With the aging and rapidly growing Canadian population, the healthcare sector is experiencing significant growth. In fact, it is now the leading employer in provinces such as Quebec and Ontario, with an average of 13% of workers in this field. This growth has led to an increased demand for healthcare professionals, who are among the most sought-after in 2024. Among the most in-demand professions are doctors, nurses, and social workers.
Faced with this labor shortage, governments and healthcare institutions are implementing various initiatives to attract and retain talent. These include immigration projects to bring in foreign workers, salary increases, bonuses for established professionals, and efforts to improve working conditions.
Despite these efforts, the challenges of recruiting in the healthcare sector remain significant. This is why it is crucial to understand current trends and implement strategic recruitment solutions to meet this demand for qualified professionals.
Healthcare workforce shortage in Canada: understanding the origins of the problem
The Canadian healthcare system has been facing a persistent workforce shortage for several years. This complex situation is due to a multitude of factors that are crucial to understand in order to ensure effective recruitment in the healthcare field.
Aging population:
- Increased longevity and the growing prevalence of chronic diseases are leading to an increased demand for healthcare, putting pressure on staff.
- The massive retirement of previous generations in the sector increases the shortage, as the rate of training new professionals is not enough to fill the void created.
Evolving modes of care delivery:
- The rise of telemedicine and home care requires new skills and new ways of organizing work.
- The proliferation of private clinics and specialized centers attracts some professionals, but makes it more difficult for hospitals and public health centers to find workers.
Budget constraints:
- Governments do not have enough money to hire as many staff as they would like. This limits wage increases and benefits.
- Wages are not rising fast enough to keep up with the cost of living, which can encourage professionals to seek employment elsewhere.
High costs of medical technologies:
- The adoption of advanced technologies to improve the quality of care requires significant investments.
- The use of these complex technologies requires specialized training, access to which may be limited, contributing to the shortage of qualified personnel.
In addition to the above problems, there is the difficulty of recruiting in remote Canadian regions because healthcare professionals often prefer to work in large cities. Rural and remote areas therefore face significant challenges in attracting and retaining healthcare personnel, due to their lack of attractiveness and infrastructure.
Healthcare recruitment trends: shortages in all specialties and new skills needed
The healthcare sector is undergoing significant changes, and recruitment trends reflect this evolution. Here are four key trends to watch in Canada:
Growing demand for administrative staff
The workforce shortage is not limited to healthcare professionals. Related administrative positions, such as medical assistants, medical secretaries, and health records managers, are also in high demand. The increase in the number of patients, the growing complexity of administrative tasks, and increased regulatory requirements contribute to this shortage. This lack of administrative staff can lead to delays in processing files and overwork for existing staff.
Shortage in Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities
The aging population has led to an increasing demand for care for the elderly, creating a shortage of staff in long-term care facilities. With more people opting for home care, facilities are facing recruitment challenges. LTC facilities traditionally rely on personal support workers who bathe, dress, feed, and assist residents with daily activities. However, the demands on PSWs are growing as the elderly population lives longer with more complex medical conditions. This requires PSWs to have additional training in areas like dementia care, medication management, and mental health support.
Rise of virtual healthcare and telemedicine
The demand for telehealth services has increased significantly in recent years. Organizations increasingly need hybrid workers: professionals capable of providing care in person and virtually. Additionally, there is an increase in the demand for online psychological help as it is easier to seek help online than to go to a therapist's office. Healthcare recruiters are actively looking for psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and other mental health professionals.
Digital revolution and Artificial Intelligence:
AI is used for disease diagnosis, medical record management, and patient monitoring, which has significantly improved diagnostic accuracy, reduced medical errors, and increased efficiency of care. It is therefore not surprising that healthcare professionals capable of leveraging this technology are increasingly in demand in the market. Additionally, organizations also need healthcare professionals with IT skills to analyze the massive volume of data generated by the sector.
Healthcare recruitment trends highlight a shortage of staff and a growing need for healthcare professionals with new skills. These skills include mastering digital technologies and adapting to new forms of interaction with patients. Faced with these trends, healthcare organizations often find themselves helpless. They generally lack the internal resources needed to implement effective recruitment strategies adapted to these new market realities. Hiring a healthcare recruitment agency can then be a wise solution.
Delegating healthcare recruitment to specialized firms: A growing trend
Healthcare recruitment trends are increasingly forcing organizations to outsource their human resources tasks to a specialized healthcare recruitment firm. Indeed, these firms have expertise and in-depth knowledge of the market allowing them to meet the specific needs of each organization. However, not all firms are the same, and it is important to choose carefully. For example, finding a healthcare recruitment firm in the province of Ontario, or more specifically in a city like Toronto, is not an easy task. There are many firms and it is important to find the one that best suits your needs because using the right firm has many advantages:
Time and efficiency savings: Using a recruitment firm saves organizations time and energy. Firms handle the entire recruitment process, from candidate sourcing to selection and integration, allowing organizations to focus on their core mission of providing the best healthcare.
Optimized costs: Using a recruitment firm can be more cost-effective than managing recruitment internally. Firms can offer flexible solutions tailored to the needs of each organization, which helps to limit costs and optimize human resources. Additionally, recruitment firms often have established relationships with a wider pool of qualified candidates, reducing the need for expensive advertising campaigns and minimizing the time it takes to fill open positions.
Recruitment quality: Specialized healthcare recruitment firms have developed rigorous processes to ensure the quality of the candidates they propose. They ensure that selected candidates have the skills, experience, and qualifications necessary to meet the requirements of the positions to be filled.
Making the right choice by entrusting recruitment to a specialized firm is an essential strategy for organizations seeking to effectively meet the new challenges of the sector.
Conclusion
Healthcare recruitment trends highlight a shortage of staff and a growing need for healthcare professionals with new and diverse skills. Confronted with these challenges, healthcare organizations often find it difficult to internally implement effective recruitment strategies adapted to these new market realities. Hiring specialized healthcare recruiters then appears to be a wise solution, offering expertise and in-depth knowledge of the market to meet the specific needs of each organization.
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