April 11, 2023
Dr. Vikas Kuriachan, left, interim zone clinical department head of Cardiac Sciences, and Dr. Andrew Howarth, section chief for Cardiology in the Calgary Zone, worked together to successfully establish a care model that supports programs through the integration of alternate care providers such as clinical assistants, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
Story by Angela Unsworth | Photo by Leah Hennel
CALGARY — Through a targeted approach to hire new alternate care providers, Alberta Health Services (AHS) Medical Affairs is expanding a proven care model to better support its people and patients, with a focus on priorities such as recruitment and retention.
This model, which is already seeing success in Calgary Zone, is being extended to sites across the province to support selected programs and services facing shortages in critical acute care coverage.
These alternate care providers — including clinical assistants (CA), physician assistants (PA) and nurse practitioners (NP) and more — are being integrated into these areas.
“In Calgary, one of the four major hospitals was experiencing a challenge at providing cardiology coverage for patients at night with a dedicated cardiology focused physician onsite,” says Dr. Vikas Kuriachan, interim zone clinical department head, Cardiac Sciences, Calgary Zone. “If we didn’t have this alternative care model, we may have had to look at diverting patients to other sites.
“Being able to recruit more cardiology CAs, as well as collaborating with Internal Medicine and Intensive Care Unit CAs, was crucial in being able to continue to provide an inpatient cardiology service at the site. We’re planning to continue expanding this model, as CAs and NPs have proven to be instrumental to providing a stable cardiology service in Calgary.”
Alternative providers support physicians by providing hands-on care to patients under the direction and/or supervision of the physician. These models of care can extend physician capacity and, as a result of a more manageable patient load and improved work-life balance, also contribute to the recruitment and retention of physicians.
“We recognize the past few years have presented many challenges, and our healthcare workers are feeling the effects in the form of cumulative stress and compassion fatigue,” says Dr. Francois Belanger, vice president, Quality, and Chief Medical Officer.
“Our teams are working hard to deliver safe, quality care to our patients and their families — and we are grateful for the efforts of all staff, physicians and volunteers. We will continue to support our staff and physicians through this approach, and others, so they have the resources they need to provide safe, quality care to Albertans.”
AHS is promoting these open roles with international medical graduates (IMG), who can practise as clinical assistants while they undergo a Practice Readiness Assessment through the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA), prior to independently practice as a physician here.
As of March 2023, there are 211 IMGs registered as clinical assistants and 19 registered physician assistants in the province.
AHS continues to look for creative ways to retain and build its valuable and critical workforce to address the challenges across the organization, and is exploring opportunities to continue expanding these supports in future.
