On nurses' day, an urgent plea

Today, May 12, is International Nurses Day. Ask most nursing students what their career aspirations are, and their answers will not include: “I want to work at the bedside of patients in a hospital for the bulk of my career.”

If you've ever been a patient in a hospital, you can probably understand why bedside nursing is not attractive for students. The work is hard, particularly when there is no ceiling as to how many patients a nurse can be responsible for on any given shift.

Ask just about any bedside nurse what their reasons are for considering leaving the profession, and their answers will include: “I cannot do my job properly when I get bombarded with too many patients.”

After decades of complaining about poor working conditions in hospitals, we finally had our voices heard, because of the COVID -19 pandemic.

In September 2021, Health Minister Christian Dubé acknowledged we are missing 4,000 nurses in hospitals and dedicated $1 billion to help rectify the situation. More nurses mean fewer patients per nurse, right?

One would think all that money would have made a big difference, and nurses would have jumped at the chance. Not so. As of January 2022, only 2,163 nurses decided to take the plunge and commit to full-time work at a public hospital despite bonus offers of up to $15,000.

In March 2022, Dubé announced further plans to reform the health care network, yet there was one crucial point missing from his plan: legislated nurse-topatient ratios.

A plea — endorsed by unions and the Ordre des Infirmières et Infirmiers du Québec — has been issued to the CAQ government to mandate firm nurse-to-patient ratios. Evidence shows ratios improve outcomes for patients and working conditions for nurses. Will the government listen?

Polls suggest François Legault and his government will easily get re-elected in the fall. Perhaps he does not need our votes. On the other hand, if he ever needs a nurse and finds himself in a public hospital, he will thank himself for listening and mandating nurse-topatient ratios in 2022.