The Saskatchewan government alongside the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency (SHRA) have launched a digital campaign aimed at recruiting physicians from the United States to consider working in Saskatchewan.
Included inside of the pitch are current career opportunities, upcoming physician-focused information webinars and the promotion of benefits including such as competitive compensation, lower cost of living, work/life balance and stability offered in the province.
"We want to showcase to Americans why Saskatchewan offers them a new direction by being an excellent choice for physicians who want to practice in a secure, stable and supportive environment," Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said in a news release. "We are committed to ensuring that physicians in Saskatchewan are well-compensated for their hard work, enjoy career fulfillment and have a positive work-life balance with a lower cost of living."
Saskatchewan offers one of the quickest pathways to medical licensure for physicians who have American Board certification and have, or are eligible to obtain, a full license in the United States," SHRA CEO Terri Strunk said. "We regularly showcase our opportunities in the United States, but this campaign is a bit different, designed to capture the attention of physicians who may be looking north for a new opportunity."
The "Saskatchewan is Calling" campaign will be distributed later in the spring across national and international markets.
In response, Shadow Health Minister Vicki Mowat released a statement
“It’s good that the government is looking to the United States to recruit trained doctors, but we also have dozens of internationally trained doctors right here in the province who can’t get accredited to work.
The Sask. Party isn’t even listening to the healthcare workers we have in Saskatchewan.
After 18 years of the Sask. Party, Saskatchewan is ranked last place in Canada on healthcare. We have the longest hospital waits and longest surgery waits in Canada because the Sask. Party is driving doctors and nurses out of the province.
This Sask. Party government broke our healthcare system and will have to do so much more to fix it.”