Merritt’s trouble finding doctors to move and practise here is not unique.

Canada’s “doctor shortage” is a phrase so often tossed around it’s practically a truism.

Certainly, for the 4.6 million Canadians without a family physician (as reported by Stats Canada in 2013), it must seem true that there just aren’t enough doctors in Canada.

Some of those millions perhaps don’t worry about not having a regular doctor because they can access primary medical care through a nurse practitioner, emergency room or walk-in clinic.

However, there are more than 70,000 licensed doctors in Canada — it’s where they’re practising that could change in order to better serve Canadians.

Maybe it’s not more doctors we need, but more access to them.

Logan Lake has been working on a recruitment campaign since its only regular doctor departed a year ago last Saturday.

Merritt and Logan Lake are not exactly remote communities. As you move further north, it becomes a tougher sell to physicians looking to set up shop in B.C.

In Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba established a one-year licensing program for foreign-trained doctors at the request of that province’s government. The students spend a year learning about Canada’s health-care system and upgrading their skills. As part of the International Medical Graduate Program, they commit to four years of working in rural Manitoba.

Since the program started up in 2002, it has seen 350 doctors complete their licensing and go on to work as physicians as far north as Gillam, Man., a town of 1,200 near Hudson Bay, and some go further south from the city to serve farming communities.

Graduates come from all over the world.

The B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons offers a licensing program for graduates from other, recognized schools around the world.

International graduates looking to work in B.C. can register with the college in order to prove their qualifications, and they typically require passing the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Exam prior to arrival in the country.

They also require proficiency in English in order to register with the college.

The college is in charge of licensing international doctors to work in B.C., but recruiting doctors is as much a lifestyle pitch as it is about training and qualifications.

B.C. has several bargaining chips in its hand: readily available outdoor recreation; stunning, diverse scenery; perhaps more affordable land than elsewhere in the world; short commutes in smaller communities; a high standard of living.

But it’s a lengthy, involved process to get a doctor over here, and finding that commitment is only one thing recruiters are up against. They also have to contend with intangible things such as culture shock and the risk of leaving behind the comfort and safety of the known for the unknown.

Health Match BC is a government-funded professional recruitment service aimed at connecting doctors with places in B.C. they might like to work while helping them navigate the bureaucracy involved in an international move.

When it comes to selling a lifestyle to a potential new physician, the luck of connecting with the right person at the right time is crucial. And that’s one thing that just can’t be predicted.