Use of Unlicensed Assistive Personnel in Canada

[whichone'spink]

Hello, I am an American nursing student currently doing a project on the use of Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP) in health care. My group's main focus is of course the use of UAPs in the US, but I am also researching the use of UAPs in Canada and other countries.

In the US, hospitals and long-term care facilities are increasingly utilizing Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) to do basic patient care. What is the equivalent of the CNA in Canada, if there is one? What is the required training and how are they regulated by the provincial governments? And what do Canadian nurses think of using UAPs in healthcare?

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

I'm sure he spun all that bovine-processed straw into gold too, didn't he? "We're going to make health care in Alberta sustainable for future generations. We're going to decrease wait times and we're going to improve access to primary care... and we're going to have the highest possible quality in our system while we do it." Right, Mr Stelmach. Let's see if you survive the leadership review next month!

[linzz]

Hi petgroomer, I am sorry you have been treated badly by RPN's. Personally, I have never treated anyone I work with like crap. I feel that PSW's have a critical function in the long term care setting and can make or break a nurse's career and the type of care that residents deserve.

I just don't think that PSW's should be giving injections or certain medications that require monitoring. I do think that nursing students should be doing lots of these in a supervised clinical setting. However that is not obviously the reality at some retirement homes. I did not mean this in a nasty way, you know that as a nursing student that this practice is less than optimal.

At any rate, it sounds like you will be out of this soon as you will be an RN soon. Best wishes.

[Fiona59]

I'm sure he spun all that bovine-processed straw into gold too, didn't he? "We're going to make health care in Alberta sustainable for future generations. We're going to decrease wait times and we're going to improve access to primary care... and we're going to have the highest possible quality in our system while we do it." Right, Mr Stelmach. Let's see if you survive the leadership review next month!

I thought he was a pig farmer. So silk purses out of sow's ears. And no appearances by the Kangaroo's ass?

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

Thank you for your replies. Even though our health care delivery systems are vastly different, it looks like Canada has the same issues that the US has with the use of UAPs. Some are good and some are horrible, and they don't seem to be regulated.

Oh, and to those that wrote about working in Alberta, thanks for the insight. I would like to move to Canada, especially if things get really bad in the US. I guess I'll be avoiding Alberta.