The province is expanding the number of seats available to local medical residents starting in September of 2023.

The announcement was made this morning at MUN’s School of Medicine as part of ongoing efforts to recruit more doctors.

Five additional spaces will be added to the program for eligible Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, bringing the total number of seats to 65.

The province is banking on studies that show that students who study and complete their medical education in their home province have a higher rate of staying at home to practice medicine.

Government is grappling with an ever-dwindling number of family physicians and other medical professionals leaving hundreds of thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians without access to a family physician.

Dean of Medicine, Dr. Margaret Steele says the number of physicians studying here who stay in the province is high.

She says between 65 and 70 per cent of graduates end up staying here, which is relatively high compared to other schools.