The health care team

Health services in Canada are delivered by a wide range of care providers, including physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dentists and many others. Collectively, health occupations make up a considerable part of the Canadian work force—895,000 people at the beginning of 2003.

Half of Canada’s 58,000 physicians in 2001 were family doctors. That same year, the number of registered nurses tending the sick in our hospitals or working in less traditional settings totalled over 231,000—close to 750 nurses per 100,000 people.

More and more Canadians are seeking out less traditional practitioners of medicine. In 2000/01, 8% of men aged 12 and over and 14% of women visited an alternative practitioner such as a massage therapist, acupuncturist or homeopath; 11% of Canadians consulted a chiropractor.