Greater Sudbury may face some stiff competition if it wants to keep its medical school graduates from leaving town.
After learning small towns in southern Ontario were courting Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) students, council asked Catherine Matheson, the city's general manager of community development, to investigate.
Matheson will report her findings back to council in two weeks.
"What I hear is that cities from down south are coming up north and they're having contracts signed by students in first year, they don't even wait until third or fourth year," said Ward 3 Councillor Claude Berthiaume, who raised the issue Wednesday at a city council meeting.
Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez said unless something is done to counter recruitment from southern Ontario, the advantage of having a medical school in Greater Sudbury will erode.
"I knew eventually this was going to happen but I didn't realize they were going to be so quick on the draw," he said.
Rodriguez told the media he spoke to the parent of a NOSM student who has already signed a contract to leave town after graduation.
"I was surprised when the parent told me that his son was approached and has signed a contract for $150,000, which will cover the cost for his years of schooling here.
Gerry Lougheed Jr., who co-chaired the medical school's bursary fundraising efforts, said $6.8 million was donated to the fund, an amount matched by the province.
Lougheed said the employment contracts being offered to students is not a bursary but rather a contract to work after graduation, meaning students wouldn't receive money from the contract until they hit the workforce.
Because the demand for physicians exists beyond Northern Ontario, Lougheed said he isn't surprised to see student recruitment but he's still optimistic that some NOSM graduates will want to stay in the north. He said we should also be looking to recruit doctors from beyond our borders.
The mayor said he is scheduled to meet with Dr. Roger Strasser, the dean of the NOSM, next week and will ask him about recruitment from outside the city.
"We'll find out how extensive it is," Rodriguez said. "Council will have to then decide what action they want to take."
