The province has agreed to cover the costs of medical school for students who agree to work in under-serviced areas for a specified term. The grants are a part of a new program by the province to target the needs of Manitobans living in communities that lack access to family doctors.
Manitoba medical students can now apply for grants of $12,000 for each of their four years of medical school. In return, students must agree to commit six months of service to communities in need once they graduate. Over the course of four years, students are eligible for a maximum of $61,000 in exchange for a commitment of two and a half years to under-serviced areas in the province.
All medical students are eligible to receive grants, regardless of whether or not they are pursuing family medicine degrees. The program will be available to medical students in the fall of this year.
“In many ways it’s a win-win; it gives medical students the privilege and opportunity to work in a rural or northern area where there is a huge service need,” said Brian Postl, dean of medicine at the U of M. Postl explained that the programs will regenerate themselves, since other students “will take up the task” after other groups leave the community.
The grants will also relieve some of the financial pressures faced by medical students, who often begin their careers with large debt loads.
“It certainly takes pressure of those students who are stressed by the cost and length of the education required to go through medicine,” said Postl, who said the grants will level off the playing field for students and their families.
In a recent throne speech, Manitoba committed to ensuring all Manitobans will have access to a family doctor by 2015, according to spokesperson for Minister of Health Theresa Oswald, Matthew Williamson.
“Research shows that people who have access to a family doctor are healthier. Providing better access to family doctors is not only good for people but also the sustainability of the system,” he said.
According to Williamson, the new grant program replaces and strengthens existing provincial medical student grants, which used to only be available to third and fourth-year students. Currently, those grants are accessed by 30 per cent of students.
Williamson said the under-serviced populations will be determined annually based on information from regional health authorities, Manitoba Health and the faculty of medicine. Once students complete their residency, they can apply to return the service in the location of their choosing, based on the findings of that year.
“The program was designed based in part on advice from current medical school students,” said Williamson. “The response from med students has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Williamson noted that the latest announcement builds on the successes of existing and proven inventive programs in order to meet the province’s family doctor commitment. An example of which is Canada’s first two-year northern and rural family medicine residency program, which currently has 25 students committed to at least two years of service in northern and remote communities.
Statistics Canada recently estimated that 15 per cent of Manitobans do not currently have a family doctor.
