is there a nurse shortage in canada?

beausud · Oct 11, 2004

Hi
I don't know about the situation in general, but I was able to find work easily in Montreal, even as a new grad (direct-entry master's). I started with a temporary full-time position but was offered permanent full-time as soon as one came up (a week after i started!). I'm on a medical floor in a Children's hospital.
Other people I graduated with have also been able to find full-time work quite easily in different areas (oncology, neuro surg, transplant, NICU). Be aware of the French requirements if you're planning to come to Quebec, though!
Good luck!

hmmm.... french requirement? my french is a little rusty @ this time :uhoh21: . i do know that i'll pick it up fairly quickly when i get back. was there a "french" part to your interview process? thx again.

beausud · Oct 11, 2004

i am in montreal too. I am thinking about entering a nurse program and mcgill is one of my choice. I have to start fall 2005 and I am not sure whether a MSN 3 years is better than BSN 2 year program. Is it hard to get in?
Thank you.

it depends on what your goals are after you graduate. a bsn is "prefered" for the future. i'm not quite sure if one is "better" than the other. i would think that with a masters you would probobly be looking at a "higher" level of nursing when you graduate. i dont know about the competitiveness of those programs. good luck.

beausud · Oct 11, 2004

i am in montreal too. I am thinking about entering a nurse program and mcgill is one of my choice. I have to start fall 2005 and I am not sure whether a MSN 3 years is better than BSN 2 year program. Is it hard to get in?
Thank you.

it depends on what your goals are after you graduate. a bsn is "prefered" for the future. i'm not quite sure if one is "better" than the other. i would think that with a masters you would probobly be looking at a "higher" level of nursing when you graduate. i dont know about the competitiveness of those programs. good luck.

madore57 · Oct 21, 2004

The William Osler Health Care System (4 hospitals) in the Greater Toronto Area have stated they will be laying off over 400 full time RN positions over the next 2 years. I read that in the newspaper.

Eilleen.

beausud · Oct 21, 2004

The William Osler Health Care System (4 hospitals) in the Greater Toronto Area have stated they will be laying off over 400 full time RN positions over the next 2 years. I read that in the newspaper.
Eilleen.

hmmm, thats odd... can you give us more info on this? thx.

madore57 · Oct 21, 2004

hmmm, thats odd... can you give us more info on this? thx.

this article was written july 26/04. i tried to find a more recent article but got fed up. what has happened since is that the government is only going to give wohc $3 million dollars which puts them in an even worse situation. the more recent article is specific about who is about to be fired (nurses and housekeeping staff) and over what period of time - 2 years.

add to this the fact that wohc is continuing to build it's fourth hospital at a cost of over $535 million dollars.

and the largest hospital in the group and the new hospital - both in brampton - are in peel county. mississauga where i live is in peel county and is the largest and richest city in the county with 1.5 million+ people. mississauga sends a lot of money to pay for those 2 facilities and we want our money to stay in mississauga so there is a vote coming to make mississauga independent of "peel county" which will screw wohc even more. don't get me started on the salaries that were printed in the papers about the ceo and other top level management at wohc will continue to get while the nurses are out of jobs and the community suffers more bed closures!

eilleen.

wohc will chop 400 jobs to trim its deficit

must cut $27 m from budget

sabrina divell, staff writer

brampton's hospital will suffer if the province green lights a deficit recovery plan that will cut 400 full-time staff and close acute care beds.

not being able to give specific details to what the 150-plus page recovery plan contains, dr. ian smith, william osler health centre's (wohc) chief of staff and co-chair for the recovery task force, said the impact will worsen the "decrepit state" the organization's three hospital campuses are already in.

directions handed down by the ministry of health to eliminate wohc's $27 million deficit have resulted in the task force of doctors and senior management making some very difficult choices that smith describes as going against "everything you believe in as a doctor."

if the ministry approves the plan it would mean:

* 400 full time jobs cut. smith said the impact would include front-line medical staff like nurses;

* a reduction in the number of acute care beds across wohc's three hospitals including brampton's new hospital which will open in stages rather than as a fully functioning hospital as planned;

* an increased patient backlog in all areas of the hospital as services are downgraded and consolidated. for an example, pregnant mothers could be put into a lottery to decide who would be allowed to deliver their baby at one of wohc's three hospitals.

on top of these looming problems, smith said wohc is currently in a hiring freeze, which is hindering recruitment efforts for specialists to staff brampton's new hospital.

"we are not going to act upon any of this until we have written authority (from the ministry of health) ... either (it) gives us the money or tells us what to do (implement or make changes to the recovery plan)."

smith said there have been too many mixed messages, including the confusion and public uproar over the now-abandoned idea of closing georgetown's obstetrics and pediatric unit-- a decision wohc thought was consistent with the ministry's deficit reduction orders.

the recovery plan's proposed cuts have to achieve the ministry's defined "clinical and operational efficiencies," said smith, which is directly translated to mean "beds and staff."

at the same time, all of this is taking place during a period when wohc is financially unstable.

