New Tuition Incentive in NS Aims to Recruit Doctors to Rural Areas

Source: NS News Release via Academica | January 9, 2015

The Nova Scotia government has announced a new initiative designed to recruit doctors to underserved communities in the province. The incentive program offers to repay the cost of tuition for medical school, up to $120,000, in exchange for a 5-year commitment to practise in an underserved community. The program is open to 25 medical students in residency, or doctors from outside the province who have practised for less than 7 years, over the next 4 years. The program is the main recommendation of the Physician Recruitment and Retention Action Team, an expert panel set up to identify ways to recruit and retain doctors. “Not only will this program represent a first step in assisting new and recent graduates repay student debt, it will have a positive impact on the health of Nova Scotians by placing physicians in underserviced areas of the province,” said Russell Christie, President of Dalhousie Medical Students Society.