Family Medicine Residency Initiative for Communities in New Brunswick

Fact Sheet
February 2011

News Release: Harper Government Announces Funding to Support New Family Medicine Positions in New Brunswick

To support New Brunswick's health care priority of increasing family medicine residencies in rural and select areas, the Government of Canada will provide funding to support up to 6 new residency positions in family medicine over four years with extensive training in rural New Brunswick locations.

Residents will receive training in emergency and acute care skills through the Province's new three-year integrated family medicine training program. New Brunswick will work with Dalhousie University's Faculty of Medicine in Nova Scotia on this project.

Residents in this program will receive training for 8 to 16 weeks in a designated rural area of the province. The enhanced skills and the additional rural practice exposure will give residents the experience they need to practice in smaller communities. Residents will also be matched with supervising physicians in these communities, helping to increase the likelihood that residents will choose to practice in those areas after completion of their training.

This residency program is a post-graduate educational program of Dalhousie University, in collaboration with Horizon Health Network in New Brunswick. The integrated nature of this program provides a solid balance of family medicine and emergency medicine throughout the length of training.

Today's announcement encompasses a total federal investment of $39.5 million under the Pan-Canadian Health Human Resources Strategy. This strategy supports and facilitates innovation in health human resources to help bring about an adequate supply of health care providers while promoting optimal working conditions for Canada's health workforce.

• Ontario will be provided up to $11 million to support 60 additional training positions in emergency medicine or enhanced skills in collaboration with the Ontario-based Faculties of Medicine.
• Nunavut will be provided up to $4.9 million to support the creation of up to eight additional family medicine residencies in the Territory in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• In 2010, the University of Manitoba received up to $6.9 million for training 15 additional family medicine residents by expanding its Northern and Remote Family Medicine Residency Program.
• British Columbia will be provided approximately $5.9 million to support the creation of up to 20 additional residencies assigned throughout the Province in collaboration with the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Medicine.
• Newfoundland and Labrador will be provided up to $4.5 million to support up to 16 new family medicine residents in collaboration with Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• New Brunswick will be provided up to $2.8 million to support up to an additional six residencies with enhanced training in emergency and acute care in collaboration with Dalhousie University's Faculty of Medicine in Nova Scotia.
• Saskatchewan will be provided up to $3.4 million to support up to six new residencies with enhanced training in anaesthesia or surgery in collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine.