December 14, 2022

Clearing a New Path™ and Clearing a New Path Podcast™ are products of Radar Media, located in Dorchester, Ontario on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Neutral peoples who once used this land as their traditional beaver hunting grounds.  As a settler here I’m committed to deepening understanding of Indigenous communities and reframing responsibilities to land and community. I am grateful to Mother Earth for the opportunity for love and connection and to the spirits of the Elders and the Medicine People who still walk the Earth.

DECEMBER 14, 2022

I come to this work as a white woman of privilege; a vulnerable allyship student.I get things wrong often and I am open to, and welcome opportunities to be called in about the content in this newsletter, in order to create safe, brave spaces for all. The purpose is to unite people in rural Canada.I am grateful to walk along this journey in grace, love and empathy together.Simply hit 'reply' to contribute, suggest and correct.

Solutions-based journalism is reporting about people and organizations responding to social problems.I'm looking to add folks to my team to cover more issues with more urgency.Your support, no matter the size, can help. 

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS

Hello Amazing Humans,

CAN PHYSICIANS SIDE-STEP EGO TO HELP THE CANADIAN RURAL HEALTH CARE CRISIS?

DOES YOUR MUNICIPAL LEADERSHIP HAVE THE WILL TO PUSH FOR PHYSICIANS AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS TO WORK SHOULDER TO SHOULDER TO EASE THE WEIGHT OF RURAL HEALTH CARE?

Until recently, I'd never heard of Physician Assistants, even though they are legally practising in my home province of Ontario. What I have learned is, Physicians Assistants or PAs are, in essence physician extenders, they extend the care of a primary physician. They are not nurses, nurses assistants nor are they practical nurses.

Here's a short video on what they can do and why they are needed more than ever in Canada.PAs got their start in the US in the 60s to respond to a shortage and uneven geographical distribution of doctors (sound familiar)? This rapidly evolved to include utilizing PAs in primary care settings.  PAs continue to be a part of the U.S. health system with almost 130,000 practicing PAs and 225 accredited programs.

In Canada, in 1999, the government of Manitoba passed the clinical assistant (CA) registration amendment under the Medical Act. This allowed for the licensing of registered clinical assistants which later became the registration of Physician Assistants. 

There is currently legislation on the books in Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta and Manitoba. In Nova Scotia, the government has launched a pilot project at the Nova Scotia Health Authority for three PAs to work in orthopedic surgery to help tackle hip and knee surgery wait times. British Columbia has had interest but currently has no legislation. Getting PAs accredited or recognized legally is often tied to a relationship with the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the province.

In Canada, the Physician Assistants program has deep roots in the Canadian Military, the first to establish a school and a program. 

This episode, I speak with Eric Demers, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, a past president of the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants, who currently lives in British Columbia but works in the Northwest Territories as a Physician Assistant. And I speak with Dr. Alex Nataros, a primary care physician who just put down roots in Port Hardy, British Columbia and is advocating to have PAs recognized in British Columbia. He has also just started a column in the local digital publication called the North Island Gazette. Recent story about frustrated PAs in British Columbia

WHAT PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS DO

WHAT PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS DON'T DO

A grassroots organization called Grandview Health Care Solutions came together n 2017 and it grew out of a community response from Grandview and Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve to maintain the Grandview Emergency Medical Services station as an essential service of the local healthcare system for both communities and surrounding areas. The role of the group expanded to advocate that the Grandview District Hospital be maintained as an acute care facility with 24/7 Emergency Service. The group promotes keeping Healthcare close to home in rural Manitoba and supports the Grandview Healthcare model as a viable system, essential for the health of all community members. 

You won't believe some of the stories from this small community-based health care clinic and adjacent emergency department (that closes when there isn't enough staff) and the big differences between the care they can give at the clinic and the care they can give under the watchful eye of the Regional Health Authority that seems to be crippling their innovation and 'all hands on deck' approach.

RURAL BOOKS AND AUTHORS

This Sunday will be the second interview with an author, focused on rural Canada. 

Catharine Wilson holds the Redelmeier Professorship in Rural History at the University of Guelph.  Her most recent book is on “Being Neighbours,” the study of quilting and barn-raising bees and was published in October by McGill Queen’s University Press.  She is also the Founder and Director of the Rural Diary Archive. You can peruse the diaries already translated, some in audio form.

Catharine and I are working on developing a Rural Canadian Minute, a step back in time into rural and remote communities across Canada. If you'd like to take part, or have an interesting story you'd like to share, please get in touch.

Hear the interview on Sunday.Subscribe where you get your podcasts so you don't miss it!

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SUPPORTERS

This newsletter and the Clearing a New Path™ podcast are supported by Xplore Business, formerly Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.