Past Y4 FLEX Projects

This literature review examines the structure and effectiveness of return of service (ROS) contracts in postgraduate medical education across multiple low-resource contexts. The study explores how different countries have successfully implemented ROS programs to recruit and retain physicians, emphasizing the role of incentives in ensuring program success. These incentives include financial benefits, educational opportunities, and bundled non-financial perks that make service commitments more attractive.

Ultimately, this review underscores the need for a structured and equitable approach to ROS programs in Canada. By broadening participation among all physicians, including CMGs, and ensuring sustainable incentive models, the healthcare system can more effectively address physician distribution challenges and improve access to medical care in underserved communities. The review will be prepared to be submitted as a manuscript, and has also already been accepted to be presented at the 2025 SRPC conference!

Rural communities across Canada face increasing challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians. Although spousal factors have been previously reported as a top five determinant for physicians when considering to practice rurally, no previous studies have attempted to understand the pros and cons as a dual-physician couple in rural settings. As a young couple in our final year of medical school with plans to practice rurally, we are interested in the benefits and challenges faced by dual-physician couples in rural practice (“dual-physician couples”). For our FLEX project, we conducted a review to shed light on the experiences of dual-physician couples and promote policy and practice strategies that encourage other couples to consider rural recruitment. At the end of our block, we decided to submit our review as an abstract to the 2024 SRPC Conference, as well as submit a commentary for publication.

In collaboration with Kootenay Boundary Divisions of Family Practice and Interior Health, two community engagements in the region were held whereby which members of the Doukhobor public had open group discussions, brainstorming cultural needs they believed primary care providers should be aware of. Based on the content identified in these discussions, thematic objectives guided the development of a clear and concise curriculum for primary health care providers who interact with the Doukhobor culture. I completed a focused literature overview to describe the necessity for cultural competency in primary care. Using information garnered from traditional Doukhobor manuscripts, and guided by the aforementioned primary literature, I created a Doukhobor cultural competency curriculum with the focal audience being health care providers across the Kootenay Boundary region. I led an in-person community feedback/engagement session with members of the Doukhobor public. Completed project deliverables include (1) Focused literature overview, (2) Doukhobor Cultural Competence Curriculum in three forms: script, pamphlet, and PowerPoint presentation, (3) Direct community engagement with members of the Doukhobor public, and (4) Article that I authored to be published in local Doukhobor publication disseminating project outcomes/next steps.