Atlantic Provinces Launch Health Education and Training Study
HEALTH--Atlantic Provinces Launch Health Education and Training Study
A new study will examine how many doctors, nurses, lab technicians and other health-care professionals will be required, and the training needed to support them, in the four Atlantic provinces.
The study has been commissioned by the Atlantic Health Human Resources Association on behalf of Atlantic Ministers responsible for Health and Post-Secondary Education.
"A region-wide examination into the training and future labour needs of our health-care sector will provide a valuable addition to the work we've been doing here at home," said Nova Scotia Health Minister Angus MacIsaac. "With good information and collaboration among the provinces, we can develop and use better strategies to maintain a skilled, educated and adaptive health- care workforce, which will benefit all Atlantic Canadians."
The $1.2 million study, to be conducted by Med-Emerg International Inc., will be funded through labour market development agreements between each of the four provincial governments and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
"We are pleased to announce $865,820 in federal funding to enable the Atlantic Health Human Resources Association to assess the current labour market and identify human resource requirements for occupations in the health-care sector across the Atlantic provinces," said Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, on behalf of Joe Volpe, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. "The collaborative efforts of provincial and federal departments and health-care providers across all four Atlantic provinces will help to maximize results and ensure that labour market and human resource issues in the health-care sector are addressed collectively."
The one-year study builds on work previously done by each Atlantic province to determine health human resource needs. Based on this earlier work, a profile of regional requirements for major health occupations, now and in the future, will be developed. Also, a re-usable, scenario-based education and training planning tool will be used to assist the four provinces in determining what type and how many education and training programs will be needed to meet future demand for health occupations in the region.
"This project will help us better predict Atlantic Canada's future health education and training needs, so that we can prepare the right number and mix of health professionals," said Glenn Davis, the project co-ordinator for the Atlantic Health Human Resources Association. "It is an honour to be a part of this project and to work on behalf of the four Atlantic governments with a company with the depth of experience and expertise demonstrated by Med-Emerg."
Med-Emerg International Inc. was the successful vendor resulting from a public tendering process. The company specializes in the co-ordination and delivery of emergency and primary health care related services in Canada. These services include physician and nurse staffing and recruitment, clinical management services, the development and management of urgent care centres, a national drug infusion program, and national and international health-care advisory and consulting services.
The Atlantic Health Human Resources Association is a non-profit organization incorporated on behalf of Atlantic provincial governments. Its mandate is to create a regional planning framework for the improved management of health education and training programs.