Doctor shortage will only get worse [Canada]
Posted almost 9 years ago by Nicholas M Perrino
"The Central Okanagan Division of Family Practice estimates 48 per cent of local doctors will stop working in nine years, and 20 per cent plan to hang up their stethoscopes within five years.
'It's going to get worse,' said Tristan Smith, the division's executive director. 'This crisis is impending and it's provincewide.'
Those retiring often have full caseloads and efficient practices. Younger physicians have a strong work ethic but also value time with their families. They put in fewer hours than their older colleagues and don't work with the same efficiency, so they take fewer patients, Smith said.
Still, inefficiencies in the system need fixing, Smith said. More nurses, nurse practitioners and other health professionals would make it more streamlined."