Attracting new family doctors and keeping the ones who are already practising are top priorities for many BC communities. To help make that easier, the GPSC Provincial Recruitment and Retention Steering Committee created a unique, one-stop information portal called PracticeinBC.ca.
The idea behind PracticeinBC.ca is not only to make it easier for family practices and divisions of family practice to attract new doctors but also to smooth the path for interested medical students, residents, and doctors to build their careers in BC—whether they are already here, across Canada, or in another country. The portal offers two doorways on its home page: one for those looking to recruit and retain doctors, and another for people investigating how to become a BC doctor.
Since its launch last year, PracticeinBC.ca has become a popular source of recruitment information, as well as for tools and tips for local doctors and divisions on topics such as:
• Preparing for recruitment: assessing what you need and developing a strategy.
• How to attract the right doctors for your needs and community.
• Engaging prospective and new doctors and their families in your community.
• Licensing and privileging.
• Supporting doctors at every stage of their careers.
While most discussions around making sure communities have sufficient family doctors tend to focus on attracting new ones, it’s just as important to help doctors want to stay once they arrive. If you have new doctors joining your community, PracticeinBC.ca offers advice on how to support doctors and their families to settle in and feel at home.
It’s also valuable to remember that retiring doctors may still be interested in part-time or locum work. PracticeinBC.ca offers information on how to support doctors in making career transitions.
In addition to the information it offers for divisions and practices, the site is also a recruitment tool itself, providing access to everything prospective BC doctors need to know about locating and practising here. There are also links to permanent and locum job posting sites, and videos from a variety of regions that showcase their communities and lifestyle options.
New resources have recently been added and can be found in the site’s What’s New section. Of particular interest for doctors who wish to recruit new colleagues is a webinar from Vancouver Island divisions on their collaborative recruitment strategy.
For more on the work of the GPSC Recruitment and Retention Steering Committee, visit the meeting updates page on the GPSC website.
—Shelley Ross, MD
This posting has not been peer reviewed by the BCMJ Editorial Board.
