
health centre, community and talk with local doctors. Similar events are envisioned for the specialist resident program
but will be tailored specifically to the needs and interests of
specialist residents.
For more information on the Roadmap Program for Specialist
Residents please contact Delilah Dueck, Administrative Assistant, Professional Affairs at [email protected].
*****
Many rural and regional areas in the province have difficulty
recruiting and retaining physicians. In response, the SMA, the
Committee on Rural and Regional Practice and the Specialist
Recruitment and Retention Committee launched the Roadmap Program, an initiative aimed at encouraging retention
of new Saskatchewan physicians. By engaging with medical
learners through fun events and contests we hope to raise
awareness of the opportunities and associated lifestyle perks
available to new physicians in their home province. Learn more
at www.sma.sk.ca.