Michael Joel-Hansen, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Dr. Brian Stout was looking for a change after 10 years of practicing pediatric emergency medicine in Florida, when an online advertisement caught his eye.
The Buffalo-born physician says the ad from the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency (SHRA) — on an online networking site frequented by doctors — helped put the wheels in motion for him to leave the Sunshine State and come to the Land Of Living Skies.
“I had a video interview with the medical director and things progressed, one after another. We decided this was a good place to raise a family, and here we are,” he said during a Tuesday event at the SHRA’s office in Saskatoon.
Stout is one of 7,500 health care professionals who have come to Saskatchewan since the government launched its Health Human Resource Action Plan in 2022.
Terri Strunk, the recruitment agency’s CEO, said the organization functions like an “executive sourcing/search firm.”
She said SHRA works closely with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to identify areas of need, and then works to recruit needed professionals by posting ads on platforms where those professionals are known to visit. She said those who are interested are invited to fill out a profile on the SHRA’s website.
“From there, our team notices them and begins working with them,” said Strunk.
Strunk said her agency will check credentials and other relevant background before connecting health-care professionals with the SHA, which decides on whether to make a job offer. In the case of Dr. Stout, who started practising in Saskatchewan this past June, the process took about one year.
Stout said the process of getting his credentials recognized in Saskatchewan was relatively “streamlined.” He added the immigration process, specifically applying for a temporary workers permit, was also not too difficult.
“The hardest part was getting the actual work permit and getting timing crossing the border and all that, but not insurmountable,” he said.
While the practice of medicine is similar between Saskatchewan and Florida, Stout said he has noticed some differences between the two jurisdictions in terms of pediatric emergency medicine.
“The level of addiction I am seeing here seems to be much, much different,” he said.
Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill said over 700 doctors have been recruited from outside the province since 2022. When asked if the government monitors retention numbers for recruited health care workers, Cockrill said the main focus is on recruitment. He added the government closely monitors licensing numbers and said those are positive.
“Per capita we have the highest nursing complement in the country, in terms of the nursing staff that’s available to serve Saskatchewan patients,” he said.
When asked about an announcement that CUPE Local 5430, which represents thousands of health care support workers across the province, is planning to hold a strike vote in the fall, Cockrill said a potential disruption is a “great concern.”
In a media release, the union said low wages are making it “increasingly difficult” to recruit new workers. The union added without “significant” improvements the province risks “accelerating” an already serious recruitment and retention crisis.
“No one wants job action. But people also cannot continue carrying a system that refuses to value their work,” said CUPE Local 5430 President Bashir Jalloh.
Cockrill said he is “confident” the government will be able to come to agreements with all health care unions at the bargaining table.
He acknowledged that CUPE workers being without a contract for a lengthy period is an issue, but reiterated his confidence the two sides would come to an agreement.
“It’s too long without a contract, and we need to get an agreement,” he said.
