Murphy’s Logic: Less red tape, more students key to solving family doctor crisis

Tens of thousands of Maritimers are without a family doctor.

The professional organization that represents and regulates training for the country’s more than 43,000 family physicians describes it as a crisis that poses a clear threat to the health and well being of all Canadians and “a system on the verge of collapse.”

The College of Family Physicians says its members are burnt out and overwhelmed, and many are leaving the profession. It accuses governments of stonewalling on solutions to the problem – particularly the elimination of administrative red tape.

Governments should listen to the doctors.

In the way doctors have been listening to the marketplace.

The College has reconsidered a plan to extend residency training for family doctors from two years to three years, which is the international standard. More training is a worthy goal. However, with older doctors retiring and fewer medical students opting for family medicine, the doctors have agreed this is not the right time to make the shortage of doctors even worse.

But, we should all be concerned that our doctors feel they aren’t adequately trained to the global standard. Improving health care will ultimately require more family doctors and doctors better trained to keep us healthy.

This is all the more reason to significantly increase the number of admissions to medical schools.