WHEREAS there is a nation-wide shortage of doctors and other medical professionals and this shortage is particularly acute in rural areas, which comprise much of this province; AND WHEREAS this shortage has resulted in large part, from the lack of training opportunities available at our post-secondary institution: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities lobby the Minister of Health to substantially increase funding provided to universities and other medical training facilities so they can supply the larger number of graduates who will be required to rectify the increasingly critical shortage of medical personnel available to attend to the health care needs of BC residents.
Ministry of Health Services New education seats are continually being allocated across health programs and distributed regionally throughout the province based on identified health human resource needs, student demand, and institutional ability to accommodate new seats. The Ministry of Health Services MoHS works closely with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development ALMD on priorities for expanding health education spaces. The following table identifies the education seats being added in 200809 and the total number of health education seats created since 2001. New Seats - 200809New Seats Since 200102 Graduate Nurse30204 Nurse Practitioner -90 Registered Nurse2792,991 Licensed Practical Nurse 130501 Residential Care Aide111499 Allied Health137990 Physicians-128 Total6875,403 Includes Registered Psychiatric Nurses In addition to the above, 28 additional seats are being funded in health programs home supportresident care attendant, Licensed Practical Nurse Access and a health bridging program under a separate initiative of targeted growth spaces for Aboriginal students. Since 2001, some of BCs MoHS and ALMD education-related initiatives have included: Doubling of the number of spaces for first year undergraduate medical students to 256 in September 2007, from 128 in September 2003, through distribution of UBCs medical school to UVic and UNBC. A further expansion of the medical school is expected to open in the southern interior at UBC Okanagan by 2012. In the meantime, there will be more postgraduate residents undertaking their training in the Okanagan by 2009, when there will be 16 residents in family medicine and 12-16 residents in specialty training, at any one time. Expansion in nursing education by 3,786 spaces or 93 percent, and the creation of 23 new nursing education programs at public post-secondary institutions around the province. Development and implementation of the Nurse Practitioner role, which includes establishing Nurse Practitioner education programs at the University of British Columbia UBC, the University of Victoria UVic and the University of Northern British Columbia UNBC. Expansion of postgraduate medical education residencies to keep pace with the undergraduate program growth and, since July 2003, approving funding for 96 new entry-level residency positions for Canadian medical graduates and 12 new positions for international medical graduates for a total of 242 entry-level positions in 200708.