Bulletin of the World Health Organization

Effective physician retention strategies in Norway’s northernmost county

Karin Straume & Daniel MP Shaw

Volume 88, Number 5, May 2010, 390-394

Table 1. Primary care physician vacancies in two comparable rural Norwegian counties from 1997 to 2004, as reported by the county medical officers

Year	Finnmark					Sogn-and-Fjordane
	TP		VP^a			TP		VP^a
	No.		No.	%		No.		No.	%
1997	81		13	16.0		100		12	12.0
1998	81		14	17.3		99		18.5	18.7
1999	83		13	15.6		99		13.5	13.6
2000	83		16	19.3		99		13	13.1
2001	86		16	18.8		102		19	18.6
2002	86		8	9.3		104		17	16.3
2003	86		6	6.9		104		10	9.6
2004	86		7	8.1		104		13	12.5

TP, total positions for primary health physicians in the county; VP, vacant positions for primary health physicians in the county.

^a Vacancy figures are for the end of each year.