Nursing shortage a global problem, convention told

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 6, 2007 | 1:58 PM ET

CBC News

The widening problems that Canadian hospitals have in hiring nurses are nothing unique, international delegates to a nursing convention in St. John's say.

A lack of job satisfaction is an impediment to recruiting new nurses, says Patsy Doyle, who works in Cork, Ireland.
(CBC)

"It's become an epidemic in Ireland, to be truthful," said Patsy Doyle, a nurse from Cork, Ireland, who is attending a conference of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

"We know that it's a global shortage of nurses … At this time, people would prefer to work in any job bar nursing, because the job satisfaction — what used to be a hallmark of nursing — isn't evident anymore," she said.

A similar refrain was echoed by participants from other countries, who said a worldwide shortage of nurses is causing extra stress in the workplace, and limits the quality of care.

"The most frustrating thing a nurse has to face is going home at the end of the day knowing that they haven't provided the care that's required by their patient, simply because there aren't enough nurses," said Brett Holmes, general secretary of the New South Wales Nurses Association in Australia.

Delegates heard, though, that there are success stories, such as in California.

"By reducing our workload, we're able to keep nurses in California, and we've drawn nurses from other states, and we've drawn nurses back into the profession," Deborah Burger, president of the California Nurses Association, told CBC News.

In many Canadian jurisdictions, though, that is not likely to happen any time soon.

'Nurses are working 16 hours, [and] double shifts have become a routine,' says Teena Noseworthy, who works in eastern Newfoundland.
(CBC)

Teena Noseworthy, a branch president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses Union, said working nurses are asked to bridge gaps that are becoming deeper and more frequent.

"The phone doesn't stop ringing, and we have to go in to work for the fourth consecutive shift, or stay on because there's no relief," said Noseworthy, who works in Clarenville.

"Nurses are working 16 hours, [and] double shifts have become a routine."

Just last month, the Canadian Nurses Association warned that the country's nursing schools are producing more graduates than the number of jobs that will be filled. As a consequence, the CNA warned, many graduates will be recruited in the U.S. rather than work as casuals.