The NLMA says greater measures must be taken to retain more graduates from MUN’s Medical School—especially in light of recent reductions in the province’s immigration quotas.

President Dr. Steve Major says in recent years the province has leaned heavily on international recruitment to fill physician and nursing vacancies, when greater attention should have been paid to keeping med and nursing school graduates here.

Major says government needs to redirect it’s efforts now that immigration numbers have been cut.

He says MUN’s Medical School is a great facility that graduates enough people every year “to provide the manpower we need to operate the health care system. And that goes for nurses as well.” The problem says Major, is that we’re not retaining the people who are graduating. If more graduates stayed and practiced here, “we’d be in a much better position that we are right now.”