The Nursing Shortage in Canada

There is still a nursing shortage in Canada and all predictions are that it will worsen in the future. Some jobs in nursing go unfilled because of a shortage of skilled and experienced Registered Nurses to fill them.

It is a simple matter of supply and demand. Canada does not produce enough registered nurses to meet the growing demand.

The Demand

The number of jobs in nursing will increase in the future because the demand is increasing as a result of:

• an aging population. The fastest growing segment of the Canadian population is the age bracket over 85 years.


• increase in the acuity of patients in hospital. The number of people who are sicker and in need of skilled care from a registered nurse is growing.


• more health care being delivered outside the hospital setting.

The Supply

There are many registered nursing positions that remain unfilled. Nursing journals, the internet job boards, and newspapers are always have ads for jobs in nursing. The shortage of registered nurses is predicted into the future.

The current registered nursing workforce is aging data collected by the Canadian Institute for Health Infomration reveals that the average age of the registered nurse employed in Canada in 2009 was 45.2 years.₁

It is simple equation...there will not be enough registered nurses produced in the nursing education system to replace the nurses who will be retiring in the next 10-15 years.

And simply creating more nursing education programs will not solve the problem. There is already an acute shortage of qualified faculty members for the nursing programs that exist.

From time to time the provincial health authorities decrease the number of jobs in nursing because of funding shortfalls. These are some of the political nuances of nursing in Canada.

These situations are usually temporary. All long range predictions forecast a nursing shortage in Canada.

---

See all the updates on the current nursing shortage in Canada and make a comment if you want to.

What You Need to Know to Get a Nursing Job in Canada.

View the posted jobs in health care in Canada.