Steinbach is stepping up efforts to recruit more family doctors to the community, beginning with a dinner to welcome resident physicians completing part of their medical training in the city.
The event took place Monday evening at the Forum and Bistro inside the Southeast Event Centre. Councillor Susan Penner said the goal was to show appreciation and build personal connections with the seven resident doctors, five of whom are international medical graduates.
“We’re being very intentional about trying to recruit more family doctors to Steinbach,” said Penner. “We thought, you know what? Let’s take them out for dinner, let them know how much we want them here, get to know them, and talk to them about what Steinbach has to offer.”
First event of its kind in Steinbach
The city reserved the entire restaurant to create a relaxed atmosphere. Mayor Earl Funk gave a brief welcome, and the evening ended with a tour of the Event Centre.
“It wasn’t formal at all,” said Penner. “It was a great opportunity to visit, answer questions, and showcase Steinbach in a positive way. The response was incredible. Everyone was really positive and appreciated that we made the effort to welcome them.”
Funk agreed the evening accomplished its goal.
“It’s about connecting with the resident doctors and showing them what Steinbach has to offer,” said Funk. “They see us as generous, giving and caring. They’ve really enjoyed their time here so far.”
Resident doctors question why Manitoba isn't training more of its own
Some of the doctors, particularly those trained internationally, asked why more Manitoba students aren’t being admitted to local medical schools.
“Out of the seven residents, five of them are international medical grads,” said Funk. “Some of them were kind of confused why we're not pursuing more local Manitoba students.”
Funk said several qualified Manitoba students have applied to medical school multiple times and still aren’t accepted, despite meeting academic requirements.
“There’s a lot of Manitoba students who aren’t getting into the faculty,” he said. “They fall within the parameters the university is looking for, but they’re just not making it.”
Funk and Penner are advocating for a rural training stream that would prioritize students from smaller communities who want to return and practice family medicine in their hometowns.
“That’s where the support systems are — family, friends, connection to community — and that makes it more likely they’ll stay long term,” said Funk.
City pushing for broader reforms
The dinner is part of a larger strategy to address the family doctor shortage in Steinbach and across Manitoba.
Funk says they have been meeting with representatives from Shared Health, Southern Health-Santé Sud, Doctors Manitoba, and the University of Manitoba to push for improvements in rural recruitment.
“One of our goals is to promote the idea of a rural stream in Manitoba,” he explained. “We think the province should prioritize medical students from rural communities who want to return and practice family medicine.”
Penner acknowledged many Steinbach residents are still without a family doctor.
“I want people to know that Steinbach Council is working very hard on this,” she said. “We’re meeting with different levels of government and stakeholders to figure out how to increase the number of doctors in our community. This is a problem across the country, but we’re doing what we can to make an impact.”
Funk emphasized that building personal relationships may be the most effective tool at the local level.
“Southern Health and Doctors Manitoba both said the best way to keep these residents in our community is to build a connection,” he said. “And that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Penner confirmed the city plans to continue hosting similar events in the future.
“This is something we can do that’s within our control,” she said. “We want to give these residents a reason to stay.”