Nursing shortages across P.E.I.

A total of 89 nursing positions currently vacant

A shortage of nurses in P.E.I. is leading to burnout and low morale among registered nurses working overtime to fill gaps in the system, says the president of the P.E.I. Nurses Union. Mona O’Shea says a high number of nursing vacancies coupled with a shortage of backfill, notably in specialty areas, has led to many full-time nurses being asked to work to 120 per cent of their position and part-time nurses working full-time hours.

“Nurses feel the obligation that they need to go (work overtime), not only for their team, but also for the clients and the patients that they see,” O’Shea said.

“I feel bad for the front line, I really do.”

The union has filed a grievance against the province on behalf of approximately six dialysis nurses who are being denied the two weeks of summer vacation guaranteed in their collective agreement due to a shortage of backfill nurses trained in dialysis treatment. The six nurses have only been granted two days of vacation for the whole summer. Meanwhile, a shortage of nurse practitioners is also causing concern. A job posting for a replacement nurse practitioner at the O’Leary Health Centre last month had to be reposted recently with an incentive added, stating, “Relocation expenses may be available in accordance with Treasury Board policy.”

It’s a problem across P.E.I.’s health system, with vacancies also in licensed practical nursing (LPN) positions. Marion Dowling, chief of nursing at Health P.E.I., says there are about 89 full-time and temporary RN, LPN and nurse practitioner positions currently vacant across the province.

An aging workforce is adding to these staffing concerns, with a study in the province’s new three-year nursing strategy predicting attrition rates will be at 10 per cent by 2019 for RNs and seven per cent for LPNs.