Info-Canada

The shortage of health care workers in Canada is forcing the government and related professional associations to revamp the system and blur what were once strict definitions of doctors and nurses.

According to figures from the Canadian Nurses Association, Canada is currently facing a shortage of 11,000 registered nurses. Barring a drastic change in trend, that figure is projected to climb to 22,000 in 2022 as 30 per cent of practicing RNs retire in the next ten years.

One of the solutions currently being investigated is the expansion of nursing duties into areas traditionally reserved for physicians only. New programs in nursing schools across the country are licensing nurses in prescription issuing, patient diagnostics and specialized referrals.

“We need to get ahead of the curve to fully utilize the knowledge and skills (health care workers) have in order to meet the new and emerging needs of our population,” said Jeanne Besner, who works with Alberta Health Services as director of Health Systems and Workforce Research Unit.

While offsetting the effects of doctor shortages, officials are hoping that the broadening of duties for nurses will, at the same time aid in recruitment as young students who formerly may not have been interested in limited careers may now see nursing differently.

The Alberta Government has set a goal to increase nursing program graduates by 2,000 by the year 2012.

The exact affect these changes are having and will have on the health care industry are still being researched an explored, as this is new territory for all involved.

“The big challenge for many jurisdictions is research evidence has not yet determined the precise mix of registered staff that leads to the most effective and efficient client care,” sais Diane Doran who heads the Nursing Health Services Research Unit out of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Nursing.

Officials are working hard to come up with other varied solutions to the health care worker shortage, including international recruitment and foreign credential recognition programs that will allow them to tap more efficiently into the skills of the immigrant workforce.

Source: CanWest News Services