Although many issues were discussed during the recent annual conference of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Hospitals, nursing recruitment was singled out for special attention. "The message is pretty simple," said Heather Mass, chief of nursing at the BC Children's and Women's Health Centre. "Educate more nurses and stop cutting schools of nursing."
According to an update provided at the conference, children's hospitals across the country are already facing a serious nursing shortage. The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto is responding by trying to become a "magnet organization" that has low staff turnover and competes successfully with other local hospitals for nurses. Dr. Jean Reeder, the chief of nursing at Sick Kids, says magnet organizations promote career development, give nurses control over their areas of practice and encourage a collaborative atmosphere. At Sick Kids, where the average age of nurses is 33 - the North American average is 45 - there are 1300 registered nurses on the payroll, including 23 nurse practitioners. Reeder has spearheaded ongoing recruitment activities with a Web site and a campaign aimed at bringing Canadian nurses home from the US. Its slogan? "Come back and care for Canada's kids."
If recruiting is a challenge for Sick Kids, a pediatric mecca, it is a nightmare for other centres. In Quebec, 40% of the 1999 graduating class from McGill University left the province because salary rates were not competitive. In Newfoundland, the shortage was worsened by a switch to longer baccalaureate training, which meant that there was no graduating class from which to recruit. In Vancouver, the shortage of nurses has led to the cancellation of surgery. As a grim Isobel Boyle, nursing director for the Child Health Program at the Winnipeg Health Authority, told her colleagues: "See you at the job fairs."