More doctors and other health professionals from the U.S. want to move to Nova Scotia, according to Nova Scotia Health. (Province of Nova Scotia)

The unstable political situation in the United States may be good news for the Nova Scotia health care system.

More doctors and other health professionals working in the U.S. are looking to move north. One of the places they’re calling is Nova Scotia. And some of them also want to move to Queens County.

Lauren Murphy, director of recruitment and volunteer services with Nova Scotia Health, says they’ve seen an increase in applications from people from the U.S.

“Honestly, we’re hearing some pretty amazing stories,” she told QCCR this week.

“We’re hearing people who maybe have family members who are trans who don’t feel safe anymore. We’re hearing about people who are Canadians but have been living in the U.S. for years and working in their health care system and not feeling safe anymore and wanting to come back to Canada. We’re hearing from people who are internationally educated but living in the U.S. and again not feeling safe. It’s a scary time in the States and I do think people are seeing Canada as that safe space.”

Murphy said that the health care professionals reaching out to Nova Scotia Health recruiters are extremely qualified and experienced. They include doctors, nurses and other professionals.

“And the beauty is that the hospital setting in the U.S. is very very similar to what we have in Canada in terms of the level of care. And so being able to hire someone from the U.S., they can pretty much hit the ground running. As horrible as it is, maybe there is some silver lining that people can find a new home here in Nova Scotia and build roots and bring family or create families, and that’s great for our economy and great for us as a province.”

Murphy did not say how many doctors or other health professionals are interested in making the move from the U.S. to Nova Scotia.

According to data obtained in January 2024 by the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, more than 1,000 health-care positions were still waiting to be filled in Nova Scotia. That includes professionals other than doctors and nurses.

And in March, about 96,000 Nova Scotians were still without a primary care provider. That was down from February’s number of just over 104,000. About nine per cent of the population is still looking for a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

Murphy acknowledged that there’s a global shortage of health-care professionals. Jurisdictions like Nova Scotia have been looking in other countries to fill those spots.

The process can take some time, especially as candidates navigate immigration and licensing requirements. Nova Scotia Health has its own immigration team to help make it easier for clinicians or other professionals to move here.

Nova Scotia recently opened a new centre to help speed up the licensing process for internationally trained physicians. It takes about 12 weeks to complete and doctors agree to practise in the province for at least three years.

Murphy says American-based doctors also ask her recruitment team about the differences in culture and taxation.

“It’s a huge step to move to a different country,” she said. “A lot of the conversations start off very exploratory. If you’re thinking about the U.S., you’re also potentially talking to a candidate who is coming from a state that doesn’t pay tax.

“But … we really are seeing people who are like, ‘No, we have to do this, we’re taking the plunge.’ And we’re really seeing those numbers now.”

Some of those doctors and other professionals are interested in moving to Queens County. 

Dr. Al Doucet is the chair of the Queens General Hospital Foundation, which works with Nova Scotia Health to bring doctors to the area.

He was out of the country and unavailable for an interview Friday. But he said in a text message that the foundation is getting inquiries from physicians and physician assistants about moving here.

Nova Scotia Health recently named Liverpool-based Dr. Alison Freeman the MD recruitment and retention lead for the South Shore.

To help with those recruitment efforts, Nova Scotia Health is holding a provincial career fair on March 27 at 11 locations around the province. Officials will be at the Michelin Social Club in Bridgewater from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Murphy says the job fair targets Nova Scotians who are interested in a first-time position with Nova Scotia Health or transferring to a different part of the province. More than 220 people were hired through last year’s job fair.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Nova Scotia released its red tape accountability report Monday. (Communications Nova Scotia photo)

By Rick Conrad

Reducing the time doctors spend on things like sick notes is one example of how red tape is being reduced in Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston said Monday.

To mark Red Tape Awareness Week, organized by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the government released its annual report on smoothing services and reducing regulations for Nova Scotia businesses and citizens.

“This common-sense solution allows government to be more efficient, focused and effective, especially in our healthcare system where we’re actively identifying red tape and getting rid of it,” Houston said in a news release.

The province’s Office of Regulatory Affairs and Service Effectiveness produced the report. It employs about 15 people.

The report said that by the end of 2023, doctors saved 250,000 hours because government reduced unnecessary paperwork, like changing requirements for sick notes and complex insurance forms. The government’s goal is to reduce 400,000 hours of red tape for doctors by the end of 2024

The report also touted the government’s controversial decision to take more control over housing development in the Halifax area. 

Co-operating with other provincial governments to standardize things like construction codes, energy standards and safety requirements also helped reduce red tape.

The full report can be found here. Nova Scotians can give their feedback on how to reduce red tape here. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship students. Photo credit: NOW Lunenburg County

South Shore doctors are lining up to prepare the next generation of physicians.

The South Shore Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship program recently launched in Liverpool, Bridgewater and Lunenburg will see third year medical students from Dalhousie University spend the year in those communities.

The aim of the clerkship is to entice future doctors to spend time in rural settings by offering them more hands-on experience than they are likely to get in urban centers where they have to compete for clinical time with fourth year med students and residents.

Site director Greg Thibodeau says the program wouldn’t have happened without local doctors stepping forward to teach.

“We started with maybe 25 interested physicians two years ago and we’re well over 55 now, and that’s across disciplines,” said Thibodeau. “Even since the program launched three weeks ago, there’s still physicians who’ve said, I’d like to teach now.”

Those physicians, practicing different specialties across the three hospitals in the South Shore, have each committed to provide a set number of hours every week to instructing the students.

Thibodeau says that broad range of training will be beneficial to the students no matter where they focus their practice in the future.

“Physicians that are in the rural setting have a tendency of being very adept, flexible, they do more with less, and they’re versatile because they’re able to expand their skill sets over multiple settings and in multiple situations,” said Thidodeau.

He says it’s not just students who benefit from this arrangement. By adding teaching to their responsibilities physician instructors benefit as well.

“It makes us more pensive and reflective and deliberate as we engage in our practice because we want to teach the best of the best approaches to those that come after us,” said Thibodeau.

A total of five students were selected for the clerkship. Two are based in Liverpool, two in Bridgewater and one in Lunenburg. One of the requirements of the program is for the students to live in the communities.

“Because if they’re taking call or if they’re delivering a baby or if they’re working a night shift we want them to be accessible in the community,” said Thibodeau. “Part of the program is that they are indoctrinated, or at least part of the communities on other levels.”

Thibodeau welcomes LIC students for orientation. Photo credit: NOW Lunenburg County

The Health Services Foundation of the South Shore, South Shore Regional Hospital Auxiliary and Queens General Hospital Foundation helped to make the program possible by contributing $890,000 to create duty rooms, lounges, and learning space at South Shore Regional and Queens General Hospitals. Those new spaces will also support doctor recruitment and retention.

The South Shore is the second location in the province to offer the clerkship after Cape Breton piloted the program last year.

Dalhousie University’s goal is to have one third of its medical students take part in the clerkship program around the province over the next four years.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson