The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance is putting a call out to recruit CK residents who are currently attending medical school out of town.
The hospital is looking to bring local students who are entering the resident phase of their education onto its team. As part of ongoing recruitment initiatives, Fannie Vavoulis, communications and lead physician recruiter, said they're hoping to establish relationships and training placements that might encourage med students to return to the community to set up their medical practices.
"We know there are local students, local people, who are off to med school anywhere in the world and we want the opportunity to find out who they are, where they're at and follow them in their process, let them know of the opportunities that exist at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance," she said.
Vavoulis said that in the past, they've seen that some of the best doctors are those who practice in their hometown.
"As we know it's been difficult to recruit physicians in the last couple of years," said Vavoulis. "Our best recruits are the ones that are from Chatham-Kent. They have family here, they have friends here, roots are already planted. They also know just how great our community is."
By the time the enter their residency, the students are licensed physicians who work closely with experienced physicians to gain hands-on experience in the field. Residences can last anywhere from two years to eight years depending on what kind of medicine they're are specializing in. Vavoulis said they work closely with the resident doctors during their training to help them grow to the best of their ability.
"They're likely being offered opportunities, whether research opportunities or specialty opportunities at different hospitals across the province or the country," she explained. "That's why, from our perspective, if we have a local medical student who wants to, for example, be a psychiatrist, we want to be on that journey with them so we can ensure that they are aware of all the opportunities in psychiatry at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance."
According to Vavoulis, once people go off to med school it's usually a 50/50 chance that they will return back to Chatham-Kent. However, she said there are many advantages of returning to the area including a lower cost of living and the prime geographical location of Chatham-Kent.
"What we've heard in the past, at least from the physicians that I've recruited, is the friendliness of our community and the safety in our community which is very key when you're moving yourself and your family. Those are so important as you build your new life," she said. "From a hospital perspective, we have a lot of services that we offer. We have a full complement of internal medicine, a very robust ER and a fantastic women's and children's floor. There are opportunities from a medical perspective that would be enticing."
For anyone who may be interested in learning more, Vavoulis asks that people reach her directly by emailing fvavoulis@ckha.on.ca.
