Good afternoon, members of the committee.
My name is Claudia von Zweck and I am the executive director of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. I represent over 12,000 occupational therapists from across Canada. I will share some thoughts with you today about ensuring adequate levels of health human resources through sustainable support of internationally educated health professionals.
As you may be aware, Canada is not self-sufficient in producing enough health professionals to meet the growing need, and has long relied upon graduates from international education programs as a partial solution to meet health human resource shortages. However, many professionals who come to Canada become marginalized in their attempts to work in their areas of expertise.
For our profession, this was a major concern. Shortages of occupational therapists currently do exist in Canada and therefore recruitment and retention of our health workforce is of paramount importance. Internationally educated health professionals, or IEHPs, provide a vital resource to address workforce needs yet continue to face challenges in their attempts to work in Canada. Long-term funding is not available to assist IEHPs to access bridging and mentorship programs as well as support networks set up to expedite their transition into the workforce.
One recommendation that I'd like to share with you today is to assist with funding issues so that IEHPs could apply for student loans. We find, however, that participants in most bridging programs do not qualify for existing student loan programs. Many IEHPs cannot afford the cost of participating in valuable bridging programs that would integrate them sooner into the workforce, where they could contribute to the economic well-being of the country.
Before speaking to some of the solutions, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the federal government for initiatives assisting internationally educated occupational therapists to work in Canada that are already in place or are under way. They include, first, an environmental scan we completed in 2006, which indicated that internationally educated occupational therapists who wish to work in Canada must successfully manage an integration process that is complex and involves several steps, including meeting Canadian immigration requirements, fulfilling professional entry-to-practice criteria, finding employment, and then relocating and settling in Canada.
Following the environmental scan, we completed an access and registration framework that outlines the entry-to-practice process for internationally educated occupational therapists. It maps the process among the various and differing jurisdictions and stakeholders of occupational therapy within Canada.
Our next initiative was the internationally educated occupational therapist web portal, which is an online electronic information gateway that centralizes information regarding living and working in Canada as an occupational therapist.
Our current initiative is the national occupational therapy examination and practice preparation project that is developing and implementing a national curriculum to assist internationally educated occupational therapists to work in Canada. Part of this project involved the development of a pilot trial occupational therapy exam and other resources that provide internationally educated occupational therapists with practice to prepare for the national occupational therapy certification exam.
These initiatives have made a difference, but there are still significant issues. We found in our experience that the learning needs of the internationally educated occupational therapists vary greatly and we need to have flexibility in our course offerings. Certainly the availability of time, funding, and commitment to program involvement influences participant success and it may be adversely influenced by the many competing responsibilities they face in their daily lives.
In a study undertaken for five health professions, including occupational therapy, it was found that the average internationally educated health professional requires three to five years to become certified and employed in their profession in Canada. During that time, they frequently work in survival jobs. A properly financed bridging program would cut this period down and would benefit a quicker integration of these valuable resources.
At the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists we certainly recognize that a sustainable and effective integrated health human resources workforce is essential to respond to the health needs of the Canadian population. All people of Canada should have access to the right professionals at the right time in their communities throughout their lifetime.
To achieve this, CAOT asks the committee to support the following recommendations. First is to increase the availability of profession-specific bridging programs, mentorships, and peer support programs. Secondly, address training programs and support that would address issues such as language and communication and the Canadian culture, Canadian practice standards, certification examination preparation, continuing education to address profession-specific skills and competencies, and how to secure a job in Canada. Lastly, promote and disseminate among health care employers best practices for hiring and integrating internationally educated health professionals.
This completes my presentation. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share the thoughts and concerns of occupational therapists, and I'm ready to consider your questions.