National licensure is an opportunity for the modernization our healthcare system needs to deliver optimal patient care.
March 24, 2023, unceded territory of the Algonquin and Anishinabek People/Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Association of General Surgeons (CAGS) is pleased with the release of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health report, Addressing Canada’s Health Workforce Crisis.
Among its recommendations, the Health Workforce report states:
That the Government of Canada work with the provinces, territories, and professional regulatory bodies to establish pan-Canadian licensure for health professionals.
“While the issue of regulation and licensing of health professionals is a provincial and territorial responsibility,” says Dr. Sean Cleary, President of CAGS, “we are encouraged by the recommendation to opening a dialogue between the federal government and licensing entities, in hopes that this would extend to include general surgeons and not solely be for family physicians, nurses, and pharmacists.”
The issue of national licensure has long been a topic of great importance to CAGS. CAGS has a longstanding Rural Surgery Committee, one of its most productive, to examine rural and remote care issues, the specific challenges faced by surgeons in those contexts, and develop rural surgeon focused education. Based on research by the CAGS Rural Surgery Committee, only 7% of all surgeons in Canada work in rural settings, however this number increases to 10% when only considering General Surgeons (Schroeder et al., Canadian Journal of Surgery, October 2020). The current ability of general surgeons to move between licensing jurisdictions stifles their ability to serve in rural and remote areas on a temporary basis until vacancies can be permanently filled. There are other urgent needs for mobility such as locums to cover for surgeons who need to take time to attend to family, health, or continuing professional development and skill development. “As a first priority, as National Licensure evolves, the greatest attention needs to be given to those providing locum coverage in underserviced areas,” Roy Kirkpatrick, Rural Surgery Committee Member, Rural Surgeon Huntsville Ontario. “The lack of surgical resources can mean that some patients will travel significant distances for treatment or possibly delay treatment due to the added travel expense, thereby potentially increasing Canada’s morbidity and mortality rates.”
Based on the data in the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s 2020-2021 National Physician Database, general surgeons in Canada – of which there are fewer than 2,500 – performed more than 2 million procedures in 2020. However, the distribution of general surgeons across the country and limitation of interprovincial mobility has meant that some provinces and territories remain grossly under-served proportionate to population. “A national licensure structure for all general and specialty medical practitioners would better serve patients and ensure a healthy future for all Canadians,” surmises Cleary.
The Canadian Association of Generals Surgeons fully supports the efforts of the Canadian Medical Association and all other witnesses who appeared before the Standing Committee on Health to call for a focus on short-term and long-term solutions to the current workforce crisis.
The adoption of the recommendations laid out in the report are key to bolstering Canada’s healthcare system and ensuring we remain a global leader in patient care and medical accessibility.
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About CAGS
The Canadian Association of General Surgeons (CAGS) is Canada’s only national organization representing the interests of General Surgeons. Our Mission is to empower general surgeons to improve patients’ lives through continued advocacy, education, and research. We advocate on behalf of academic, community, rural and remote General Surgeons on issues related health human resources, transition of practice, pay equity, and the required access to resources to provide care for patients, and for quality of care for surgical patients.
CAGS manages the planning and delivery of the Canadian Surgery Forum – the largest scientific and networking event for General Surgeons in Canada. In addition, through our General Surgery Learning & Resource Centre, we provide educational opportunities to ensure general surgeons can upgrade their skills as part of their Continuing Medical Education and assurance of optimal patient care. To learn more about or join CAGS visit our website, connect with us on LinkedIn or donate to the Canadian General Surgery Foundation (CGSF) to help further surgical research in Canada.
For more information, contact:
Jennifer Scott
Manager, Membership & Communications
jennifer@cags-accg.ca
613-518-0556 x 2