Nunavut’s nursing shortage echoes national problem

Nurses are overworked, stressed out and leaving the profession in droves, putting patient care and the future health of Canadians at risk, says a report on the state of nursing in Canada.

“This situation is untenable and inattention to these issues poses a serious threat to the quality of patient care in Canada,” says the report, Building the Future: An integrated strategy for nursing human resources in Canada, released last week during Health Canada’s National Nursing Week.

“There’s a lot of work to be done in Nunavut,” agrees Steven Leck, a nurse in Pond Inlet for the last seven years. “But I think there’s a lot being done right now, and a lot of good things that have happened.”

Leck, the incoming president of the 400-member Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, says Nunavut is fortunate because a stable team has led the GN’s health and social services department, developing plans and staying around long enough to carry out them out.

That “consistency at the top” makes nurses like Leck less eager to jump ship.

But Leck says federal, provincial, and territorial governments need to take a serious look at the research and recommendations for change outlined in Building the Future.

The report says educating more nurses is a key way to solving Canada’s nursing shortage and that more efforts have to be made to address the low numbers of First Nations and Inuit nurses.

The report’s 10 recommendations include a call for improvements in work environments, by cutting down on overtime and making sure nurses have the equipment, back-up and support they need.

The average age of nurses in Canada is nearly 50 and many simply retire because they can’t go on working.

The average age of a nurse in Nunavut is 44, and their average length of stay in the territory is only about 2.5 years.

Leck, who has worked in Baffin for 15 years and in Pond Inlet for more than seven years, is the exception. The people of Pond Inlet, his co-workers and the new nursing station have all contributed to his staying in that community.

Leck says pay and benefits aren’t the only reason nurses decide stay in the territory: they also want to improve their skills.

To hang on to nurses in Nunavut, Leck would like to see more opportunities for nurses to upgrade their knowledge and qualifications. Many want to become nurse practitioners certified to diagnose and prescribe medication. When community nurses can advance their education through courses, they’re more likely to remain in Nunavut.

“It’s a win-win situation,” says Leck.

Leck wants to see an expanded nursing education program at Nunavut Arctic College to provide professional development for nurses and train new nurses.

Last week, NWT’s nursing program at Aurora College celebrated its 10th anniversary. Aurora has produced 100 graduates and 85 per cent of them have stayed in the NWT.

Leck says Nunavut may take 20 years to reach that many graduates. At the same time, the population will grow, increasing the need for nurses.

This will also help the GN’s promise to offer health care “closer-to-home.”

“You can’t send people back to the community if you don’t have people there to take care of them,” Leck says.

Overall, Canada faces a worsening nursing shortage. This shortage already has a direct effect on the health of nurses and on patient safety, says Building the Future.

Medication errors were “significantly increased” when nurses’ shifts were longer than 12 hours, when nurses worked overtime, or when they worked more than 40 hours a week.

Overwork is making nurses sick, too. Over 70 per cent of nurses in Canada reported missing workdays due to short-term illnesses and injury claims are also up.