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The Need for a Pan-Canadian Health HR Strategy

Human resources issues are often the elephant in the room when healthcare reform is discussed, yet they are often at the core of the most intractable healthcare management issues

The Need for a Pan-Canadian Health HR Strategy

This paper makes a case for the need for a pan-Canadian health human resources strategy (HHR), identifies the key elements of such a strategy, and suggests an implementation plan for aligning the key stakeholders (professional associations, regulators, educational institutions, accrediting bodies, federal/ provincial/territorial health ministries, health professionals, and the public) in support of a strategy to address critical and systemic HHR challenges.

It addresses three fundamental questions:

  1. What is the justification for a coordinated Canadian health HR strategy?
  2. What would be the substance of a Canadian health HR strategy?
  3. How might a Canadian strategy be best implemented?

The paper was prepared for the Creating Strategic Change In Canadian Healthcare conference staged in May 2014 by The Monieson Centre for Business Research in Healthcare.

It was written by Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, Chantal Demers, Yvonne James, and Emily Bray of the Institute of Public Health, University of Ottawa.

The paper will be incorporated into a forthcoming book on healthcare reform in Canada, to be published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Download discussion paper (PDF, 2.3 MB)