MODELS FOR ONGOING STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE AND ACTION

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MODELS FOR ONGOING STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE AND ACTION

• GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVES
• Wendy Wright,
• Senior Policy and Program Analyst, Saskatchewan
  Learning

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BACKGROUND

• F/P/T Advisory Committee on Health Human
  Resources (ACHHR)
• Allied Health Working Group

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Allied Health Working Group

• 1997 - Template for Assessing Substantive
  Educational or Regulatory Changes Impacting the
  Education of Health Professions
• 2001 - Environmental Scan of Human Resource
  Issues Affecting Medical Laboratory and Medical
  Radiation Technologists
• 2002 - Inventory of Mandatory ETP Requirements in
  Selected Health Disciplines

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CONTEXT

• Provincial/territorial governments delegate
  responsibility for regulation to professions
• Licensure for entry-to-practice usually includes
  educational credential
• National professional organizations and P/T
  regulatory bodies collaborate.

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CURRENT STATUS

• Changes in ETP levels occur without
  coordination/collaboration between jurisdictions
  and are sometimes initiated without consultation
  with government.
• Such approaches can lead to
• difficulties for east-west mobility of providers
• regional shortages
• pressure on P/Ts that have not changed
• - P/Ts without educational programs having no
  input into decision making and
• - resistance by governments to proposed change.

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Professions Currently Proposing Increases in ETP
Credentials

• Diploma to Baccalaureate
• - Medical Laboratory Technologists
• - Medical Radiation Technologists
• - Nuclear Medicine
• - Radiation Therapists
• Baccalaureate to Masters
• - Occupational Therapists
• - Physical Therapists

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Additional proposed increases being monitored

• Respiratory Therapists- SK, AB, BC
• Dental Hygienists NL, NS, ON, MB, SK AB
• Pharmacists - QC, SK
• Combined Lab and X-Ray Technicians NL, MB, AB
• Psychologists NB, QC, MB, SK, AB

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CONCERNS

• Social policy and fiscal accountability
• Need to balance judgement of professions with
  government requirement to deliver health care
• Need for change must be justified by credible and
  objective evidence/data
• Need in system for providers at basic,
  intermediate, and advanced levels of preparation

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Concerns (continued)

• Recruitment retention (rural remote)
• Longer programmes may discourage qualified
  candidates
• Increased shortages of providers in short term
• Increased costs
• Education capacity professors clinical
• Employment higher salary expectation

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Justification of increase

• Evidenced-based decision making
• Increase in scope of practice
• Technological advances
• Shortage of one group of professionals places
  pressure on another to increase knowledge/skills

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MECHANISMS FOR DIALOGUE -Lets Talk

• Advisory Committee on Health Delivery and Health
  Human Resources
• Strategic Initiative Task Teams
• F/P/T Senior Officials from Health
• Outside Consultants/Experts, as required

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PARTNERSHIPS

• Work together to improve the understanding and
  transparency of how credentials are changed in
  health professions in Canada
• Governments need interaction with educators,
  regulatory bodies, employers and interest groups.
• Need for stakeholders to agree upon what
  constitutes foundation core competencies for ETP

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Next Steps

• Advisory Committee on Health Delivery and Health
  Human Resources- May Meeting
• Template Evaluation/Revision
• 2003 Accord on Health Care Renewal
• Strengthen Evidence Base for National Planning
• Improve Recruitment and Retention