Increasing Health-Care Workers To Cope with Ageing Boomers
I read with interest that my friend David Foot, author of best-selling book Boom, Bust & Echo, has been urging New Brunswick to move swiftly in training new health-care workers in light of the upcoming retirement of baby boomers. According to Foot, the province's relatively old population means News Brunswick will feel the 'serious pinch' before Central and Western provinces in Canada.
The current shortage of health-care professionals is already a challenge much discussed by the media, thought leaders and think-tank organizations. It is incumbent upon the Government that they must work quickly to bolster the declining ranks of doctors, nurses and other health-care workers. We are not producing enough health-care professionals for what we will need five, 10, or 15 years from now. I agree with Foot that we need to think long-term and be creative in solving this problem.
Health authorities have called for larger classes at Canadian medical schools. According to the National Post, Canadian schools now graduate between 1,800 and 2,000 doctors a year - similar to 20 years ago. An ageing population means more graduates are needed. According to Foot, governments must define the roles of different health-care professionals in addition to hiring more workers. Everyone from nurses to pharmacists to occupational therapists must be utilized more, to ease the burden on doctors.
I agree that new ideas are needed to keep older health-care workers in the system. Perhaps they could work reduced hours at a reduced rate. Some minor responsibilities can be shifted over to nurse practitioners, who are able to diagnose some ailments, prescribe medications such as antibiotics and order X-rays and blood work. As well, pharmacists should be allowed to prescribe medications for minor ailments. A creative way to share responsibilities and work load without compromising on the quality of our health-care system is urgently required to cope with the ageing population in the country.
