Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island – For Dr. Michael Girsberger and Dr. Sandra Jadin, a site visit to Prince Edward Island was one of the most important determining factors for their decision to move to the Island.
Despite the pandemic, this physician couple is among 40 physicians recruited to PEI in 2021. Dr. Girsberger is a Nephrologist who began working in PEI in September 2021, while Dr. Jadin is an Anesthetist who began work in November 2021.
They credit the site visit and warm and welcoming environment created by local physicians as key factors that helped them choose PEI as their new home.
“The first thing that Sandra said to me when we arrived at the Charlottetown Airport was ‘Welcome home, Michael,’ said Dr. Girsberger. “We immediately connected with PEI, and funny enough, that day was also my birthday, and while I was sad to spend it travelling, when we arrived at the beautiful lodgings organized for us in PEI, it felt like a birthday. It was great to get to know the people here on PEI during our visit; and working with the recruitment team made the decision to move to PEI an easy one.”
Part of this recruitment success is due to the new Physician Recruiting Physician Program, a partnership between the Department of Health and Wellness, the Medical Society of PEI (MSPEI), and Health PEI. The program immerses local physicians into recruitment efforts and confirms the value of physicians’ involvement in provincial recruitment.
Last year, 31 new physicians began work on PEI in 2021, while nine physicians are already scheduled to start work in 2022. Last year, there was a 55 per cent increase from the previous year, in the number of physicians who started working in the province. This includes family physicians, emergency medicine physicians and other specialists such as, general surgeons, anesthetists, obstetricians/gynecologists, and psychiatrists, to name a few.
“It’s been quite a whirlwind of a year,” said Dr. Megan Miller, MSPEI’s Chief Physician Recruiter. “In addition to relentlessly pursuing leads, we’re continuing to build a completely new physician recruitment model. I think one of the greatest learnings and success factors is the way three different organizations have come together—MSPEI, the Department of Health and Wellness and Health PEI— with each showing a genuine interest to question how we can do better, show up better, and think more openly about how we recruit physicians”.
Dr. Miller says physicians on the Island have been enthusiastic to step up and provide support, small or large. Whether it’s getting together with a candidate for a coffee or dinner or rolling up their sleeves and leading a site visit, Island physicians have been deeply involved with recruitment.
“We are committed to providing the best health care possible for Islanders and to succeed we must be successful at recruiting skilled professionals and retaining them as members of the Island health community. A visit to this province can often help persuade candidates that PEI is the place for them to build a home and career,” said Health and Wellness Minister Ernie Hudson. “The Physicians Recruiting Physicians recruitment team has shown great innovation and determination in bringing talented individuals to our health system.”
“Recruiting physicians to Prince Edward Island can be challenging, especially during a pandemic. Over the last year, even with limited travel, we have continued to recruit quality physicians through modern approaches with the support of the Physicians Recruiting Physicians program and its many incentives,” said Dr. Katherine McNally, Chief Medical Officer at Health PEI. “Our health system has many opportunities for physicians and through collaborative recruitment efforts we will continue to support the growing health care needs of Islanders.”
Media contact:
Ron Ryder Department of Health and Wellness 902-314-6367 rrryder@gov.pe.caSheila Kerry Medical Society of PEI (902) 368-7303 ext. 108 sheila@mspei.org
Jessica Bruce Health PEI jessicabruce@gov.pe.ca
Backgrounder
- Almost all physicians on PEI are associated with Health PEI, and physician recruitment is critical to maintaining and improving services offered through the health authority for Islanders.
- Prince Edward Island offers a variety of incentives to physicians interested in working in the province.
- The Island is currently recruiting for a variety of physician opportunities, including but not limited to family medicine, emergency medicine, psychiatry, anesthesia, and other specialty areas.
- Locum opportunities are also available for both family medicine and specialist physicians.
- View the full listing here: www.healthjobspei.ca
