Workload

Alright! I've had it!

On behalf of myself and the dedicated PAs with whom I work, I submitted an application for workload units to the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) in 2003 and I have yet to hear from them (despite diplomatic reminders, by yours truly, and inquiries since that time). I see my colleagues suffering under the weight of many, many complex, important surgical specimens while having to deal with insufficient space, insufficient technical assistance, insufficient staff, insufficient time and insufficient patience to get the work done in good time.

I see The City of Ottawa free-up the substantial money to hire 28 new Paramedics. Good idea; let's get more patients into the institution so that their presence can have a ripple effect upon every other department within the hospital. But don't bother to ask us! I see tons of Registered Nurses being romanced into seeking employment at The Ottawa Hospital. At the same time, I see the Anaesthetists taking a job action on Feb 11th as a result of the increased OR volume being inflicted upon them by the provincial government -- primarily as a result of not being consulted. Right on! Good for you! I don't see anyone asking if there should be more Lab Technologists or PAs to handle the additional volume of surgical specimens. What the heck is the point of doing the surgery if there's no diagnosis (FYI - for the uninitiated - the 'diagnosis' comes from Pathology ... nowhere else)? If all the government is doing is rushing a bunch of sick patients in one door; having the surgery performed; then shoving them [prematurely] out the other door, they're not helping health care one bit. They are, in fact, hindering good health care by 1. overwhelming the PAs, the Lab Med Technical staff and the Pathologists and 2. shortening post-op length of stay and thus risking a certain percentage of post-op deaths (which they are evidently willing to accept on your behalf -- nice of them eh?). To what end? I'll tell you why: to dupe the voting public into thinking that shorter waiting lists for surgery = better health care. Neither the politians nor the public know. Healthcare workers know. Too bad they don't ask.

I submit that if the CIHI would get off there duffs and process the application for workload units for PAs, the amazing volume of work that PAs perform could be easily tracked such that additional resources, including staff, could be easily justified in the next budget. As it is, the PAs are forced to console themselves in the knowledge that they are doing the best they can, for their patients, in spite of what seems to be the entire system ignoring them, if not taking advantage of them. I don't blame them at all for being 'irritable' from time to time. I'm talking about people who, more than anyone I know, have their hearts in the right place. Collectively, they have the highest work ethic of any group I know.

PAs, unlike Nurses of the 21st century, have the very lucky advantage, when it comes to patient care, of being separated from what is becoming a truly ugly situation. If you have had the misfortune to partake of the services of an ER, or heaven forbid, an in-patient ward, recently you know all too well that Canadian healthcare has taken on a completely different colour than when we were kids. I would not want to be a Nurse working in an ER. Pain aside, unless you are dying, you get 'stabilized' and then flushed out the door (and sometimes even if your ARE dying). This must be a real eye-opener for Nurses who started out with a more traditional idea of what nursing was all about. I'm glad I don't have to succumb in such a way to the immediate constraints of funding; I'd rather just supply the very best care that I can. I'm glad I'm a PA.

I see a number of PAs are less than glad however; and I don't blame them at all. We're having to really scramble to continue to provide even a reduced level of care to that which we have been accustomed. The ever-present, and growing, mountain of specimens is truly daunting. I don't blame the PAs for looking like they're caught in the headlights. I don't blame them for looking for a temporary change of venue. It's difficult to maintain your dedication to the patient under circumstances like these.

Rest assured however that your profession is a truly honorable one. You are set apart by what you do; by what you know; by how you do it. This is not BS. You are perceived by your fellow Technologists with respect, awe and envy. You deserve more and WILL receive it; it is just a matter of time. Be patient (this too sets you apart). It will come. In the meantime, I know you will continue to do the best you can for your patients; because that's part of what sets you apart from the rest.

Hang in there. You're the best.