The Alberta government has slashed the number of residency spots available to foreign-trained doctors, despite the fact there's a shortage of family physicians in the province.

The number has gone from 70 positions last year to 40 this year.

Stephen Duckett, CEO of Alberta Health Services, speaking with reporters in August. (CBC)The CEO of Alberta Health Services, Stephen Duckett, confirmed Thursday there are not enough family physicians in the province to meet the need.

"Probably the answer today is yes. ... When I moved to Edmonton, you know, I was looking for a family physician and they didn't jump out at me as accepting patients," Duckett said.

There are more than 600 internationally trained doctors in Alberta right now, and somewhere between 150 and 300 of them have passed all their exams and are waiting for a residency spot.

Dr. Shahnaz Sadiq is a foreign-trained doctor from Pakistan who has had to wait to practise medicine here.

"I have been interviewed and been shortlisted, so I have been that far. But unfortunately, I did not get in," she said.

"I am not one of those people who will ever give up, I look forward to getting into a residency position. My specialty is family medicine and that's where my primary interest is, so it will be two years when I get my residency and then I will be fully licensed."

Reasons for shortage

There are a number of reasons given for the shortage of family doctors. Some doctors have complained about the fee for services structure in the province that sees doctors with a specialty earning five times as much a year as a general practioner.

As well, some young doctors aren't willing to work the long hours forced on physicians in the past.

"People want to know their families, and to know their spouses and children, and to enjoy life and not to get their only satisfaction out of life by being a good doctor," said Kevin Wasko, a second-year medical student at the University of Calgary.

In recent years, the Alberta government has taken steps to deal with the doctor shortage by increasing the number of spots in medical schools in Edmonton and Calgary.

Liberal Leader David Swann has suggested the provincial government pay for the medical school tuition of doctors who agree to practise family medicine in rural Alberta.