Perspective on Health Care

Covid-19 Presents Challenges & Opportunity for Physician Recruitment

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect all sectors of business, including healthcare. The need for primary care has never been more important than now.

Traditional recruitment efforts have been a challenge during this time, but it has also proved to be a time of opportunity. Though the pandemic has in many ways changed how we currently connect with physicians, it has also forced us to adapt to this new, changing environment.

Our Annual Family Medicine Resident Event – a weekend long event previously held in person - became our first virtual online event, hosted on Hopin. This platform permitted us to engage the prospective residents in a manner that was both informative and interactive. It also allowed us to expand our reach to include a wider pool of candidates with attendees participating from across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The virtual program was a success. We attracted several of these physicians, some of whom are already in the process of relocating to Kitchener-Waterloo.

An unexpected but welcome effect of the pandemic is that physicians with ties to our community are relocating to Waterloo Region to be closer to family and friends. The Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce thanks our front-line workers as they continue to provide healthcare and work tirelessly to protect us in these trying and unprecedented times.

The Future is Bright

Many factors contribute to our success in attracting new physicians. We are an exceptional community offering numerous urban and rural lifestyle amenities that appeal to both physicians and their families. They are attracted by such diverse features as the Farmer’s Markets, recreational facilities, multiculturalism, universities, colleges, varied dining options and research facilities. We are also home to the Waterloo Regional Campus of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and the Kitchener-Waterloo Family Medicine Residency Program allowing us to grow our own primary health care professionals.

While we take great pleasure in celebrating our progress, we realize that our physician recruitment efforts are far from over. Kitchener-Waterloo will continue to be challenged with rapid population growth, a growing number of practitioners at retirement age and younger physicians who roster smaller practices as they look for work-life balance.

The Chamber Physician Recruitment Program efforts and initiatives are only made possible by the generous support and investment of our sponsors who are recognized on page 9. Thank you for your leadership and contribution to this critical program.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jenna Petker

Jenna is Physician Recruitment Lead for the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce.