Immediate skepticism: Alberta announces $16-million grant program to recruit rural physicians, facing swift critique from the AMA

Alberta has announced new measures to train more physicians to practice in rural and remote areas, but the group representing doctors in the province is raising skepticism over the effectiveness of these new programs.The province announced Thursday it is spending $16 million on a pilot bursary program for rural and remote family medicine resident physicians over the next two years. Medical students who have been matched with family medicine residency programs at the University of Calgary or University of Alberta, as well as current family medicine residents at either of these universities, are eligible to apply. The bursaries are worth $125,000 for rural stream applicants and $200,000 for remote stream applicants. Applicants must commit to practicing in an eligible rural or remote community for at least three years after completing their residency.The province also announced it is spending $800,000 to recruit more medical first responders and $600,000 to enhance emergency medical responder education programs.“Work is being done to close the gap and ensure that rural Albertans receive the healthcare that they need. We are committed to making healthcare better for Albertans living in rural and remote parts of the province and it shouldn't matter where,” Alberta Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange said during a news conference in Hinton, Alta.In response to the announcement, the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) said new funding measures “are always appreciated,” but noted that similar strategies aimed at increasing the number of rural physicians have been used by previous governments since the late 1990s.“There are even Alberta-specific published studies that explain why these programs have not always been successful, and what government has to do to sustain the traction of these program. So, saying that this announcement will ‘revitalize rural health care’ is an exaggeration,” the association said on social media.The AMA also said the announcement does nothing to address retention and pointed to the results of their survey last month, which found that seven in 10 Alberta physicians are considering leaving their practice by 2029.“Training tomorrow's workforce is important but will be meaningless if we can't maintain the physicians we have today. And, if we lose the physicians we have today, who will train those new students applying for bursaries?” the AMA said.The announcement also comes in the ongoing remuneration between the AMA and the province on getting a new payment model. Earlier this week, the AMA launched a new advertising campaign urging the public to put pressure on the government when it comes to physician retention and compensation.Meanwhile, LaGrange says the province is “very close to finalizing” a new primary care physician compensation model.“As soon as we get those out the door, then obviously that will make a difference, but we do have processes we have to go through,” she said.

Immediate skepticism: Alberta announces $16-million grant program to recruit rural physicians, facing swift critique from the AMA

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