Attracting, retaining physicians has become more of a concerted effort in recent years

The Associate Dean of the Southern Alberta Medical Program says the landscape has certainly changed when it comes to attracting and retaining physicians, especially in rural communities. 

Dr. Richard Buck says local governments, in particular, have had to ‘step up’ similar to the old addage “it takes a village.”

“To have a good, strong stable supply of physicians, it’s not just the health care system that has to participate, it’s community members, it’s city councillors, it’s reeves, MLA’s, it’s MP’s. It takes an entire community to foster that relationship,” Dr. Bucks explains.

One of the ways schools, like the University of Lethbridge, are hoping to change the trend is by providing training from beginning to end in one community.