Canada celebrates International Nurses Day each year on May 12 to recognize nurses’ contributions to ensuring quality medical care for Canadians. COVID-19’s pandemic effects and Canada’s aging population are still causing a shortage of nurses in Canada. Canada offers more perks to attract immigrant nurses in honor of international nurse day.
A recent report showed that 162,100 vacancies were open in the healthcare and social support industry in January 2023. It is the most ever. According to both the federal government and the provinces, international nurses (IENs). And the expedited acceptance of their credentials is an essential component of filling the employment shortfall.
Demand for nurses is high
Prior to the pandemic, there was a nursing shortage in Canadian healthcare. Nurses were experiencing burnout and poor mental health according to a CFNU assessment in 2022. In the course of the pandemic, many medical personnel resigned.
A survey conducted by the CFNU after Budget 2023 was introduced on March 28 found that four out of ten nurses are considering leaving their profession due to heavy workloads and inadequate staffing. It is estimated that one in two young nurses in their early careers will experience clinical burnout in their lifetime.
Provinces of Canada offer more perks to attract immigrant nurses
Providing healthcare is the responsibility of the province. In order to encourage more foreign nurses to come to Canada. Some of the provinces are working to lower the obstacles they may encounter once they enter the country. Most nurses in Canada struggle to obtain the accreditation they need to practice.
It is commendable that Canadian provinces are making efforts to recruit and retain more nurses to address this issue. The following illustrations illustrate the point.
Alberta
A government announcement in February revealed that more than $15 million would be spent on supporting and training IENs. Students who qualify will receive bursaries of up to $30,000. The money includes $7.8 million. A total of 600 new nurse bridging places will be provided by three colleges in Alberta with the remaining funds.
As part of the agreement, Alberta and the Philippines have also signed a memorandum of understanding that simplifies the hiring of Filipino registered nurses and licensed practical nurses.
British Columbia
In British Columbia, nurse-to-patient ratios will vary according to the type of care provided. ICU nurses will provide 1:1 care for ventilated patients, for example. In this way, the nurses will not become overworked and patients will receive the appropriate care.
IENs also receive over $3,700 in expenses from the province for application and assessment. Nursing practitioners returning to practice after a break may also receive an additional contribution of $4,000 for their assessments and qualified travel expenses.
Manitoba
A Human Resources Action Plan was announced by Manitoba in November 2022. Also, $200 million will be spent around the province to train, retain, and hire healthcare professionals, and mandatory overtime will be eliminated.
Nova Scotia
As part of the province’s recognition program for nurses, Tim Houston, the premier, announced a $10,000 reward on March 20. A return of service agreement that ends in March 2024 will be eligible for an extra $10,000 in the following year for those who subscribe.
In addition to 154 conditional offers made to healthcare professionals, including nurses, the province also conducted overseas hiring missions in Kenya, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
Ontario
The Ontario Ministry of Health, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. As well as the Ontario College of Nurses will make the following modifications in October 2022:
- In order to allow international nurses to work sooner while they pursue full registration. They should have the option to register for a temporary class;
- To make it simpler for retired or inactive nurses to rejoin the profession, the rule that nurses must practice nursing for a predetermined amount of time before requesting reinstatement should be relaxed.
- Establishing a temporary independent practice registration class to facilitate the hiring of physicians from other territories and provinces for a maximum of 90 days in Ontario.
The new year brought even more changes, including more changes on January 1st. The new rules are as follows:
- Time limits for registering new students should be imposed on health regulatory colleges;
- Give health regulatory schools a few exclusions, such as when Canadian work experience is deemed to be equivalent to overseas job experience.
- Accepting language exams that are permitted by the IRPA (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) will reduce the amount of time that immigrants must spend taking several language competence tests.
Ways to move to Canada as a nurse
In Canada, there are over 100 different economic immigration programs, many of which have programs expressly for medical professionals.
Nurses may be qualified to apply for Express Entry programs like the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class.
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) are another popular route for nurses. Provincial governments are empowered to choose qualified immigrants in the PNP. They believe have the best chance of establishing themselves economically and filling labor shortages in their provinces.
Nurses can utilize the following PNP streams:
- As part of its Human Capital Priorities Stream, the Ontario government invites nurses to apply.
- Under the Express Entry and Skills Immigration pathways, British Columbia offers a category for Healthcare Professionals.
- For the Saskatchewan International Health Worker EOI pool, nurse-specific EOIs were invited.
- It is not uncommon for the Labour Market Priorities Stream of Nova Scotia to hold draws for nurses seeking provincial nominations.
- Nursing international students who are fluent in English or French can take advantage of New Brunswick’s IEN – (Internationally Educated Nurses) program.
