Alberta nurses rally for more workers, better work conditions

More than 150 nurses rallied in front of the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Monday to call on the province to recruit more members of the profession and improve working conditions.

The nurses said the shortage has reached a critical level, with many regularly working extra shifts and receiving no relief coverage when co-workers are on holidays or off sick.

"In the hospitals, we don't have proper staffing, and I'm worried that something's going to happen to somebody one day.… In terms of nursing care, you won't have somebody that is available to a patient when they're in need," said nurse Tina Stevenson, who left a hospital to join a clinic, where the working conditions were better.

"We need more nurses to help with that."

Union's plan addresses worker crunch

Nurse Brenda Craig, who works at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, said nurses are being asked to work in units outside the scope of their training.

"I am asked to work at times in areas that I don't even have training in," she said. "So you have to be careful. As a nurse, you do have to use caution."

The 25,000-member United Nurses of Alberta's plan to help combat the shortage calls for:

• More international recruitment.
• Improved working conditions.
• Incentives to encourage nurses to delay their retirement.

Union president Heather Smith said the province needs to implement the strategy before the worker crunch gets any worse.

"We say very simply that we all know that we can't create nurses overnight, that we need to retain, recruit and educate. That's the short-term, medium and long-term strategies," she said. "We need to take action now to keep the shortage from getting worse this year and next."

Smith said Alberta could be short more than 6,000 nurses within five years.

Health Minister Ron Liepert said after the rally that the province is suffering from a shortage of nurses, but he believes there are already plenty of reasons they would want to work in Alberta.

Liepert said "we have a very good contract" with the union, and nurses are well paid and have good benefits.

"I still say the best incentive is to provide the best work environment, and I think we have one of the best."

He said he hopes international recruitment efforts will bring in hundreds of foreign nurses. The licensing body will start issuing temporary certificates to recruits in June.