Implementation of Multi-Professional, Needs-Based Health Workforce Planning in Nova Scotia: Progress and Challenges

To support health system transformation, efforts are underway to implement multi-professional, population needs-based health workforce planning in the province of Nova Scotia. The purpose of this article is to report on these efforts as well as successes and challenges encountered to date. Implementation has progressed furthest in the COVID-19 response and continuing care sectors, with similar efforts underway in primary care and mental health and addictions. Key enablers of needs-based health workforce planning in Nova Scotia include the availability of robust data on workforce supply and collaborative relationships between health system partners. The main challenges with implementing needs-based health workforce planning in Nova Scotia are the absence of provincial-level clinical service planning or standardized levels of service provision, and a lack of systematic collection of data to measure provider workload or health service outcomes.