How COVID continues to impact training of surgeons in Canada: ‘Not business as usual’
Global News
A study published in 2021 found that about four out of five doctors in plastic surgery residency training programs across Canada believed the pandemic curtailed their exposure.
Training of surgeons in Canada has taken a heavy knock from the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some doctors say their clinical education has been delayed again in recent months as many hospitals across the country cancelled elective procedures to keep up with emergency care.
Far from looking forward to entering the workforce, some newly graduated surgeons say they are worried and frustrated about backlogs that have put operations on hold.
“I went months without participating in regular surgeries,” said Dr. Kelly Brennan, a general surgery trainee in eastern Ontario.
Delays also affected less urgent specialty procedures such as endoscopies, Brennan added.
Provinces are taking different measures to address surgical backlogs. The Ontario government recently said in a release it’s investing over $300 million over the next year and launching a new software tool aimed at managing the wait list. This month Premier Doug Ford also announced a plan to expand the number and types of procedures to be offered at private clinics.
According to a report commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association released last September, British Columbia plans a $303-million investment over the next three years to speed up diagnostic imaging and surgical procedures.
Manitoba’s 2022 budget included a $110-million investment to reduce backlogs while Saskatchewan plans to ascribe $21.6 million to addressing the surgical wait-list as it anticipates a return to pre-COVID wait times by the end of March 2025. Nova Scotia similarly endorsed a plan to return to national benchmarks for surgical wait times by 2025.
Despite this infusion of government money, it’s unclear whether there will be enough medical professionals, including nurses, to accomplish these goals, Brennan said about Ontario’s plans.
