Fredericton creates strategy to recruit more family doctors

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The City of Fredericton is supporting provincial efforts to attract more doctors with a welcome strategy that targets family medicine residents and medical students. The welcome strategy highlights the city’s close community and quality of life through information and activities.

The city’s goal is to support Horizon Health Network and the Department of Health hire and retain more professionals in Fredericton.

The initiative first began in 2021, but recently videos highlighting the benefits of living and working in the Fredericton region have been an added element.

“What new graduates want, and we’ve learnt from them, is what we are offering is collaborative practices,” said Health Minister John Dornan. “Where you can work with other new graduates, senior graduates, mid-career graduates, as well as other care providers, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physiotherapists.”

Nearly four in 10 New Brunswickers currently living in the province’s Health Zone 3, don’t have access to primary care.

“The City of Fredericton resides in Health Zone 3, where only 63.5% of provincial population reported having access to a primary health care provider in 2024 according to the New Brunswick Health Council. The provincial average is 77.2 per cent,” a news release from the city said.

In addition to provincial partners, the city is working with:

• The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce
• Ignite (an economic development agency)
• New Brunswick Medical Society Education Foundation
• Capital Region Service Commission

“As municipal leaders, we hear firsthand how the lack of access to primary care is impacting our residents and our local economy,” Mayor Kate Rogers said. “Becoming engaged on the physician attraction file through promoting all our city has to offer is one way to support provincial partners as they work to recruit more healthcare professionals to the Fredericton region.”

Fredericton city council contributed $10,000 earlier this year to the New Brunswick Medical Education Foundation to support scholarships for two family medicine residents who commit to working in Fredericton.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Avery MacRae

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