Photo courtesy Mark Holland/Facebook

A number of commitments to address the workforce shortages in health care.

They come as the result of a meeting of provincial and territorial health ministers in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Federal Minister Mark Holland says they have agreed to make it easier for health care workers to move from one province to another for work.

“We will together implement a process that allows health professionals in good standing in one jurisdiction to practice in any other Canadian jurisdiction without significant delay or the need to meet additional regulatory requirements. We’ll focus on physicians this year and nursing in future years,” says Holland.

The health ministers also agreed to share and standardize health workforce data to help identify future needs.

Some of them may come from outside the country.

Holland wants to see the time it takes for foreign-trained workers to be certified reduced.

“We have committed to reducing the time it takes for internationally educated health professionals to join our workforce by allowing them to begin the credential process overseas, by expediting pathways for those who have successfully completed training and education that is equivalent to a graduate from an approved Canadian program, and by reducing the time for licensure for qualified nurses and physicians.”

Holland says this includes the provinces establishing a 90-day service standard for regulatory bodies to provide certification and licensing of internationally trained health professionals.

A study of education and training programs is also proposed.