Review of Family Medicine within Rural and Remote Canada

The following excerpts are from the 2016 Review of Family Medicine Within Rural and Remote Canada: Education, Practice, and Policy commissioned by The College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Taskforce on Advancing Rural Family Medicine, and the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada:

“Governments have a role to assist rural communities and physicians in acquiring the
knowledge, competencies, skills, and tools needed to improve access to health care services. Medical schools have an important social responsibility to ensure that the rural education curricula align with population health needs, including a sufficient family physician workforce. Efforts should be taken to ensure that rural communities are not left behind. It will also be important to remain vigilant in addressing recruitment and retention issues of physicians pursuing practice in rural settings, while at the same time taking steps to better prepare them to provide quality health care in rural regions.”

“The positive trends that have been emerging in advancing the numbers of family medicine graduates practising in rural Canada are promising but more can be done. There should be commitment and social accountability by all stakeholders to look for ways to enhance the education of family physicians in their competence to practise in rural communities.

An opportunity presents itself to create a vision with a plan that brings together educators and health human resources (HHR) planners to build a systematic approach to advancing rural medical education that is properly supported. This background paper provides the basis for the physician leadership from the CFPC and the SRPC to co- create a process to develop this shared vision and plan, in collaboration with medical schools, governments, planners, learners, and the rural communities, and to provide solutions to advancing family physician rural education.”

To read the full report click on the following link:

Review of Rural and Remote Medicine in Canada

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