The Physician Assistant (PA) role was first introduced by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) in 2006 as part of a provincial Health Human Resources Strategy to ensure the right number and skills mix of providers within the Ontario healthcare system. In 2010, the MOHLTC launched the New Graduate grant initiative to support hospital sites in the employment of the first graduating class of McMaster University’s PA Education Program.
Following the success of the 2010 initiative, the MOHLTC launched the 2011 New Graduate Initiative in August 2011. The 2011 initiative will help support the employment of an additional 41 PA graduates from the McMaster as well as the University of Toronto programs.
As approximately 60-80 opportunities were to be approved for funding, a competitive site selection process was established that gave priority to employers in areas with the highest clinical and geographical needs. Applications were also ranked and approved based on demonstrated need for the assistance of a PA graduate, as well as on their proposed role and demonstrated readiness to employ a PA.
In order to help increase the success in recruiting PAs to work in underserviced areas, and based on feedback from the Ontario Hospital Association’s Small, Rural and Northern Provincial Leadership Council, the MOHLTC provided a one-time support of $10,000 to PA graduates that accepted employment at a site with a Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO) Score of 40 or higher, or at a Northern Urban Referral Centre (Timmins, North Bay, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie). This payment to the PA is in addition to their negotiated salary.
The clinical areas that were targeted for the 2011 initiative included: Emergency Medicine, Primary Care (Community Health Centres, Aboriginal Health Access Centres and Family Health Teams), General Internal Medicine, Complex Continuing Care, and Orthopaedics. Consideration was also given to a limited number of employers in other clinical settings.
The 2011 initiative generated great interest as 170 applications were submitted from sites across the province. A total of 72 sites were ultimately approved to receive funding including 35 sites that have a RIO score of 40 or greater.
For more information about the 2011 New Grad Initiative, please contact Andrea Rennie, HealthForceOntario’s PA Marketing and Recruitment Advisor at a.rennie@healthforceontario.ca or 416-945-3686.