Prince George, BC – 'Check back for future opportunities' – it's the phrase people want to see next to their community on Northern Health's webpage listing openings for physicians across the region.

Right now, Fort St James, Houston, Hudson's Hope, Mackenzie, and Quesnel all have that enviable post.  Prince George has 10 openings, including 3 Family Practise/ER, 2 Neurologists, and 1 Geriatrician.  Terrace has five vacancies.  And Fort St. John needs eight positions filled, including 4 Family Practise/ER physicians and a general surgeon. (click here to see entire listing)

Earlier this month, the provincial government announced nine new doctors have been hired in rural parts of the province thanks to an incentive program that offered a one-time payment of $100-thousand dollars to physicians committing to a three-year term of service in a designated rural community.  Three are now practisting in the north – in Terrace, Hazelton, and Chetwynd.

Northern Health's Director of Communications, Steve Raper, says physician recruitment is always challenging, not just in the north, but everywhere.  "Physicians retire, they move, and it's a very competitive environment to try and replace them," he says.  "So it's something that we always pay attention to and we're always investing in recruitment strategies – we recruit internationally, nationally, and within the province."

Two years ago, Fort St. James was in crisis when four of the the community's five doctors left in a short period of time, but Raper points out it's now one of Northern Health's success stories due to an incredible team effort involving healthcare professionals and municipal leaders in the community, support from Vanderhoof physicians, and the provincial government. (click here, for previous story)

Now, Fort St. John is struggling due to some recent departures.  Currently there are openings for 8 doctors – 4 Family Practise/ER (Permanent), 2 locum positions, 1 Psychiatrist, and 1 General Surgeon.  "We're recruiting hard for physicians in Fort St John," says Raper.  "But it's a bit of a challenge.  The physicians there are going above and beyond in the work that they do to sustain it and we're using locums where we can to offset the challenges, while we recruit."

Northern Health is launching a new website early in the new year that, it hopes, will provide a better venue for promoting practise opportunities across the region.  It will continue to build on the strategy of 'physicians recruiting physicians' with a feature on a Fort St John physician.  "It's essentially celebrating physicians who are willing to say, 'This is why I love to live here and this is why I love to practise here,'" says Raper, who says that key plank in NH's recruitment strategy is crucial.  "It's a small group who practise in the north, so getting to know your colleagues, hearing from them, is important."

While up-to-date numbers on the positive impact of the Northern Medical Program won't be out until early in 2014, Raper says the program has been huge  in Northern Health's ability to recruit not only for Prince George, but for across the region.  He says in addition to students choosing to remain in the area, the NMP has also attracted physicians interested in teaching and research.

Raper says it would be great to get to a point where physician recruitment wasn't necessary, but he says, realistically, there will always been turnover.  "This is just something we don't stop doing – we continue to look at how we can do it better, how we can continue working with our communities to get the 'right' fit."