Health Human Resources Strategy Continues Promoting Opportunities For Nursing In Saskatchewan

Released on June 1, 2023

Progress continues on the four pillars of Saskatchewan's Health Human Resources (HHR) Action Plan to recruit, train, incentivize and retain more healthcare professionals including nurses. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) continues to actively connect with provincial nursing students and recent graduates to promote employment opportunities.

More than 82 per cent of Saskatchewan’s 400 spring nursing graduates have expressed interest and been contacted by the SHA to match them with potential job opportunities. Nurse graduates can submit an Expression of Interest and be matched with an area based on their skills and preference.

“It’s encouraging to see such a high level of interest expressed by our Saskatchewan nursing graduates with over 330 candidates seeking opportunities right here in the province,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said. “Our government is focused on retaining graduates coming out of our post-secondary system and providing opportunities to begin building their successful careers here in Saskatchewan.”

Since December 2022, the SHA has hired 338 grad nurses from the province and across Canada.

Applications for the spring 2023 Ministry of Health's Final Clinical Placement Bursary are now open to students in an eligible health discipline who have started or will start their final health clinical placement between April 1 and September 30, 2023. Those interested can visit the Final Clinical Placement Bursary webpage for information on eligibility criteria and application process. The application deadline is September 30, 2023.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency (SHRA), Erin Brady took on her new role on May 23, 2023. Work is underway to identify resources required to fulfill the Agency’s roles and responsibilities and develop a full team. The SHRA will be responsible for recruiting doctors, nurses and other priority health care professionals from within Saskatchewan, across North America and overseas.

Saskatchewan recently announced development of a second phase of improvements to the pathway for Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) to further accelerate timeframes and offer more options and supports for overseas nurses. The provincial government will continue working closely with partners, regulators and post-secondary institutions as this major initiative is implemented.

“We continue to lead the nation as one of the fastest, most supportive places for internationally educated nurses and other health professionals to become licensed and join our health care system,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Everett Hindley said. “Saskatchewan is balancing this approach by reaching out to provincial students and highlighting health care fields and programs for students coming out of our high schools, and also attracting and offering incentives to our post-secondary graduates trained at home.”

Additional progress is being made on each of the four pillars of Saskatchewan’s HHR Action Plan to recruit, train, incentivize and retain more health care workers.

RECRUIT

Recruitment of health care professionals from the Philippines

• Nineteen Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) and two Medical Laboratory Assistants (MLAs) from the Philippines have arrived and are working in various locations in the province.
• More than one third of the nearly 400 Registered Nurses (RNs) from the Philippines with conditional job offers are moving through the RN Pathway, which includes language assessment and training, bridging education and licensing.
• Health Recruitment Navigators are available to provide tailored assistance to IENs and other potential international candidates, support them through the necessary steps to obtain licensure, and connect them with career opportunities.

Physician Recruitment

• Seventy-two family physicians and 106 specialists recruited to Saskatchewan from outside the province for a total of 178 physicians in the last 20 months. This includes 27 physicians recruited from outside the country.

Physician Recruitment - Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program

• Following the recent expansion of SIPPA to 45 seats, there are 16 candidates from the March 2023 cohort who are nearing completion of the assessment and are expected to enter practice by July 2023. There are an additional 15 candidates from the June 2023 cohort currently undertaking the assessment and targeted to enter practice by October 2023. They will be joining the 272 internationally-trained family physicians working in the province as a result of the SIPPA program, 77 per cent of them in rural communities.

TRAIN

Training Pathways for High School Students

• Job Shadow opportunities are available for high school students (Grade 12) or adults considering a career in health care. The SHA has hosted 70 job opportunities since September 2022.
• A career fair held by the SHA in La Ronge in early May for high school students and other community members had over 300 attendees from both La Ronge and surrounding First Nations communities.

INCENTIVIZE

Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive

• Porcupine Plain has been added to the list of locations eligible for the Saskatchewan Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive of up to $50,000, bringing the total to 53 communities.
• Since launching last fall, the program has seen success with a total of 121 incentive packages approved for newly hired health care workers in a variety of professions and locations across the province.
• This incentive is available to new employees in nine high priority classifications in the 53 rural and remote areas, in exchange for a three-year return-of-service. For a complete listing of eligibility criteria and eligible locations, visit saskatchewan.ca/HHR.

RETAIN

Rural Physician Incentive Program

• The enhanced Rural Physician Incentive Program of up to $200,000 over five years launched in April 2023 offered to family physicians practising, or returning to practise, in rural Saskatchewan has had a strong response. Applications continue to come in and are being evaluated as they are received. Of the 112 applications received so far, 96 have been determined eligible.

New Full-Time and Enhanced Part-Time to Full-Time Permanent Positions

• Progress continues toward the target of recruiting 250 new and enhanced permanent full-time positions to stabilize staffing in rural and remote areas, with nearly 125 positions now filled.

Details on health care opportunities, how to access them and more information on the province’s HHR Action Plan are available at saskatchewan.ca/HHR.

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For more information, contact:

Media Relations
Saskatchewan Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: media@health.gov.sk.ca