Coming soon: Med High
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* Ryan Tumilty

*   © 2008 Canadian Medical Association

Alberta students could be soon be studying anatomy along with their arithmetic under a government proposal to create health-care centred high schools.

Part of a plan to swell the ranks of healthcare workers, the scheme would see a “medical” high school opened in both Calgary and Edmonton to provide students with some form of additional instruction that might prepare them for a career in health. The governing Progressive Conservatives floated the plan in the run-up to the Mar. 3, 2008, general election, in which they captured their 11th consecutive majority in a landslide.

Such a high school would help the province address its shortage of nurses, paramedics, personal care aides, doctors and every other kind of health worker as the population explodes and many workers are lured to other industries, says Health Minister Dave Hancock. “It is about finding people who are interested and giving them the opportunity to develop that interest.”

But Alberta Medical Association President Dr. Darryl LaBuick isn't sold on the idea.

A lack of interest in health careers isn't the problem, LaBuick says. “Medical schools have many, many more applicants than those that get in, so from the point of view of getting people interested in medicine that is really not a problem.”

LaBuick argues the focus has to be on post-secondary spaces because that is where the real training is done.

“They need to look at making spaces available for people in our community and technical colleges and universities for all of the people they want to train.”

LaBuick is also concerned that the schools might ultimately affect the demographics of the health care profession in the future. “If you start to channel people too early in Calgary and Edmonton that limits the chances of people in the rural areas to get into these professions,” he says, adding that might only make it that much more difficult to resolve current difficulties in attracting physicians to rural and remote areas of the province.

But Hancock contends the proposal could prove as successful as the province's registered apprentice program, which allows students to earn credits for their high school diploma and an apprenticeship in the trades at the same time. It has helped get workers into the labour-starved construction industry and a medical high school could help hospitals, long-term care facilities and ambulance providers do the same, he says.

Although the curriculum hasn't yet been established by the Calgary and Edmonton school boards, it's hoped students might be able to earn some credit toward work as a paramedic or licensed practical nurse.

Hancock is confident the boards will establish a valid program on par with those created for fine arts, or science and technology high schools. He also hopes the new schools will be able to partner with hospitals to give students a taste of a career in medicine, while at the same time providing hospitals with volunteer help.

The governing Tories poached the concept from Portland, Oregon, but if established, the schools would be the first of their kind anywhere in Canada.

The Tories also vowed on the campaign trail to increase the number of licensed physicians in the province (currently 6918) by 225 per year, through a combination of new postsecondary entry positions and readier approvals of international medical graduates. As well, they vow to bolster the registered nursing ranks by 350 per year, and licensed practical nurses by 220 per year.