Funding for Recruitment, Retention of Diverse Healthcare Professionals
Nova Scotia needs a diverse healthcare workforce to make healthcare supportive and equitable for everyone. Four groups working to recruit diverse healthcare providers from within their communities are getting help from the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment.
“When we have a more diverse healthcare workforce, we will better serve our growing population here in Nova Scotia,” said Michelle Thompson, Minister responsible for the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment. “We’re grateful to these groups for helping to attract more healthcare workers who reflect the various lived experiences of Nova Scotians.”
The Health Association of African Canadians will identify barriers to attracting and retaining healthcare providers, particularly in rural African Nova Scotia communities, and work to encourage high school students to consider a career in healthcare.
The Nova Scotia Internationally Educated Nurses Network will help internationally trained nurses overcome licensing challenges and integrate into the Nova Scotia workforce. The group will launch a website with resources including a secure web portal for mentorship and education.
The North End Community Health Centre provides primary healthcare for residents of Halifax’s north end, with a satellite office in Dartmouth. It will initiate healthcare recruitment visits, welcome and appreciation events, a new recruitment video, and visits to junior highs and high schools across Halifax to foster an interest in healthcare among youth.
Members of the Association of Nigerians in Nova Scotia will use their experience and community networks to help recruit Nigerian healthcare providers to the province and encourage Nigerians living in Nova Scotia to become healthcare workers.
The funding is from the government’s new Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment Community Fund. A total of 28 groups across Nova Scotia applied by the December 19 deadline, and more successful applicants will be notified in the coming weeks.
The fund, worth $2 million in total, is among the recruitment and retention initiatives outlined in Action for Health, the Province’s plan to improve healthcare.
Quotes:
“This project could help with the need for more health practitioners in rural Nova Scotia, identify cultural and social barriers for health practitioners’ retention and attraction, identify gaps in the recruitment process and help establish a much more positive relationship between the African Nova Scotian community and the Nova Scotia healthcare system. Once the research is compiled, an overall strategy will be created in collaboration with our strategic partners to address the healthcare needs of the African Nova Scotian Community.”
– Rhonda Atwell, Co-President, Health Association of African Canadians
“Receiving this funding will provide us with the resources needed to examine the professional integration experiences of internationally educated nurses in Nova Scotia and develop a resource hub in collaboration with our provincial partners. We are grateful to the Nova Scotia government’s Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment for providing us with this funding to expand our reach in supporting internationally educated nurses in Nova Scotia.”
– Damilola Iduye, President, Nova Scotia Internationally Educated Nurses Network, and senior instructor, Dalhousie University School of Nursing
“The North End Community Health Centre is very pleased to be receiving this grant. It is a real acknowledgement of the role we play in supporting the primary care needs of those most in need. These funds will allow us to recruit and retain the healthcare professionals required to care for our community as well as support the staff we already have.”
– Marie-France LeBlanc, President and CEO, North End Community Health Centre
“The Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment Community Fund offers us an opportunity to be part of solving one of the biggest challenges facing our province – healthcare. This fund provides us with the platform to do two things: to understand the barriers that exist and affect the recruitment and retention of immigrant doctors and to develop a detailed solution and a marketing tool to attract and retain healthcare professionals in Nova Scotia. We have our sleeves up and are ready to get this work going for the betterment of all Nova Scotians.”
– Adegoke Fadare, President, Association of Nigerians in Nova Scotia
Quick Facts:
- the Health Association of African Canadians will receive $75,000; Nova Scotian Internationally Educated Nurses Network will receive $25,000; North End Community Health Centre will receive $75,000; and Association of Nigerians in Nova Scotia will receive $50,000
- organizations across the province could apply for up to $100,000 from the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment Community Fund
- to be eligible, community organizations had to be a registered society, association, non-profit or charity; municipalities and chambers of commerce were also eligible
- two funding streams were available: community identified projects and community readiness supports; groups could request funding from one or both
Additional Resources:
Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment Community Fund: https://beta.novascotia.ca/apply-funding-recruit-and-retain-healthcare-professionals-ohpr-community-fund
Action for Health: https://novascotia.ca/actionforhealth/
Mandate letter of the Minister of Health and Wellness and Minister responsible for the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment: https://novascotia.ca/exec_council/letters-2021/ministerial-mandate-letter-2021-DHW.pdf