Demand for short-term doctors across Alberta up 40% (CBC)

The Alberta Medical Association says the number of calls out for locum doctors to cover one shift or longer at rural clinics and hospitals this summer is about 40% higher than the five-year average, CBC reports. Dr. Parker Vandermeer, who works as a locum doctor across the province, said his jobs have shifted from covering doctors’ vacations or absences to more emergency coverage in communities lacking permanent doctors, and that healthcare workers are burned out from the Covid-19 pandemic.