Newfoundland struggling to recruit oncologists despite big signing bonus – CTV
March 21, 2024
Despite a brand new hospital and a hefty signing bonus, health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador still haven’t recruited the oncologists they need for an expanded cancer care program on the province’s west coast.
After a search that’s lasted close to a year, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services has now hired recruitment firms to help staff a new cancer care centre at the new Western Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook.
The hospital is expected to open in July. Some cancer services will move, but Terri Stuckless, the clinical chief of the province’s cancer care program, said the new radiotherapy machines cannot be turned on as the required staff haven’t been put in place.
Radiation oncologists who choose to work at the hospital could make up to $500,000 in their first year of work, thanks to signing bonuses that could double the regular salary of roughly $270,000 for some eligible doctors.
