Union unhappy with hiring nurses from overseas
Last Updated: Friday, February 2, 2007 | 5:05 PM MT
CBC News
The Alberta nurses union says poaching from overseas is not the way to solve Calgary's nurse shortage.
Hiring 140 nurses from the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates isn't a fair solution to Calgary's nursing crunch, said Michelle Senkow, a spokeswoman for United Nurses of Alberta, on Thursday.
"We have a global nursing shortage. Who would we be taking these nurses from? Is it another country that desperately needs nurses? We don't like our Canadian nurses to go elsewhere."
Senkow says more spaces are needed in nursing schools, and the health authority should put more resources and energy toward keeping existing staff.
"I'm still hearing from people that are so dissatisfied with the job and the work life that they are leaving."
Qualified and fluent: health region
The Calgary Health Region announced Wednesday that conditional offers of employment were made to 140 nurses in the two countries after a successful recruitment drive.
The new recruits are all qualified nurses who are fluent in English, but some may need upgrading to meet Canadian standards, said Noreen Linton, the region's associate chief nursing officer.
All of the recruits will have to go through Canada's immigration process and be licensed before they can start working in Calgary hospitals. The new nurses are expected to start arriving in the next three to six months.
Last month, employment ads for "hard to fill positions" in Calgary appeared in newspapers across the country.
"We will continue to raise awareness nationally and internationally that the Calgary Health Region has attractive employment opportunities with excellent salaries, benefits packages and learning opportunities for nurses and health-care professionals," said Susan Cassidy, an executive director at the health region, in a statement.
The Calgary Health Region estimates it is short about 650 nurses.
In December, the head of the health authority said as many as 70 beds will be closed on any given day to ensure patient safety because of a shortage of staff, mostly nurses.
Share Tools
Latest Calgary News Headlines
- Calgary Transit to buy LRT simulator
- Calgary Transit will soon have an automated trainer to help teach operators how to drive a C-Train. more »
- Fire destroys house in S.E. Calgary
- A home on the southeast edge of Calgary was destroyed by fire on Sunday night. more »
- Committee finds high-voltage lines needed in Alberta
- A government-appointed panel of experts has found that Alberta needs to build two controversial high-voltage transmission lines between Edmonton and Calgary as soon as possible. more »
- Identify legal marijuana grow-op sites, Calgary asks Ottawa
- Calgary officials are asking to be kept in the loop about medical marijuana being grown in the city. more »
Top News Headlines
- HMCS Corner Brook collision damage extensive
- The damage done to HMCS Corner Brook when it hit the ocean floor off B.C.'s coast last summer was more extensive than first reported, CBC News has learned by obtaining exclusive pictures of the submarine. more »
- Mandatory gun sentence struck down by Ontario judge
- An Ontario Superior Court judge has struck down a mandatory minimum sentence for a first offence of possessing a loaded firearm. more »
- O Canada! 12 Flag Day stories of patriotism
- Ahead of tomorrow's Flag Day celebrations, our readers shared some of their proudest Canadian moments. Here are some of the best. more »
- UN raises fears of civil war in Syria
- Syrian government forces renewed their assault on the rebellious city of Homs on Tuesday, activists said, as the UN human rights chief raised fears of civil war. more »
- Man pleads guilty to murder of stepdaughter, 17
- Calgary Transit to buy LRT simulator
- Celiacs split on benefit of gluten-free tax break
- Fire destroys house in S.E. Calgary
- Alberta pharmacists to renew prescriptions
- Identify legal marijuana grow-op sites, Calgary asks Ottawa
- Alberta makes it easier for students to obtain loans
- Committee finds high-voltage lines needed in Alberta
- Mace used in Calgary pizzeria robbery
