Physician retention and recruitment outside urban British Columbia (Thommasen 2000)
BC Medical Journal, vol. 42 , No. 6 , July August 2000
ABSTRACT: A cohort of 1979 family physicians and general practitioners from 78 communities was identified from 21 College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia medical directories—1978–79 to 1998–99.
Except for the past 3 years, in communities with less than 7000 people, there has been a more or less steady overall increase in total number of physician listings since 1979 in all community groups.
The lowest population communities have the lowest year-to-year retention rates and the highest recruitment rates.
Typical retention rates for communities of fewer than 7000 people are between 70% and 80%.
Typical retention rates for communities with 7000 or more people are between 85% to 90%.
Typical recruitment rates for communities of fewer than 7000 people are between 20% and 30%, and can be as high as 38%.
Recruitment rates for communities of 7000 or more are typically between 10% and 15%.
