CFPC, rural physicians' society confident new action plan will boost recruitment and retention of rural doctors

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. | “Action-packed.” That’s how one delegate described the Feb. 22 summit to Improve Healthcare Access and Equity for Rural Communities in Canada here sponsored by the Canadian Collaborative Taskforce. A little over the top? “I don’t think so,” said summit co-chair Dr. Trina Larsen-Soles. “We were really energized. It surpassed our expectations in terms of the engagement of all the people we invited to this summit.” Dr. Trina Larsen SolesIn fact, 20 action steps will be taken in coming years to recruit and retain physicians for rural and remote communities: drawing more indigenous students into med school, maximizing educational opportunities for rural residents, spurring community engagement with new physicians, developing an evidence-based definition of what constitutes rural training, and research, research, research.“We have a lot of good work but we don’t necessarily have published evidence about what works and what doesn’t work,” said Dr. Larsen-Soles. “The only way to do that is with targeted rural research.” Without a formal network of national research into shared best practices it’s hard to figure out which programs work and deserve funding, said Dr. Larsen-Soles—a message she and the taskforce delivered to federal health minister Dr. Jane Philpott during the summit.Another major topic: formalized mentorship programs in rural communities. Informal mentorship has been around for years, said Dr. Larsen-Soles. It was the thing which kept her in Golden, B.C. when she first started her practice: "You’re new at this," senior physicians told her. "Call us if you need anything." Physicians leaving town because they didn't get that support “shouldn’t happen,” she said.“And so there are various programs being developed to formalize mentorship. B.C. has one that they’re working on through its Rural Co-ordination Centre and we want to see these things extended across the country.”Big question: how do you leverage nationally relevant programs when the provinces foot the bill? By agreeing that these are the right things to do, Dr. Larsen-Soles replied. Programs will look different from one community and practice to another whether it’s in Nunavut or Black Point, Nova Scotia. “That’s the nature of rural practice. It’s that standard we want to establish.”Now that the Society of Rural Physicians in Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada have collaborated with the taskforce on its Rural Road Map for Action one question remains about how serious health care agencies are about implementing its recommendations. Many are long on ambition, but short in detail. “That was on purpose,” said Dr. Larsen-Soles.“They’re principles of what we want dealt with. And if we make them too restrictive people won’t have the flexibility to develop the programs they need. We framed them as actions because we don’t want the principles to sit on a shelf and never be implemented.” Some action steps are aspirational, Dr. Larsen-Soles added; others are being done “but aren't being done consistently or done everywhere.”A major hurdle the taskforce will face will be the cynicism that occurs when little or no visible sign of progress actually happens in rural communities. In other words, show me, don’t snow me.“We’ve got agreements among the leadership of the different organizations to continue to meet, but we're also going to develop a structure to keep tabs on this,” said Dr. Larsen-Soles, “to keep the people who were at the meeting on Wednesday talking to each other.”This will be followed, Dr. Larsen-Soles said, by the release of a two-year report card outlining what recommendations have been acted upon or completed and those that require more work.For a PDF of the Rural Road Map for Action click here.

CFPC, rural physicians' society confident new action plan will boost recruitment and retention of rural doctors

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