With National Nursing Week (May 7 to 13) ending just last weekend, the Government of Saskatchewan released a media statement that noted at least 3, 700 more nurses have been added to the healthcare system since 2007.
“Our government has shown strong commitment to recruit and retain nurses in Saskatchewan over this past decade,” said Health Minister Jim Reiter in the media release. “Nurses are highly valued members of the healthcare team, and their contributions are key to quality care for Saskatchewan residents. Working together with our nursing partners, I’m pleased with the solid progress we’ve made in increasing the nursing workforce.”
The 29 percent increase since the early 2000s has raised the total licensed nurses in Saskatchewan to over 16,000. The breakdown of the additional nurses means Saskatchewan now has 231 more Nurse Practitioners (NPs), 3,776 more Licenced Practical Nurses (LPNs), 847 more Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) and 11, 468 more Registered Nurses (RNs).
“We have more nurses in the province than any other time in our history,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said in the media release. “While we are pleased with this growth, we continue to work with partners to recruit for vacant positions across the province.”
Currently, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has aimed not only to retain but to recruit new nurses by implementing various action plans.
For example, the training seats for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses has grown by 300 in the last few years, and the training seats for nurse practitioners has doubled from 20 to 40.
For the areas that are chronically hard to recruit and retain nurses, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has received funding to support the recruitment and retention of nurses for these areas. A result of this funding means clinical placement bursaries for nurses who agree to work in rural and remote areas of the province are now offered.
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