NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Memorial University Faculty of Medicine Expanding Seats for Newfoundland and Labrador Students

Memorial University's Faculty of Medicine is expanding seats for Newfoundland and Labrador students as the undergraduate medical education program will increase to 85 seats from 80 seats in September 2024.

This comes as a result of significant financial investments from the Provincial Government, with Budget 2024 committing $2 million to increase the number of Faculty of Medicine seats at Memorial University for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

This expansion will allow more Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to receive their medical education in the province and stay to work in the here following completion of their training. This is essential to the sustainability of health care in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A second expansion of another five seats is planned for September 2025.

Currently, the 80 seats in the Faculty of Medicine's four-year undergraduate medical education program consists of 69 seats for residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, with the remaining 11 seats allocated for learners from other parts of Canada.

This expansion complements other recruitment and retention initiatives led by the Provincial Government to increase the number of health care professionals in the province, which has resulted in more than 520 nurses and more than 110 physicians who have committed to work in the province since April 2023.

In addition to expansion of seats for nursing students in recent years, in June 2024, the Provincial Government announced tuition relief for Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Practical Nursing students in select campuses who begin their studies in September 2024 in effort to attract more students to the nursing profession.

More information for health care professionals interested in learning about the opportunities and incentives to work in Newfoundland and Labrador is available at WorkInHealthNL.ca.

Quotes

"We know that health care professionals who are educated here are more likely to stay and work in Newfoundland and Labrador following graduation. Expanding seats at the Faculty of Medicine and our previous work to expand additional nursing seats is helping to improve access to health care throughout the province."

Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services

"Memorial's Faculty of Medicine strives to meet the evolving health care needs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. This includes supporting recruitment and retention of physicians to rural and underserved populations. These additional seats for our Doctor of Medicine program will provide more opportunities for students from Newfoundland and Labrador to study medicine in their home province."

Dr. Dolores McKeen, Interim Dean of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University