Anesthesia Health Human Resources
Human resources are one of the biggest issues facing health care, including within the field of anesthesiology. To better address anesthesia-specific human resource concerns, in 2022 and 2023, we brought together a group of community and academic anesthesiologists and formed the Anesthesia Health Human Resources Working Group. The Canadian Anesthesiologists Society was represented in this group, as were certified clinical anesthesia assistants, and together we worked to define anesthesiology as a medical role and position physicians as the providers of anesthesiology, including on anesthesia care teams in a supervisory role.
Position Statement: Anesthesia Human Resources
The working group’s key deliverable was its position statement on anesthesia human resources. As Ontario’s experts in anesthesia, we felt it was important that Ontario’s Anesthesiologists formalized our position on this topic. Please read Position Statement: Anesthesia Human Resources to learn about our proposed ideas for ensuring Ontario can provide patients with strong, stable anesthesia care.
In the Media
2024
An anesthesiologist shortage is delaying surgeries across Canada, physicians say | CBC’s The Current
2023
Following the release of our position statement on anesthesia human resources in the summer of 2023, our Chair Dr. Rohit Kumar and Past Chair Dr. Monica Olsen engaged with the media on the HR challenges our profession faces and how the proposed solutions found in the position statement can help alleviate some of those pressures..
Wake Up with Rob Snow - August 4, 2023 - Hour 2 @35:21 | CityNews Ottawa
Resources
Papers and Presentations
Submission to Ontario Health: Advocacy for Anesthesia Assistants in Ontario A joint submission authored by Dr. H. Yang and Dr. Beverley A. Orser.
Healing the Healers: System-Level Solutions to Physician Burnout Recommendations of the Ontario Medical Association Burnout Task Force
Kristine Olson, Daniel Marchalik, Heather Farley, Shannon M. Dean, Elizabeth C. Lawrence, Maryam S. Hamidi, Susannah Rowe, Joanne M. McCool, Cormac A. O'Donovan, Mark A. Micek, Miriam T. Stewart, Organizational strategies to reduce physician burnout and improve professional fulfillment, Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, Volume 49, Issue 12, 2019, 100664, ISSN 1538-5442, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2019.100664.
Websites
Ontario Physician Reporting Centre The Ontario Physician Reporting Centre is the definitive source of information on physicians in practice and postgraduate medical training in Ontario.
Canadian Health Workforce Network The Canadian Health Workforce Network is a knowledge exchange network of researchers, decision-makers and other knowledge users with expertise in health workforce planning, policy and management.
Canadian Medical Association Physician Data Centre The CMA conducts research to support a vibrant medical profession and a healthy population.
WFSA World Anaesthesiology Workforce Map An ongoing open source project by the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists to map the global anesthesia workforce.