Grants to Support Employment of Graduating Physician Assistants
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is pleased to announce that applications for grants to support the employment of Ontario’s first physician assistant (PA) graduates are now available.
Grants between $46,000 to $92,000 will be provided to eligible employers that hire a graduate of the Physician Assistant Program at McMaster University from the class of 2010. Grants are to be used toward the cost of employing a new PA graduate for a period of two years, with a minimum salary of $75,000 per year plus benefits to be paid to the PA. The level of grant depends on the clinical and geographic location as detailed in the individual application forms.
Opportunities for new PA graduates will be focused in high priority areas for Ontarians. Working as part of the health care team, PAs will help reduce wait times and improve access to patient care in high need areas, specifically:
- Emergency Departments
- Community Health Centres
- Select Family Health Teams; and
- Internal Medicine positions in underserviced areas.
Employers interested in hiring a new PA graduate in a setting outside the above will be given consideration upon submission of a business case that includes a rationale for need. Successful business cases will be eligible for grant funding.
All interested employers can access recruitment support from the HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency and are invited to contact their respective association (see below) for information about the integration of PAs into their clinical setting.
For general information about physician assistants in Ontario, please visit the
HealthForceOntario website.
Additional information about hiring PA graduates, as well as application packages for grants, are being circulated through the partners listed below and will also be available on the HealthForceOntario website.
Sites can submit applications until August 31, 2010
. This will be a competitive and rolling process, with application reviews to begin July 28th, 2010. Applications from employers will be reviewed within ten working days. Once approved, the employment opportunity will be posted and employers may continue in the recruitment process.
Physician assistants are an evidence based provider used in countries around the world as part of interprofessional teams. Although PAs have worked in the Canadian military for several decades, they were introduced to the Ontario civilian health care system in 2007 through a joint initiative between the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care and the Ontario Medical Association. Over 65 PAs are currently employed in Ontario through a series of demonstration projects, and more than 60 PA students are currently being educated in two new post-secondary programs in Ontario.
The following partners in the Ontario Physician Assistant Initiative are available to support the needs of PA employers and may be helpful in addressing any questions you may have:
Resources