Supporting Medical Education in Rural Communities in Prince Edward Island

News Release: Government of Canada Announces Funding to Support Training for Family Medicine Residents in Prince Edward Island

To assist Prince Edward Island (PEI) in addressing the ongoing challenge of recruitment and retention of physicians in rural communities, the Government of Canada will provide funding that will support the Province's strategies to enhance training opportunities for family medicine residents in these communities.

A majority of supervising physicians, or preceptors, currently working with PEI's undergraduate medical students and postgraduate residents are located within the Province's larger communities.  Because of this, students and residents do not often benefit during their training from exposure to the rural communities with the most need for physician services.  Without this exposure, it becomes difficult to recruit physicians to vacancies in these communities. 

To help PEI better prepare for their future physician needs, funding of approximately $306,000 over four years will support the Province's work to increase the number and capacity of physician supervisors, or preceptors, in rural communities.  This funding will also be used to build the structure required for coordinating training and curriculum development for clinical rotations.

This funding will ultimately support the recruitment and retention of permanent physicians in these areas.  Residents and students who work within these communities will be better supported, helping to increase the likelihood that they will return to these areas after completion of their training.  Preceptors in rural communities provide needed support to residents and students during their training, and with their integration into the rural communities.

As well, this funding will support the recruitment of bilingual physicians to work as preceptors in rural communities where French is more widely spoken, with the goal of attracting bilingual medical students and residents to complete rotations in areas where bilingualism is a strong asset.

Today's announcement concerns a federal investment under the existing 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.

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Health Canada
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Jenny Van Alstyne
Office of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq
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