Tools from the CHWC
Tools from the Canadian Health Workforce Conference
The Canadian Health Workforce Conference showcased the following list of innovations consisting of tools, guides, frameworks, methods, approaches, strategies, centres, programs, services and policies that were selected on the basis of relevancy and potential applicability to health policy and planning: |
Innovative Tools |
The Geoportal of Minority HealthThe Geoportal for Minority Health is a novel analytic tool that was developed by researcher Dr. Bouchard at the University of Ottawa and drawing upon the expertise of Mr. Bourdon from CIHI. It is a single centralized web-based geographic database that combines multiple datasets on a range of health professionals and includes data on the number of health care providers, language of services available and distances required for travel for a given geographical area in Ontario. The tool analyzes and illustrates the intersection of these data in an interactive format and has flexible functionality to view data at various levels of analysis (macro, meso, micro) to facilitate a focused and comprehensive view of health professionals in the province of Ontario. The tool shows promise for informing health workforce planning at the local, regional, provincial and national levels. Refer also to Feature Presentation in the CHWC 2014 proceedings. Read MoreWebinarClick Here to View the Beta Version of the Geoportal
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Self-Assessment Readiness Tools (SARTS) for Internationally Educated Health ProfessionalsSARTS is an innovation for internationally educated health professionals (IEHPs) consisting of seventeen Self-Assessment Readiness Tools that provide information about the life and practice of many Canadian health professions including competencies, knowledge and skills required for registration and practice. The tools help IEHPs determine gaps and the transferability of their knowledge and skills to practice in Canada. Although it is not meant to be used to assess competency for licensure, it is meant to provide credible information from regulators about the requirements and pathways to practice their profession in Canada so that they can then to make informed decisions prior to immigration. Refer also to CS1-4.4 in the CHWC 2014 proceedings Read More |
Pan-Canadian Physician Resources Planning ToolThe Pan-Canadian Physician Resources Planning Tool was developed by the Physician Resource Planning Task Force of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial (F/P/T) Committee on Health Workforce that consists of a single, centralized, national access point for physician supply data that ministries of health and faculties of medicine can use to obtain a better understanding of the current and projected future physician supply. More specifically, this tool enables users to generate supply scenarios; track physician migration across jurisdictions; create interprovincial comparisons; and make projections for both rural and urban communities of Canada. Refer also to CS2-1;T1-1 in the CHWC 2014 proceedings. Read More |
Future MD Canada Career Planning ToolThe Future MD Canada Career Planning Tool is a second tool that was developed by the Physician Resource Planning Task Force. It consists of a centralized inventory that joins together multiple data sets of current and descriptive information about every aspect of the physician educational continuum. This web-based tool is intended to inform and guide career planning and decision-making by those considering and currently pursuing medical education, in Canada and abroad. Refer also to CS2-1;T1-2 in the CHWC 2014 proceedings. Read More |
Sex/Gender Analytic ToolThe sex/gender analytic tool can be used to assess literature and existing data on health worker migration, to inform the development of sex/gender equitable health worker migration policies and related programs. More specifically, this tool can help researchers and health workforce policy and decision-makers explore, identify and analyze potential similarities and differences between the experiences of men and women based on biological (sex) and social (gender). This tool was developed in response to growing evidence about experiences of deskilling, discrimination and exploitation of migrant health workers on the basis of sex and gender, and the implications for source country health systems, populations, families and communities. Refer also to CS2-1;T3-3 in the CHWC 2014 proceedings. Read More |
Tools from the Canadian Health Workforce Conference
The Canadian Health Workforce Conference showcased the following list of innovations consisting of tools, guides, frameworks, methods, approaches, strategies, centres, programs, services and policies that were selected on the basis of relevancy and potential applicability to health policy and planning: |
Innovative Programs and Services: |
National Nursing Assessment ServiceThe National Nursing Assessment Service is a national online, centralized and standardized tool for the assessment of internationally educated nurse (IEN) applicants into Canada. This tool provides a single point of access for all IEN applicants through harmonization of application requirements of 23 regulators across three nursing disciplines, which enables regulators to obtain more accurate information of the IEN supply in Canada. This innovation highlights the benefits of collective efforts towards a national assessment service of foreign trained health professionals and has considerable applicability to other health professions. Refer to conference proceedings CS1-4.1. Read More |
HealthForceOntario: Access CentreThe Access Centre is a provincial centre established by HealthForceOntario that acts as a central point of access to information and support for integration of internationally educated health professionals (IEHPs) into the Ontario health care system. Since its inception, the Access Centre has had about 25,000 clients, of which 2,500 IEHPs have successfully navigated through the Ontario health care system to licensure, including doctors, nurses, dentists, and pharmacists, of which doctors have been the largest client. Refer to conference proceedings CS2-1;T3-2. Read More |
HealthForceOntario: Practice OntarioPractice Ontario is a joint initiative developed by HealthForceOntario and Ontario’s six medical schools to support physician recruitment to rural communities by promoting awareness and increasing exposure to job opportunities in rural communities. Since its inception in 2010, this initiative has increased the number of physicians placed in rural Ontario communities through the provision of free career support services, with reports of high satisfaction from residents. Refer to conference proceedings CS2-4.4 Read More |
Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship ProgramThe Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program was established in 2008 to improve recruitment and retention of registered dietitians (RDs) in rural and underserviced areas in Northern Ontario. Preliminary evaluation results show that this program has been effective in recruiting and retaining RDs, with two-thirds of graduates practicing, and expressing confidence in their ability to practice in these areas. This same evaluation also examined factors influencing decisions to practice in rural and underserviced areas. These findings will be used to inform curriculum design, practicum experience planning, and strategies to recruit and retain dietitians in underserviced areas of Ontario. Refer to conference proceedings CS2-4.3. Read More |
Innovative Policies: |
Ontario Nursing Graduate GuaranteeThe Nursing Graduate Guarantee is an initiative introduced by the Ontario government to support every new Ontario nursing graduate in obtaining full time employment immediately upon graduation. The impact of this initiative extends beyond an increase in the number of new nursing graduates in full-time positions; it also contributes to workforce stability and capacity-building within the healthcare system, and proactively addresses predicted retirements. Refer to conference proceedings CS1-3.5 Read More |