'A warm welcome': P.E.I.'s efforts to find nurses overseas a success, with 107 new hires

Health P.E.I.'s efforts to address a shortage of nurses on the Island by looking overseas appear to be paying off with more than 100 new hires.

The province's recruitment efforts have now recruited 11 new internationally educated health workers, with another 96 nurses trained overseas also signing contracts, according to the agency.

"They've signed a conditional job-offer contract with a commitment to come to P.E.I. through 2023," said Ryan White, Health P.E.I.'s director of talent management.

His goal is to bring 10 internationally educated nurses to the province every month, he said. The new recruits are getting government assistance and temporary housing to help them settle here.

White added that some workers cannot come immediately because they must give between 90 to 180 days' notice to leave their current employment elsewhere.

He said with the immigration process to Canada taking anywhere from three to six months, nurses overseas can also face "financial constraints for themselves to prepare for them for the move."

A number of Island nurses retiring soon, and high turnover rates, have Health P.E.I. saying it needs to recruit 200 nurses by mid-2025.

That number includes this year's expected 107 new overseas hires, as well as those from a recruitment effort in Dubai in February. White said the goal of that trip was to hire 50 to 60 nurses, which he said was a success.

"We want to fill our vacancies as quick as we can," he said. "But we also don't want to overwhelm the system either."

Local housing is also a concern, White said, so new recruits are being provided temporary housing for 60 days, and the province is offering some leeway if settling here takes longer.

So far, he said, four families have found housing within a few weeks, one before they even landed on P.E.I.

"Obviously coming into the summer months housing is a bit more difficult," said White. "We delay a little, we push off a little bit.

"We've been very fortunate, we have secured some temporary housing within P.E.I. through landlords and whatnot."

It's too early to know the retention levels for the new international hires, White said, but about 19 per cent of the initial Dubai cohort have since backed out. He expects the trend to stay around that rate.

His work doesn't stop at recruitment and housing either. Staff coming from another country won't have an existing social network, so he hopes the Island's community steps up to welcome them.

"We have an opportunity to engage," he said. "We should extend our hands in friendship, and give them all a warm welcome into our communities — so we can set them up for success."