Currently we see gaps, and we're actually working with the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer on nationally examining educational gaps for all professionals: nurses, physicians, and other professional groups. We haven't completed our survey, but we're finding that there are gaps. We certainly see that this is an issue that we should address earlier on in the curriculum and integrate this aspect of care early, before the professionals are practising.
Of course, what we've done as an association is to provide nurses with experience in hospice palliative care the opportunity to gain a national certification. It provides them with a specialist title and certification that's nationally recognized. We have 1,400 nurses. They're specialized. It's not enough; we need more. Of course, we're promoting the certification program and attracting employers to really enhance the uptake of this certification. It has a lot of benefits.
Continuing education is very important. Right now, before I came to do the presentation, I was just reviewing the current programs available, and there are very few. There are some in Ontario, certificate and post-certificate programs for nurses, and there is one in Quebec, but I saw it was closed for this year. Very few programs are available, and nurses have to manage continuing education by their employers. Pallium is a program that's really been successful in reaching out to teams and nurses. Virtual Hospice is another great resource for nurses, but we can do more, of course.