The effects of a shortage of anesthesiologists could be improved if specially trained nurses were allowed to provide anesthesia care — something they do in the United States, nursing advocates say.
But physicians’ groups have pushed back against the idea in at least two provinces since it was raised more than 25 years ago, even as surgical wait times have grown since the pandemic.
Now nurse associations, and some Canadian nurses working in the U.S. as nurse anesthetists, are calling attention to how effectively they could solve the dearth of anesthesia care providers in this country.
This is conjecture, but I think it’s protectionism by strong Canadian physicians’ unions. More physicians in the job pool means less job security and earnings potential for those already in it. There are many ways we could get more physicians in the workforce and/or in rural/remote communities that domestic MDs may not want to work in