Providers of emergency care in rural and urban settings

Family physicians have an increasingly important role in the provision of emergency health care across Canada. Most FPs who work in small towns or rural settings have become important providers of emergency medicine in their communities in addition to their family medicine practices.

The results of the 2007 National Physician Survey (NPS) show that FPs in non-urban settings greatly contribute to the provision of emergency care for their communities (Figure 1). This underscores the breadth of skills that FPs must possess to meet all the immediate needs of their patients. According to the 2007 NPS, young, male FPs are more likely to provide emergency care (Figure 1).

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Figure 1

Percentage of FPs providing emergency care

In a recent survey, 72% of FPs with the Certificate of Special Competence in Emergency Medicine [CCFP(EM)] stated they intended to practise only in emergency departments1; given this information, perhaps it is not surprising that 73% of all members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) with the EM designation (ie, 9.7% of CFPC members overall) work in urban centres.

The NPS is a collaborative project of the CFPC, the Canadian Medical Association, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Additional results are available at www.nationalphysiciansurvey.ca. If you would like the opportunity to develop and write a future Fast Fact using the NPS results, please contact Harleen Sahota, National Physician Survey Project Manager, at 800 387-6197, extension 416, or hs{at}cfpc.ca.

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