In the past seven months, at least five provinces have announced tens of thousands in retention bonuses or other hiring perks to keep or attract doctors and nurses. But is financial compensation the right recruitment tool? Some researchers and recruiters say that based on studies and their own experience, one-time financial incentives are not effective enough to keep health care workers in their jobs. “Financial incentives have always been and will continue to be Band-Aid solutions,” said Maria Mathews, a professor in the department of family medicine at Western University in London, Ont. Nurses’ unions and national health leaders have said financial incentives are only one piece of the puzzle needed to fix the ongoing pressure on health care. Working conditions, wages and long hours are all to be addressed, they said. “What’s important to these doctors and nurses? In 2022, it’s quality of life,” said David Este, an emeritus professor of social work at the University of Calgary who has studied the issue. “If they’re working in hospitals that are chronically understaffed … and those working conditions are sustained over a long period of time, I don’t think financial incentives have the ability to address the nature of a work environment.”

Because financial incentives are the best

Provincial and territorial governments have relied on financial incentives for decades, according to 2015 study of which Mathews co-authored. These incentives vary from province to province and also vary according to the specific role and need in the region. Ontario, Alberta, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and PEI are the most recent provinces to announce some type of financial compensation for new or existing family physicians or nurse practitioners.

Health care workers are leaving the system in droves due to burnout and understaffing

Overtaking Canada’s health care system now faces funding and staffing challenges that threaten the entire industry. Tired and overworked nurses are leaving in droves, while jurisdictions struggle to convince them to stay. Health workers share the changes they say would help them keep going. It’s a move Mathews has seen many times before, adding that politicians are turning to financial incentives because they can be delivered relatively quickly. “The problem is not going to be solved just by giving people financial incentives. Because if that was the case, we wouldn’t be losing nurses,” Este added. And there are stark differences between the compensation initiatives recently announced by provincial governments and funded by taxpayers. Earlier this month, NL Registered Nurses Association president Yvette Coffey and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey announced new measures aimed at retaining nurses. (Ted Dillon/CBC) Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador’s retention bonus for nurses, the retention of the existing staff was announced. This differs from the new money for family doctors based in rural communities announced recently Alberta, P.E.I and Nova Scotia. “I think the governments, both provincially and federally, are looking for an immediate solution because the need is immediate,” said Dr. Vesta Michelle Warren, president of the Alberta Medical Association and a family physician in Sundre, Alta.

Can financial incentives help?

There are many reasons why hospitals feel extra pressure, causing them to close or make patients wait for hours. Experts they have said One of those reasons is that those without a family doctor add to long hospital waits across the country. Last month, about 25 per cent of patients who went to the emergency rooms of Richmond Hill and Cortellucci Vaughan hospitals north of Toronto did not have a family doctor. according Dr. David Rauchwerger, Mackenzie Health’s emergency department medical director. That’s much higher than the five percent rate before the pandemic, he said. Offering a better work-life balance and helping employees feel connected to communities often rank higher for healthcare professionals when deciding whether to stay or leave, studies across Canada have shown. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press) Politicians in Alberta and Nova Scotia hope recently announced bonuses and other recruitment efforts will entice doctors and specialists to work in mostly rural or underserved areas. PEI officials expanded their incentives to include family physicians or certain specialists who take work anywhere in the province. In studies done in Canada since the 1990s, hiring bonuses are often cited as not as important as other areas – such as working conditions and community amenities – to doctors. Researchers conducted in 2019 study interviewed 91 Alberta physicians, administrators, community members and spouses — and found that health professionals ranked financial incentives as only “moderately important” in recruiting and not at all important in retaining a physician in a community .
Almost five million Canadians are without a family doctor. This is one of the factors that contribute to stress in emergency rooms. (David Donnelly/Radio-Canada) In contrast, community members ranked incentives highly for attracting physicians. This echoes his findings 1999 studywhich said that despite “broad development”, there is little evidence that financial-based approaches are particularly effective. Another common practice in many provinces and territories is what’s known as a service reimbursement agreement or grant, typically offered to new graduates or internationally trained doctors to help offset part of their education or other costs, experts said. That often happens when a person signs an agreement to go and work in a community for anywhere from one to three years in most provinces, Mathews said. She is looked at Newfoundland and Labrador’s return-to-service agreement data and say these agreements may move people into underserved areas, but the agreements do not “keep people in those communities.” St John’s Morning Show19:30 Another doctor on how governments recruitment efforts failed The provincial government is now taking a big seduction approach to recruiting doctors in the province, but one doctor says it wasn’t enough to bring him home. We hear from Dr. Travis Barron and the health minister. In some cases, doctors paid their contracts to leave the community. This is another group researchers it was found to occur in 1999 in other provinces such as Saskatchewan and Quebec. “Financial incentives will only go so far in recruiting and retaining people,” Matthews said. Keeping doctors and other health care workers in the community is something Cold Lake, Alta., Mayor Craig Copeland knows well. Since he was elected in 2007, the community northeast of Edmonton has struggled to recruit doctors to the area. The area has needed about five to six doctors for several years, he said. To bring them to the community, the city is currently offering $20,000 and paying the interest on a $50,000 line of credit for the doctors if they agree to work in Cold Lake. “You have to pay to play, unfortunately,” Copeland said. Access to data on financial incentives and conservation programs should be better shared with academics and those studying the subject, Matthews said, as it is quite limited. Bryan MacLean, who recruits doctors for Northern Medical Services at the University of Saskatchewan and has been a recruiter for years, said he and his colleagues try to collect this “accumulated” information about recruitment and retention programs so that data to have better access. But based on what he’s seen, doctors will work in a community, fulfill their commitment to service, and then move on.
“There needs to be more emphasis on conservation issues from the government,” he said. Dr. Vesta Michelle Warren is the president of the Alberta Medical Association. She says it wasn’t the signing bonus that kept her in Sudre, Alta., but the community lifestyle and working conditions. (Alberta Medical Association) Warren said bonuses can help. But the president of the Alberta Medical Association said she and other colleagues often value other factors more — such as fitting into the community, whether their spouse can find work and whether they have a good work environment and team. “I stayed at a center not because of that three-year bonus, but because it was very good for my family, for my kids, for me on a professional basis,” Warren said of signing the return of service contract. in 1999.
Nurses in Ontario echoed a similar statement after the Ford government announced a $5,000 pay bonus earlier this year. Many nurses and union representatives said it would not be enough to keep them on the job.

Foreign-educated nurse offers accreditation advice to newcomers

Health care workers planning to come to Canada are better off taking advantage of pre-arrival services and starting the accreditation process before coming to this country, says Queenie Choo, a former UK-trained nurse and now runs an organization that helps newcomers. “While you promise until [$5,000] for nurses, what they really want is support to do their job well and to do it safely,” said the joint letter filed by four unions. at that time.

The other solutions

Healthcare leaders, nurses and doctors have called for specific changes to address what is happening in hospitals, clinics and family doctors’ offices. Getting more health care staff, whether family doctors, nurses or other workers, is essential, many said. MacLean and Warren agree that bringing in more physician assistants or nurse practitioners could create more team-based care. Warren also said that bringing back Canadian students trained at international medical schools is…