Another 16 internationally trained doctors now practising in rural Sask.

The Saskatchewan government says it’s making progress finding physicians to practise in rural areas of the province, where some communities have been dealing with a serious shortage of doctors and health-care workers.

The government announced Thursday that 16 physicians opened practices in rural Saskatchewan after going through the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program in June.

In a release, the government said there are 283 internationally trained family physicians who went through SIPPA in the province, with 77 per cent of those practising in rural communities.

“We are very happy to welcome these new doctors and their families to Saskatchewan,” Tim McLeod, the province’s rural and remote health minister, said in the release.

“As one of the many ways we’re working to recruit more doctors to our province, SIPPA continues to be a success. I congratulate this latest cohort on completing the program and wish them the best as they embark on this new chapter.”

Saskatchewan has been trying to shore up its health-care workforce in recent years, primarily through the Health Human Resources Action Plan. The $60-million program is seeking to add more than 1,000 employees to Saskatchewan’s health-care system.

Through the SIPPA program, candidates who are licensed doctors in other countries that have standards not recognized by Canada can apply to become licensed. It doesn’t apply to graduates who haven’t completed a residency.

The program, which was launched in 2011, requires doctors to sign a return-of-service contract through which they agree to work in the province for a minimum of three years after completing the SIPPA assessment.

The next step for the graduates includes supervision by local physicians.

“The Government of Saskatchewan’s increased funding for the SIPPA program is supporting more internationally trained physicians in completing SIPPA and is providing increased resources and mentorship to these physicians as they begin their practices in Saskatchewan communities,” Dr. Jon Witt, SIPPA’s program director at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, said in the release.

In addition to SIPPA, the government has instituted a number of incentives in hopes of increasing the number of doctors working in Saskatchewan. Those include:

• Quadrupling the Rural Physician Incentive Program to $200,000 and expanding eligibility to the incentive to include doctors practising through the SIPPA program;
• Expanding medical residency seats from 120 to 128 at the University of Saskatchewan; and
• Expanding post-graduate medical residency training sites outside Regina and Saskatoon to Prince Albert, Swift Current, La Ronge, North Battleford, Moose Jaw and southeast areas of the province.

Doctors looking for more information on working in the province can get it by contacting Saskdocs at info@saskdocs.ca, or by calling the organization toll-free 1-888-415-3627 or directly at 306-933-5000.