Two Maritime universities consider adding med schools to help with doctor shortages

A pair of universities in the Maritimes may have the solution to the region's lack of physicians.

Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S., could soon be leading the way when it comes to producing doctors to work on the island, with the idea of a medical school on campus gaining momentum.

"Dalhousie turns away a significant number of well-qualified students every year. Applicants far outweigh the number of spots available," said Dr. Margaret Fraser, a Sydney physician.

Currently, there are more than 110,000 Nova Scotians seeking a family doctor.

CBU says the initiative to "grow our own" physicians will enhance recruitment and retention in Cape Breton and rural Nova Scotia.

In addition to graduating new doctors, the campus would also provide a location for a collaborative medical clinic that could provide comprehensive and inclusive medical services for as many as 10,000 patients.

"There needs to be more seats for qualified candidates and I think it makes perfect sense some of those seats should be here in Cape Breton," said Fraser. "If you want people to work in Cape Breton, train them here. Let them see what it's like to work here and become familiar with the medical system."

The university has launched a new website and is collecting signatures to support the project.

On Wednesday, Nova Scotia's health minister said the province is open to having a second medical school.

"I think it's going to take collaboration, it's going to take investment, and it's going to take a vision and we need to work out all of the details around it because historically, a med school has only been in one place," said Health Minister Michelle Thompson.

Fraser says the medical community on Cape Breton is in favour of the idea and hopes it will soon become a reality.

"I think there's enough will behind this right now. Dalhousie did a partnership with the University of New Brunswick a few years ago and started a medical school there and I think a similar process is going on currently," she said.

Fraser says the hope is to have the Cape Breton medical school up and running in the next two to three years.

A special meeting was also planned in Charlottetown Wednesday evening for approval on the construction of a new medical school under the direction of the University of Prince Edward Island.