Since 2008, the Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan (RPAP) has hosted an annual Rural Alberta Community Physician Attraction and Retention conference. These conferences have been an opportunity for representatives of rural community physician attraction and retention committees, and interested community members from around Alberta, to come together to share experiences, learn about new initiatives, and discuss best practices related to attracting and retaining physicians.
A renewed RPAP, now known as Rural Health Professions Action Plan or RhPAP, is evolving to meet the changing needs of a multidisciplinary approach. While we will continue to work with communities to support physician attraction and retention, we have a new mandate that includes support for communities to attract and retain other key health care professionals. This expanded mandate is reflected in the name and program for the 2018 conference.
Our last conference in 2016 was attended by 65 community representatives from across rural Alberta. “Behind the Scenes” provided an opportunity for participants to learn about issues impacting rural physician attraction and retention through presentations, break-out sessions, and shared success stories.
Building on the success and positive feedback from the 2016 event in Vermilion, RhPAP will again collaborate with a rural Alberta community to host the 2018 conference. Hosting our conference is an opportunity to showcase your community! Proposals are now being accepted from all interested rural Alberta communities.
Please submit proposals by Friday, September 29th, 2017 to Paul Childs, Director, Rural Health Professions Development at paul.childs@rhpap.ca If you require further information, Paul may be contacted at 587-525-6635. A final decision will be made by the week of October 10th.