The Government of Alberta will be investing $6 million over the next three years in order to attract family physicians into rural communities.

Applications open Feb. 1 for The Rural Education Supplement and Integrated Doctor Experience (RESIDE) program.

The program will provide $2 million to 20 new family physicians in each of the next three years. The physicians will practise in 15 identified rural or remote communities of need. Further communities will be identified in subsequent years.

Jason Copping, Minister of Health said, “It is a real solution that will get more doctors in rural areas starting this fall.”

“Getting enough physicians to rural areas of the province is an ongoing challenge, just as it is in other parts of the country, and COVID-19 certainly hasn't helped. But we are taking action to address this challenge on numerous fronts because we are committed to ensuring Albertans have equitable access to physicians no matter where they live,” said the Minister of Health.

“These actions are multifaceted and include things like investing $90 million this year into rural physician recruitment and retention, as well as having among the highest physician compensation in Canada,” said Copping.

“The program will provide financial benefits to new family physicians who practice in rural Alberta. In exchange, these new family physicians will provide three years of service in a designated rural community.”

Family physicians who choose to work in specific communities will be eligible for $60,000 for undergraduate tuition fee reimbursement, as well as a remote community incentive ranging from $20,000 to $40,000, depending on the community’s remoteness. In exchange, successful physicians will provide three years of service in a designated rural community.

The first group of physicians in the RESIDE program will start practising in rural communities in the fall. RESIDE eligibility is open to all family medicine resident physicians completing their residency training this year and those who are interested in practising in rural and remote parts of Alberta.

Fifteen communities have been identified for the first year of the program:

  • Fox Creek

  • Grande Cache

  • Fort Vermilion

  • Wabasca

  • High Level

  • Rimbey

  • Lloydminster

  • Milk River

  • Cold Lake

  • Lac La Biche

  • Rocky Mountain House

  • Fort Macleod

  • Barrhead

  • Ponoka

  • Athabasca