Nova Scotia saw its largest-ever medical residency class begin their training July 1.

A record 233 resident doctors began providing care to Nova Scotians last weekend.

As well as a record for Dalhousie University with 77 of the resident doctors being Dalhousie medical school graduates. 

The province announced in October 2022 that they would fund 10 more family medicine residency spots at Dalhousie University’s School of Medicine. In addition, 10 more spots were designated for Nova Scotians who studied medicine internationally. They must also complete a three-year return to service after their residency program. 

The family doctor waitlist in Nova Scotia is now at nearly 150,000 people.

“We do have 80 new family medicine doctors starting this year,” says Minister of Health and Wellness Michelle Thompson. 

Residency doctors have a high retention in Nova Scotia so Thompson says as they graduate and start practices, this will benefit Nova Scotians currently in need of a family doctor. 

“There’s a number of things we are doing across a number of domains that help us retain and recruit and really make a dynamic environment for people to practice,” Thompson says.

One example Thompson says is Dal family medicine, which is an optimization team that goes in to help existing practices increase their efficiency.

Premier Tim Houston announced in March that the province would be investing $58.9 million to Cape Breton University (CBU) to develop a new medical sciences building. This will house the medical school opening in 2025. CBU will train 30 doctors a year at their campus. 

The increase in residency seats is part of the government’s Action for Health Plan, designed to improve healthcare in Nova Scotia. 

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