KITCHENER -- An annual recruitment initiative to sell doctors on coming to Waterloo region has been facing some unique challenges due to the pandemic.
The tour was put on by the greater KW chamber of commerce Saturday, but is usually done in person as a meet and greet as well.
“Given the pandemic, this is the right thing for us to do, and i think it's working out quite well,” said Ian Mclean, president and CEO of the chamber.
The platform was used to showcase videos, various organizations, and hopefully sell hopeful recruits and their families on what waterloo region has to offer.
Videos provided tours of the boardwalk medical building, different neighbourhoods, and messages from previous recruits and community leaders.
Mclean adds that, if people want, they’re able to set up one-on-one meetings throughout the year to explore.
“We know they're making a choice to where they're not only work but raise their family, and so we showcase the region as a whole,” he said.
The greater KW chamber of commerce says the annual recruiting program has been a success because of its focus on community.
They have recruited over 250 doctors in 22 years and cut down the number of people without a family doctor from 40,000 in 1998 to 15,000 in 2020.
“We've managed to attract a lot of physicians, a lot of recent graduates in the last five years,”said family physician Dr. John Sehl. “It would have been nice to meet some of the aspiring physicians, because we really enjoy that interaction.”
