Nearly half of new nurses in Alberta planning to quit, says report

MEI Director of Research Krystle Wittevrongel says, “It is troubling that nearly one out of two young nurses in Alberta are leaving the profession before they turn 35. That’s a lot of people who could be treating Albertans and contributing to shorten wait times, but who aren’t because they were discouraged by the health system.”

On a national basis, the Institute claims that nurses are leaving the profession for a variety of reasons including insufficient pay, stressful work environments, overwork and problems with work-life balance.

The report says that many of those who expressed a desire to quit their current position or the profession altogether would consider working for an independent nursing agency instead.

“It’s understandable why governments would want to reduce their reliance on nursing agencies, given their costs, but that shouldn’t be done at the expense of patient treatment,” notes Wittevrongel. “If governments want to reduce their reliance on independent staff, they need to work on giving young nurses more flexibility to make working for the healthcare system attractive to them once more.”

The full report can be read on the MEI website.

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by David Opinko

Nearly half of new nurses in Alberta planning to quit, says report

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