Every few years, it seems like Estevan finds itself in a position in which it needs more physicians.
Those who have been around for a few years will remember 2011, when the physician count dropped below six, at a time when the economy was booming and the population was rising.
That was the last time we’d experienced a large physician shortage, and while the doctor shortage this time around wasn’t as severe, it was still a tough situation.
It was tough on the remaining doctors themselves, who have been forced to do more with fewer of their peers available in the community. And it was tough on local residents, particularly those who didn’t have a physician before this latest shortage, or those whose physician left the community, and couldn’t find a replacement.
There is relief on the horizon. One new physician, Dr. Boye Adeboye, has arrived in Estevan and has started his practice. Two more physicians will be starting soon.
It will leave Estevan with about 10 family physicians, and while it’s still a lower number than some would like, it’s an adequate number for a city of this size.
It should also allow for some of the focus to be shifted from recruitment to retention of our medical doctors.
People don’t always realize how competitive physician recruitment and retention can be. Estevan isn’t the only community that has gone through a physician shortage in the past year.
It’s incredibly difficult to become a doctor. And it’s a high-pressure, demanding job. So there aren’t many out there to choose from, and there are a lot of communities looking for doctors.
As we’ve seen several times in the last 15 years, it’s just as tough to keep them here for the long-term once they arrive.
When a doctor leaves a community, it’s not necessarily because of dissatisfaction with patients, nurses, the health care in the community, or the community itself. It could be because there is another community that can offer more.
You can provide all sorts of incentives for doctors to come here and stay here. Other communities can offer even more incentives for them. You can offer a great community (which we have), a great hospital (which we have), great staff (which we have) and state of the art medical equipment (which we have been getting).
Other communities have lots of great attributes, too. Some do have more to offer than Estevan.
It’s important for those responsible for recruitment and retention to constantly evaluate and update the incentives packages they have to offer doctors. The incentives that existed in 2011 might not have the same appeal now. The incentives of two years ago might not be as appealing, either.
It seems like Estevan finds itself, every few years, in a situation in which a few physicians leave in a relatively short amount of time. It would be nice to remedy that issue, but we’re not sure if a solution actually exists.
We hope that this will be the last time we see a physician shortage in Estevan for a long time. Hopefully the doctors that come here will be happy in Estevan, and will make Estevan their home.
It’s tough to provide services to a community this size with only seven or eight general practitioners.
