Canada: A Cross-Country Check-Up in Healthcare

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

nursing leadership (cjnl), 22(2) 2009: 21-25

a cross-country check-up in healthcare

susan van de velde-coke

abstract:

in november 2008, during their annual general meeting, acen members initiated an open discussion of current changes in the healthcare system with a view towards clarifying what is happening across the country and the impacts of change on nursing leadership roles. using a "cross-country check-up" approach, members shared their jurisdictions' experiences with six issues:

• restructuring of healthcare governance and professional regulatory approaches;
  
• changes to organizational care delivery systems and the scopes of practice of nurses and other disciplines;
  
• the aging of the nursing leadership and the lack of concerted succession planning;
  
• funding challenges and cost-containment initiatives in light of increasing service demands;
  
• the focus on patient safety and quality of work life; and
  
• the need to invest in information technology.
  

following the agm, acen received funding from health canada's office of nursing policy to extend the "cross-country check-up" discussion by seeking input from nursing leaders who did not attend the november meeting. this extended review was conducted by the janet davies group and yielded a comprehensive pan-canadian snapshot of the impact of changes on senior nursing leaders and their roles.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Thanks for posting this Karen. I haven't read it yet, just got up... but I plan to. (I know Susan Van De Velde-Coke... imagine that!)