For every ten nurses, four report wanting to leave the profession. Insufficient staffing levels and high workloads resulting from the current nursing shortage are the main factors fuelling the nurses’ desire to leave.
But we need care, so we need nurses. It is therefore imperative that the government implement effective measures to fix the problem before it’s too late.
United Nurses of Alberta is proposing implementing the research-backed 3Rs: Respect, Retain, Recruit Framework to solve the current nurse staffing crisis.
The framework is based on the practical experience of front-line nurses and can be implemented immediately to demonstrate a greater level of respect for nurses while improving the retention and recruitment of nurses working in Alberta’s public health care system.
Click on the tiles below to find our more about the 3Rs.
Offer Professional
Development
Opportunities
Provide funding and resources for ongoing education, training, and skill enchancement.
Work Life
Balance
Implement flexible scheduling policies to help establish and maintain a healthy work life balance.
Safe Working
Environment
Ensure proper staffing levels, adequate personal protective equipment, and measures to prevent workplace hazards.
Involve Nurses
in Policy
Discussions
Ensure nurses have a seat at the table in policy discussions and healthcare reform initiatives.
Create More
Recognition
Programs
Establish awards, honours and public acknowledgments for exceptional nursing contributions.
Mental
Health
Support
Offer accessible counselling services and stress management resources to address the emotional challenges nurses often experience.
It is also crucial that the government improve home care and access to mental health services as soon as possible and provide improved access to ambulatory and urgent care. This will relieve the pressure and overcrowding in emergency departments.
Eliminate
Vacancy
Management
Streamline hiring processes for quicker staff placement, especially in rural areas, reducing temporary postings and overtime thus attracting more nurses.
Offer Financial
Incentive for
Rural Nurses
Implement flexible scheduling options and supportive policies to help establish and maintain a healthy work life balance.
Dismantle
Operational
Best Practices
Replace OBP with patient-centred care strategies to ensure patient acuity guides staffing decisions, particularly in emergency and intensive care units.
Ensure
Appropriate
Staffing
Prevent nurses from doing non-nursing tasks, allowing them to focus on direct patient care with ample support staff.
Expand
Long Term Care
Beds
Expand publicly funded and delivered LTC beds, hire nursing staff to match patient needs, address the shortage and reduce the patients’ wait times in acute care.
Gather and Share
Workforce Data
Require Alberta Health Services and other employers to regularly gather data to identify workforce issues and staff deficits.
UNA understands there are already efforts to improve the transition of internationally recruited nurses into the system and increase the number of nursing seats in Alberta. We support these efforts and look forward to working closely with the government and our coworkers from other health care unions on these issues.
UNA also looks forward to feedback from its members and additional ideas about how to address retention and recruitment of nurses.
Increase
Support for
New Nurses
Offer mentorship and transitional graduate programs for new nurses.
Expand Locum
Initiative
Province wide
Extend the LOCUM initiative beyond AHS North Zone enabling its benefits for work sites in other zones.
Smooth Transition
for Internationally
Educated
Nurses
Provide support for IEN’s to transition and meet additional credential requirements to enter Alberta’s nursing workforce.
Boost
Nursing School
Enrollment
Boost nursing school seats and funding to educate the next generation of nurses, including accessible bridging programs for LPN’s aspiring to be RN’s.
Rural Nursing
Student
Incentive
The government can create new scholarships and bursaries or match existing incentives in rural Alberta for nursing students.
