Regions: Dehcho Region
Tags: social sciences, health care, employment, retention strategy
| Principal Investigator: | Giles, Sarah (1) |
| Licence Number: | 13501 |
| Organization: | Dalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2003
|
| Issued: | Jul 14, 2003 |
| Project Team: | N/A |
Objective(s): As highlighted by the 2003 Romanow Report on Health Care, Canada's northern regions face a shortage of doctors. Through participant observation, semi-structured interviews and an examination of historical records, factors influencing physician tenure in Fort Simpson will be examined. The issues brought forth by this case study will be juxtaposed against the present problems faced by physicians in the region. Factors expected to correlate with a physician's decision to venture North include: sense of adventure, a major life event precipitating the move, divorce, vacationing in the area, being raised in a rural environment, an expectation of a high level of fellow healthcare providers in the North, and a previous experience with Canada's Aboriginal population. Factors expected to correlate with the decision to leave the North include: sense of professional isolation, sense of a lack of adequate financial compensation, workload, heavy call schedule, pursuit of better education for one's children, and moving so that a spouse could obtain employment. By eliminating, where possible, the reasons repeatedly given by physicians for leaving, physician recruitment, happiness, and length of tenure should both increase. The researcher hopes to examine the factors influencing the recruitment and length of tenure of at least 10 different physicians during the last 100 years.