"when the three hospitals were amalgamated, they had very little cash," said smith. "we started running deficits from day one and it has grown year after year."

at the end of the 2003/2004 fiscal year, the ministry of health forced hospitals to sign off on a recovery plan to eliminate their deficits or face being cut off from government funding.

wohc's current financial troubles include:

* a cash deficit where it owes money to the bank and to the government. smith said at certain periods during the year if the hospital can't borrow enough money it would actually have trouble covering payroll. "we have to go cap in hand to the government asking it to tell the bank it will cover us through that shortfall, so that's in addition to what we normally borrow from the bank";

* the $27 million recovery plan is based on the deficit wohc would accumulate in 2004 to 2005 if there were no increases in costs and it did business the exact same way it has over the last couple of years. smith said what isn't included in the $27 million is expected union contract increases this year, rising drug costs and higher expenses for medical surgical supplies;

* what government funding wohc receives as an organization that operates three acute care hospitals is equivalent to only one acute care hospital in ontario.

big financial problem

"we have a big financial problem," smith said bluntly. "what we did with the recovery plan was go on a service by service, program by program, basis and try to figure out how we could get to the $27 million figure."

however, the taskforce questions how to cut more than 10 per cent of it's already strained $300 million operating budget without impacting patient care.

"that's impossible," said smith. "the ministry doesn't want to hear that anything negative is happening in terms of patient care."

but when if you start cutting patient access, increasing waiting times, or not performing different services as much as you were before, "those are all patient care areas, i don't care how you twist the words," he added.

joseph fairbrother, corporate chief, department of diagnostic imaging, and a member of the task force, said, "the impact of this plan will be very dramatic, the impact will be very real."

"we are very much aware of the concerns of staff because this is clearly an anxiety-provoking event for them, that is why we have written to the ministry presenting the recovery plan and asking them for the written direction on implementation." fairbrother said the longer wohc has to wait, the more adverse effect it will have on the staff. however nobody knows exactly what part of the recovery plan will become the future reality for the hospital organization.

Fiona59 · Oct 22, 2004

Some of the shortage might be relieved if LPN's were allowed to work to full scope of practice.

I mean, come on, some facilities won't even let us remove sutures but require an RN to do it.

beausud · Oct 22, 2004

it seems as though those who work the front lines i.e.: floor nurses etc.. get shafted while the big wigs get payed to "save" money... so sad yet i am not surprised. what kind of sacrifices have the top managers (CEO's) made on their part? shouldn't EVERYBODY contribute to turn things around? i might be over-simplifying things here but i cant help feeling frustrated. anyhow, i hope things turn out well.

fergus51 · Oct 22, 2004

I can't imagine that going through. Sounds more like a ploy to get more money out of the provincial government.

gchelak · Oct 23, 2004

i think it really depends upon where you're looking for work... i'm a new grad who just moved to Alberta in May... i had a full time position within a week of being there and have been offered several more since... i'm currently working a part time position (my choice to cut back on hours because i'm doing a Critical Care course) with tons of overtime...
where i was living before in Eastern Ontario, it was starting to look like the only thing i was going to find were casual positions... i sent out a ton of resumes with no response... those same resumes were gold in Alberta! i have friends from nursing school and work who have found work in B.C., Ontario and Newfoundland... but most of them have been casual...
beth

Hi Beth:

I have a question...

I am currently doing a 2 year nursing course here in TX (graduating Dec 2005) and am moving back to Calgary when I am done (my husband is already there). I was worried about being able to find a job there being a new grad when I move so I was thinking about staying here for 6 months after graduation just to get a bit of experience.

Can you tell me what areas are in demand there in Alberta that you applied for, and any advice on what I should do after I graduate (stay here to get experience or move back right after graduation if the little experience won't do me any good anyway.)? How on earth can I find available jobs in Calgary to be able to tell what is in demand so I can maybe get experience in that area before I move back? Since it is unionized, they are not listed in a regular job site.

Any advice is most appreciated! :rolleyes:

Gail

fergus51 · Oct 23, 2004

Everything is in demand in Calgary. They take new grads into specialty areas, but would probably start you on a general ward. I think you can access them through http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca . You can access info about Edmonton at http://www.capitalhealth.ca

fergus51 · Oct 23, 2004

http://www.crha-health.ab.ca/supp/hr/employ/categories/Nursing_title.htm

Jobs are listed. You just have to click on "opportunities" on the upper right hand corner of the homepage