**** NS GOVERNMENT Media Release

Efforts Continue to Recruit More Doctors

A recruitment team is heading back to the United Kingdom (U.K.) this week to try to attract more doctors to live and work in Nova Scotia.

Staff from the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) and College of Physicians and Surgeons, will spend five days meeting one-on-one with doctors in London, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester prior to the British Medical Journal Careers Fair in London Oct. 4 and 5.

“Doctors in the U.K. are starting to hear about the opportunities in Nova Scotia from friends and colleagues who have already moved here,” said Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab. “Since the physician immigration pathway started, we have approved 44 doctors to come live and work in Nova Scotia.”

Nova Scotia representatives will discuss employment and immigration options with doctors and promote the province’s two immigration pathways, the provincial Physician Immigration Stream and a new Labour Market Priorities Stream for Physicians. The new stream is a faster path for permanent residency through the federal Express Entry System. It was created in response to feedback from doctors who have settled in Nova Scotia this past year.

Quotes:
“Our collaboration with the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration and the College of Physicians and Surgeons has increased our success in this market. We show up with a contingent of people to meet with interested candidates and answer their questions. This helps move them further through the process and it has been shown to be effective.”
– Katrina Philopoulos, director of recruitment, Nova Scotia Health Authority

“There is great interest in the U.K. right now for doctors looking to come to work in our health system. Nova Scotia has great lifestyle advantages, as well as a workplace environment that is significantly more rewarding both professionally and financially. I look forward to the opportunity to share my experience.”
– Dr. Simon Bonnington, family doctor in Annapolis Royal

Quick Facts:
— statistics from NSHA show 31 doctors are currently living and working across the four health zones, with another 13 preparing to do so
— representatives on the mission are Karma Chickoski, NSHA physician recruitment consultant, Western Zone; Dr. Simon Bonnington, family physician, Annapolis Royal; Dr. Cathy Connell, family physician, Halifax; Kim Jardine, director of international attraction and stakeholder engagement, Nova Scotia Office of Immigration and Emma Doucette, registration coordinator, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
— this is the third year Nova Scotia has participated in the British Medical Journal Jobs Fair