We need more family doctors. Nearly 1 in 5 folks in BC have no family doctor. But the province’s attempts to fill this gap aren’t working. Or at least they aren’t working yet.
Take the new contract offer, for example. The province offered two-year contracts to 175 freshly graduated medical students from the University of British Columbia. The “value deal” would be worth about $300,000 and include a $25,000 signing bonus and $130,000 toward student loans.
The catch? These new grads had to sign on as a family doctor in BC.
None of those 175 grads took the contract. Not a single one.
So why is extra cash not wooing students with piles of debt?
First of all, $25,000 doesn’t cover the overhead costs of actually running a medical clinic. Like, not even close.
New clinics need rent, supplies, utilities, licensing fees, staff, malpractice insurance, software for charting, and locum doctors to cover vacations. These all add