Good morning, and thank you for this opportunity to contribute to your committee's study on human health resources.
My name is Elizabeth Steggles, and I'm an assistant professor at McMaster University. Today I'm here to represent my profession and my association, which is the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. I'd like to share my thoughts--our thoughts--with you about the challenges and opportunities being dealt with by occupational therapists.
Occupational therapy is an essential health service that enables Canadians to maximize their productivity, reduce lifestyle restrictions, and avoid unnecessary dependency. A sense of well-being and meaning in one's daily occupations is an important determinant of health and is an effective means of reducing health care costs for the public purse.
Occupational therapists are faced with human resource challenges similar to those faced by other health care professionals. We must deal with workforce shortages, a lack of seats in universities, exclusion from service delivery, and the inclusion of internationally educated professionals.
Labour market information and workforce studies indicate that there is a strong and persistent demand for occupational therapy services across Canada to address the challenges of aging; mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder; workforce management; and chronic disease management.
Yet to us as a health profession, whose use is limited when compared with countries with similar health systems, underutilization is primarily due to a shortage of therapists and to limited use or the exclusion of occupational therapy in appropriate health care settings.
The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists believes that the answer to human resource concerns for their profession lies in effective health human resource planning, including enhancing the integration of foreign-trained occupational therapists into the Canadian workforce.
Workforce shortages are resulting in negative impacts on occupational therapy service delivery. Occupational therapists are concerned about the impact of organizational and workplace demands on the quality of services they deliver to their clients. They report that workplaces demand higher productivity, while they provide fewer resources to support service delivery and limited opportunities for professional development. On a personal note, I'd like to note that I hear that from my colleagues on a daily basis. Professional requirements for an evidence-based service are frequently placed in conflict with employer demands to assume high caseloads while reducing the costs associated with service delivery.
Ensuring an adequate supply of occupational therapists will require a greater current commitment to increasing seats in occupational therapy programs in Canadian universities as part of any health human resource modelling plan. Increasing the number in our profession is also being addressed through our program that assists international graduates who immigrate to Canada fully qualified to work as occupational therapists. Internationally educated occupational therapists play an important and growing role in meeting service demands for occupational therapy in Canada. Many employers are actively recruiting occupational therapists educated outside the country to meet staffing needs and the needs of our clients, who themselves come from diverse and multicultural backgrounds.
International occupational therapy graduates often find it difficult to practise in Canada and face barriers to entering the occupational therapy workforce.
The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists has undertaken a number of initiatives to work with occupational therapy partners to address barriers experienced by international graduates. For example, the occupational therapy examination and practice preparation program assists internationally educated occupational therapists as they prepare to write the Canadian exam and transition into practice.