nursingforsocialjustice

The nursing workforce crisis in Canada is not new. However, the magnitude is greatly amplified following the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing shortages have a direct negative impact on patient care outcomes. We know this. We have known this, for decades. Addressing the nursing workforce crisis in Canada requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses both immediate challenges and long-term sustainability. Here are ten steps that could help alleviate the crisis:

1. Increase Funding for Nursing Education

• Action: Government support to increase funding for nursing schools and scholarship programs to expand capacity and support students. We also need faculty to teach nursing students. The entry-level practice level of education required for Registered Nurses in Canada (except for Quebec) is a baccalaureate degree. The structure of the system must support nurses to pursue and complete masters and doctoral degrees in nursing (and I mean nursing if we want to advance nursing).
• Rationale: Higher financial support can help institutions accommodate more students and reduce barriers for potential nurses.

2. Expand and Enhance Recruitment Strategies

• Action: Develop targeted recruitment campaigns to attract individuals from diverse backgrounds and regions.
• Rationale: Nursing is an amazing profession. It is not a high profile profession the same way that medical doctor is. We need to change that. The future of health care is contingent on this. A broader pool of candidates can help fill vacancies and ensure a more inclusive workforce.

3. Improve Retention Through Better Working Conditions

• Action: Address key factors that lead to burnout, such as excessive workloads, inadequate support, and high-stress environments. Better working conditions means more than hiring more nurses, it means valuing nurses as education health care professionals and including them in management and research, it means developing nurses are leaders and changemakers.
• Rationale: Improved working conditions can help retain experienced nurses and reduce turnover rates.

4. Increase Support for Mental Health and Wellbeing

• Action: Provide mental health resources and support systems for nurses, including counseling and stress management programs. This is contingent on re-thinking work-life balance and the way that shift work in hospitals and 24/7 facilities that rely on nurses for health care delivery happens. This is not the 1950s. Perhaps this is the time to re-think the 12-hour shift and the 2-day 2-night shift rotation.
• Rationale: Supporting mental health can help reduce burnout and improve overall job satisfaction.

5. Enhance Opportunities for Professional Development

• Action: Offer continuous education, training, and career advancement opportunities for nurses. This is contingent on embracing the women-centeredness of the profession and the reality that many nurses are struggling to balance work-life with parent-life and adult-caregiver of older adult parent life, along with graduate-school life. We need nurses leading the health care system. This will not happen if nurses cannot rise above staff nurse positions. We need nurses in formal leadership, management, administration, research, and academia.
• Rationale: Professional development can improve job satisfaction, retain talent, and ensure high standards of care.

6. Implement Flexible Work Arrangements

• Action: Introduce flexible scheduling, part-time options, and job-sharing arrangements to accommodate various needs. We need to think about the cost-benefit of flexibility and how this can increase retention.
• Rationale: Flexibility can help attract and retain nurses who might otherwise leave due to work-life balance issues.

7. Strengthen Collaboration Between Health Care Sectors

• Action: Foster collaboration between hospitals, community health services, and long-term care facilities to optimize resource use and patient care. Educational and academic research institutions can be included in this, to modernize the system. We do not have many magnate hospitals in Canada (in fact, we only have one).
• Rationale: Improved coordination can reduce redundancy and improve overall efficiency within the healthcare system.

8. Streamline Immigration Processes for International Nurses

• Action: Simplify and expedite the certification and licensing process for internationally trained nurses.
• Rationale: Easing these processes can help quickly integrate skilled nurses from other countries into the workforce. Maybe magnate hospitals are an American construction to increase the spread and values of a neo-liberal capitalist-driven health care system, but maybe not. Maybe magnate hospitals are hubs of health care excellence where nurses can be warmly embraced and celebrated as innovative changemakers amongst the health care team.

9. Promote Research and Innovation in Nursing Practice

• Action: Support research initiatives that explore new models of care and innovative practices to enhance efficiency and patient outcomes. Nurses are leaders, nurses are change agents. Nurses are the future of an inclusive, equity and social-justice oriented health care system that is the cornerstone of human health. But we need to retain nurses and get them excited about moving up and out within the system to change the system, and to bring research to practice.
• Rationale: Innovation can address emerging challenges and improve the effectiveness of nursing care.

10. Advocate for Policy Changes and Increased Government Support

• Action: Lobby for policy reforms and increased funding from government bodies to address systemic issues affecting the nursing workforce. Engage with nursing associations, healthcare unions, and professional organizations to build a coalition of voices advocating for change. Collect data on nursing shortages, burnout rates, and the impact on patient care to support the need for policy changes and share this evidence.
• Rationale: Effective advocacy can lead to legislative changes that support the nursing profession and address workforce challenges. Policy reforms can tackle systemic issues contributing to the nursing workforce crisis, such as inadequate funding, high turnover rates, and insufficient support for professional development.

These steps, when implemented collectively, can help address the multifaceted issues contributing to the nursing workforce crisis in Canada and support the development of a sustainable and effective healthcare system.