[brian]

OTTAWA - Canada's nursing workforce will be hit by a tidal wave of retirements in coming years, a new report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information indicates.

One in three nurses is 50 or older, says the report based on 2003 data. Only one in 10 is under 30, suggesting there are not nearly enough younger nurses to replace those who will retire. "If we don't do something now we really are going to have some pretty dire consequences," says Lucille Auffrey, executive director of the Canadian Nurses Assoc., commenting on the CIHI report.

The problem is far from new: it has been the subject of numerous reports since at least 1997. Yet governments have made little effort to deal with it, Auffrey said in an interview Tuesday.

http://www.canada.com/health/story.h...1-7c05fe4d070a

[oramar]

I would stay longer if they reduced my patient load. I am in USA but it would work in Canada as well as USA. I am not talking about reducing patient to nurse ratios just for oldtimers, I am talking about everyone.

[barefootlady]

Who can afford to retire. I will be that fossil in the corner somewhere. I already feel petrified most days anyway.