Nurses from the Philippines Begin Working in Saskatchewan

Released on January 16, 2024

Progress is Being Made on Recruiting Additional Physicians

Twenty-one nurses recruited from the Philippines have completed their training in Saskatchewan and started working in communities across the province. More are expected to join the health care system in the coming months. 

"I am very pleased that a large number of the Filipino nurses have now arrived in the province and their transition to successfully joining Saskatchewan's workforce is well underway," Health Minister Everett Hindley said. "I look forward to these highly qualified nurses joining health care teams across the province and making a valuable contribution to patient care."

So far, 131 Filipino nurses have arrived in Saskatchewan. More than 400 internationally educated nurses from the Philippines received conditional offers of employment as registered nurses to work in Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has also had great success attracting domestic nursing graduates, with nearly 970 new graduates from the province and across Canada hired since December 2022.

Progress is also being made on recruiting additional physicians to meet the health care needs of Saskatchewan's growing population. Since September 2021, 259 physicians have been recruited to Saskatchewan, 39 physicians from outside the country. This includes 105 family physicians and 154 specialists. 

"Ensuring timely access to physicians for Saskatchewan residents remains a top priority for our government," Hindley said. "Saskatchewan offers highly competitive compensation and benefits for physicians as part of ongoing efforts to attract, train and retain family physicians and specialists, with a focus on addressing gaps and incentives and supports available to our physicians to help them succeed."   

The Government of Saskatchewan recently announced an additional $850,000 in funding to the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) to support 25 additional seats in the Mental Health and Wellness Diploma program in Saskatoon for a total of 175 seats to meet demand in this occupation.

The SHA recently signed a new partnership with Gabriel Dumont Institute that supports building a representative workforce. Nurturing Our Future Project will increase the number of Métis professionals working in the health care sector by providing access to education, training and job opportunities with particular consideration for employment in northern Saskatchewan.

Additional progress is being made on multiple initiatives of Saskatchewan's HHR Action Plan to recruit, train, incentivize and retain more health care workers.  

HHR Progress Update Highlights 

• The Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive of up to $50,000 offered to new employees in nine high-priority health occupations continues to see high success with 248 incentives approved to date. This incentive is available in 54 rural and remote communities across Saskatchewan.
• 209 positions have been filled of the 250 new and enhanced permanent full-time positions targeted in nine high-priority occupations to stabilize staffing in rural and remote areas of the province.
• The Final Clinical Placement Bursary continues to see interest with 181 applications received since April 2023. Applications are open for the fall call out through March 1, 2024. Those interested can visit the Final Clinical Placement Bursary webpage for information on eligibility criteria and application process. 
• To date, 212 potentially eligible applications have been received for the enhanced Rural Physician Incentive Program of up to $200,000 over five years offered to family physicians practicing or returning to practice in rural Saskatchewan. Nearly 80 have been approved. Applications continue to come in and are being evaluated as they are received. 
• Twelve Physician Assistant positions are available across the province. To date, eight positions have been posted. Current opportunities are available at HealthCareersInSask.ca.
• The SHA recently launched a mentorship program for employees that aims to support a meaningful employee experience through relationship building and interactive workshops, develop participant leadership capabilities and provide program participants with necessary guidance and support to excel in their roles. 

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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