Where have all the Manitoba Docs gone?

October 11, 2011 at 2:41 pm

Each year, 110 medical students are admitted to the University of Manitoba and pay minimal tuition fees for a high quality medical school education that is very, very highly subsidized by the provincial government…but how many of our medical students end up doing their residency training and staying and practicing in Manitoba?

U of M Med II student, Jarrod Nickel, and Dr. Don Klassen and Wayne Heide of Manitoba’s Office of Rural and Northern Health, undertook a study over the past summer to find out: CaRMS and Canadian Post-MD Education Registry (CAPER) Data Review – Implications for Physician Recruitment and Retention in Manitoba.

It turns out, Manitoba retains just under half of the medical students it enrolls in UGME after 10 years. After 2 years, 51 % of physicians who completed their MD in Manitoba practiced in Manitoba after completing the rest of their training (47% practiced in Manitoba 5 years after training, and 44% after 10 years). This is a better retention rate than Saskatchewan, comparable to Alberta; but not nearly as well as BC or Ontario.

Since 1989, just 4% of known out-of-province students (OOPs) accepted into the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba have stayed to practice in Manitoba.

Manitoba sees better retention rates for those who completed residency training here compared to UGME only: 63% of physicians who completed their PGME residency training in Manitoba practiced in Manitoba 2 years after completing their training (55% practiced in Manitoba 5-years after training, and 50% after 10-years).

The data has shown that where doctors come from, and where they complete their training, both have an effect on where they might practice.

At the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, approximately 52% of undergraduates enter Manitoba postgraduate training programs. Location of PGME has a better correlation with retaining doctors than UGME training alone. Manitoba sees better retention rates (63% for 2-years post-training, 55% 5-years post-training, and 50% 1O-years post-training), compared to UGME only. Furthermore, completing both UGME and PGME in the same province has the highest correlation with retaining those doctors, and this is true for every province.

An impressive 73% of physicians who completed both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in Manitoba practiced in Manitoba 2 years after completing their training (65% practiced in Manitoba 5 years after training, and 58% after 1O years). These statistics are comparable to other western Canadian provinces.

What should we do to retain Manitoba-educated physicians?