The number of regulated nurses working in Canada increased by two per cent between 2004 and 2005, but there could be a shortage in supply within a decade, the author of a new report says.  

The Canadian Institute for Health Information released its report, Highlights From the Regulated Nursing Workforce in Canada, 2005, on Wednesday.

The number of regulated nurses rose to 321,590 in 2005, from 315,121 in 2004, according to the report. The upsurge followed a decrease in the nursing supply in many regions during health restructuring in the 1990s.

Of the total, about 78 per cent were registered nurses, roughly 20 per cent were licensed practical nurses and 1.5 per cent were registered psychiatric nurses.

The growth is faster than that of the population, said Paul Sajan, program lead of health human resources for the institute, who led the study.

However, currently, almost one in five nurses is older than 55, and the average age is at its highest recorded level: 45. 

"With 20 per cent of the workforce age 55 or older in a profession that is as physically demanding as nursing, that does raise a question for what's going to happen in the next five to 10 years," Sajan told CBC Newsworld.

More educated

The report also looked at how education for nursing has changed. In 2005, 34 per cent of RNs had a university degree, compared with 19 per cent a decade ago.

The average age of people graduating as RNs has increased to 24.3 in 2005, from 23.7 in 2000, the report said. 

More people are also taking up nursing as a second career, but by the time they graduate, they are already over the age of 30. It remains to be seen whether these older newcomers will remain in the profession past the age of 60.

Hospitals and provincial governments are using retention policies to keep the most experienced members of the workforce, who can help train the next generation, Sajan said.

The number of regulated nurses working full time increased slightly from 53.5 per cent in 2004 to 53.8 per cent in 2005; those working part-time dropped from 34.9 per cent to 33.8 per cent; casual workers increased from 11.6 per cent to 12.4 per cent. It broke down as follows:

• About 54 per cent of RNs were full time, 33 per cent part time, and 11 per cent worked on a casual basis.
• About 47 per cent of licensed practical nurses were full time, 36 per cent part time, and 17 per cent casual.
• About 40 per cent of registered psychiatric nurses were full time, 16 per cent part time, and 4 per cent casual. (The remainder had an unknown status.)

Foreign-trained nurses, which make up about seven per cent of Canada's nursing population, are a potential source of staff, but it may be difficult to attract more of them, given that other countries are also facing shortages, Sajan said.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information is a not-for-profit organization established by the nation's health ministers to collect and analyze information on health and health care in the country and make it publicly available.