New family medicine residency program

A 2017–18 budget announcement included funding for a fourth family medicine residency program in rural Nova Scotia. The location of the new program has yet to be determined. Along with creating greater capacity at existing sites, the new program will result in an additional 10 family medicine positions at Dalhousie Medical School. 

The new site is in addition to programs located in south-western Nova Scotia (five seats), the Annapolis Valley (five seats) and Cape Breton (five seats). 

The new teaching site will provide community-based training in areas of need. The hope is that family physicians who train in rural areas will be more likely to choose a career in rural family medicine.  

As a member of the Physician Resource Plan Medical Education Working Group, Doctors Nova Scotia worked with the Department of Health and Wellness, the Nova Scotia Health Authority and Dalhousie Medical School on matching the recommendations of the Physician Resource Plan with the medical education process.

More physicians needed

The province needs more family doctors and specialists.

The province needs more than 1,000 physicians, about equally split between family doctors and specialists, over the next 10 years. The addition of a new family medicine residency program is a step toward recruiting more doctors to rural communities in the province. 

These figures are based on 2016 data. A provincial data working group updates the figures regularly.