As a soon-to-be nurse, I fear for the future

Canada must work harder to address the shortage, says Sarah-jean Craig.

The COVID -19 crisis has subsided, but the shortage of health-care workers has not. This June, I will become a registered nurse as I graduate with an honours bachelor of science in nursing degree. I'm told I will have my pick of jobs and should be thrilled. But there is too much to be concerned about in the Canadian health-care system.

There is an inadequate supply of Canadian student nurses being educated to provide health care in the future. Even if new nursing schools were suddenly created, there would be difficulty finding qualified instructors to fill these new positions. These are troubling realities. Research shows Canada is expected to be short more than 115,000 nurses by 2030, and throughout the world 13 million more nurses will be needed over the next 10 years. This is true even though nurses now represent the largest portion of health workers, with more than 28 million worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

The nursing shortage was a problem before COVID; however, the pandemic and its strain on health services brought the issue to the forefront. The pandemic also increased the nursing shortage because of sick leaves, burnout, retirements and early retirements.

In 2022, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions reported that one-third of the working RNS in Canada were 50 years of age or older, with many nearing retirement. To further complicate the health-care situation, Statistics Canada reports that by 2030, more than onefifth of the population will be 65 or older.

During the pandemic, health-care facilities were encouraged to protect their workforces and make extra efforts to nurture the mental health of nurses and other health-care workers. I hope the measures implemented will be maintained as an enhancement of post-pandemic working conditions.

We must reinforce the need to maintain a stable workforce of registered nurses and other healthcare professionals. It has been suggested that the nursing profession must be “rebranded.” There is too much emphasis on the caring nature of nurses and not enough attention paid to the science of nursing and the medical knowledge acquired by professional nurses.

Schools and educators must think “outside the box” to recruit and develop more instructors, while also producing more qualified nurses. More spots must be offered in colleges and universities to educate nurses, and more encouragement and incentives are needed for senior nurses to help educate and train students.

Next time you are in the hospital, know that some of the RNS who are taking care of you are also acting as on-the-job instructors to student nurses — the future of our health-care system.