New Doctors Nova Scotia president ‘excited and encouraged’ by physician recruitment

Amanda MacDonald-Green, the new president of Doctors Nova Scotia, talks about her priorities.

Nova Scotia saw a net gain of 199 new physicians in the calendar year ending on March 31, according to the province.

This includes 33 hires coming from the United States.

Dr. Amanda MacDonald Green, the new president of Doctors Nova Scotia (DNS), says the numbers are a great sign.

“We’re really excited and encouraged by the amount of recruitment that’s been able to happen in this province,” she told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis.

She credits the incoming numbers with more competitive compensation and efforts from the government.

“Also, people wanting to live and work here, it’s a beautiful place,” she adds. “So, I think there’s a lot of reason for optimism.”

MacDonald Green is a family physician in Windsor, N.S., and was inducted as president of DNS on June 8.

She says she’s looking forward to being a champion for improved work system integration during her term as president.

Optimizing workflows, contract negotiations in the fall and the ongoing rollout of a new digital health records system are all on her radar.

“Looking forward to supporting my colleagues as we navigate this together,” she says. “We had a really great and constructive negotiation last time around.”

MacDonald Green says back then, all partners came together to discuss things like compensation and highlight some areas they could tweak or pay attention to.

“We do have an aging physician workforce,” she says, pointing to a report from the Canadian Medical Association last year highlighting unprecedented numbers of physician burnout.

“So, 46 per cent, with 30 per cent indicating it negatively impacted their mental health. So, these things are really important,” says MacDonald Green.

She’s also keeping an eye on the ongoing rollout of One Person One Record, the province’s new digital health record system.

She says so far it’s going “better than expected.”

“I think with anything new, there’s always going to be kinks to be worked out in different areas,” she says. “Overall, it’s been much more positive than we had anticipated.”

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page