New Brunswick has the highest rate of absenteeism among health-care workers in Canada while those in Alberta missed the fewest days, according to a Canadian Institute for Health Information study.

Health-care workers in New Brunswick are absent an average of 16.1 days annually, compared to a national average of 12 days a year, according to the study, published Monday. In Alberta, the average was 7.2 days a year.

New Brunswick's health-care workers also far exceeded the national average for workers of all kinds in Canada, who missed an average of seven days of work in 2006. For 20 years, health-care workers have had the highest average of lost work days compared to the rest of the Canadian population, according to the study.

On a national level, the researchers found that nurses are far more likely to be away from work than other health-care professionals — averaging 14.1 days a year. Doctors average 2.8 missed days annually, while those working in therapy and medical assessments average 8.1 days and pharmacists average four.

Sheila Ebbett, a registered nurse in Fredericton, told CBC News she is not surprised by the statistics.

"I sort of consider myself to be about a nurse and a quarter, because I'm used to doing one or two overtime shifts a week on my days off," Ebbett said.

The study, Canada's Health Care Providers, looked at workers ages 25 to 54.

The study also found that women working in health professions are more likely to be take a sick day, averaging 13.1 days annually compared to 6.4 for men.

In New Brunswick, women working in health care average 16.8 missed days while males average 12.5.

Extra challenges in nursing taking toll: union

An analysis by the Canadian Nurses Association indicates the absences of Canadian nurses adds up to 17.7 million hours annually, which is the equivalent of 9,754 full-time nursing jobs.

The gruelling nature of the shift work, the need to work overtime, and the physical and mental stresses of the job are all factors in the absences, said Marilyn Quinn, president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union.

But a nursing shortage is the underlying problem, Quinn said.

In New Brunswick, there are currently 250 nurses out on long-term disability, Quinn said.

"Those nurses are out longer than four months and a couple are out up to two years and some nurses never return to work," she said. "Some of that is attributed to the workplace. Some of it can be related to other illnesses."

The rate of new nurses entering the system is simply not able to keep up with the number of people exiting the system, Quinn said.

Currently nurses have to work extra hours to try to fill the gaps, she said.

"But realistically, it's not hopeful that we can continue this pace for the next 15 years. We need to have some immediate solutions."

The nurses union offered to help the provincial government address the workload issues in its upcoming health plan, Quinn said, but it has not yet heard back.