RNs want to help `sisters' in nursing
Nurses seek to lighten load by getting retired colleagues to handle vaccinations
Two nurses are leading a campaign to connect with retired registered nurses and help them return to the health care system and administer COVID-19 vaccinations.
In January, both Annemarie Plumridge and Terry Webber could see the looming need in the province for help in inoculating millions of people once supplies of vaccines were in place.
At the time, a big stumbling block for getting retired nurses back into health care were the requirements for an emergency licence: either completing 1,125 hours of work in the previous five years or taking a nursing refresher course over several months.
A recent provincial health order by Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province's medical health officer, has, in effect, superseded those requirements.
The order allows dentists, midwives, podiatrists, pharmacy technicians as well as several other health professionals and retired registered nurses to work in the 172 mass-vaccination clinics scheduled to open across B.C. Under the order, the requirements to allow retired registered nurses back into health care have been streamlined. They include taking several hours of online courses to qualify to administer vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.
The two nurses fully support Dr. Henry's move and say they now have to get the word out to retired RNs and work to ensure there is a “one-stop-shopping” site where nurses can go to smoothly get back into the system.
Plumridge said she and Webber's involvement stems from recognizing how workload during the pandemic has “burned out” many nurses.
“What Terry and I want to do is help our sisters,” said Plumridge, who worked 45 years as an RN before retiring in 2014.
“We want to get more retired nurses out to help with this vaccine.”
Plumridge said she and Webber discovered similar regulatory requirements around allowing retired nurses to return to work in various jurisdictions across Canada and the United Kingdom. It was frustrating many RNs who were ready and able to help with vaccine distribution.
“What Dr. Bonnie Henry has done is absolutely excellent,” she said. “This has opened the doors.”
Retired RNs now have to pass online courses on basic immunology and vaccine response as well as on legal and ethical issues to administer vaccines.
“It's not just about giving a shot. It's quite involved,” she said. “We're happy to do it.”
One place for registered nurses to start is by going to the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives, the regulatory body for registered nurses. It includes links to the recent public health order and to the COVID -19 Emergency Health Provider Registry.
Johanna Ward, communications specialist with the BCCNM, said the college is “trying to do our best to fill in the gaps where we can and also be very clear about what is our role and what is not.
“With retired RNs, it does make sense to go to their regulatory body even if they're not registered with us anymore.”
Webber said she and Plumridge are hoping to improve the process so that RNs have a single location where they can go if they want to get back into the system and help with vaccinations.
“It's all lining up, but now we need to connect the dots so retired nurses can actually get hired and get to the clinics to provide vaccination,” said Webber, an RN for 47 years who is semi-retired.
“We think we have a bit of a road map. This road map could be dispersed to all health authorities, cut down on phone calls and expedite the process.”