WeRPN welcomes the introduction of the federal nursing retention toolkit, an initiative announced to improve the working lives of nurses to increase retention across Canada. It is reassuring to see the federal government recognize this urgent ongoing issue and provide resources specifically aimed at retaining dedicated healthcare professionals within the system.
Nurses are indispensable pillars of our healthcare system. They deserve to work in supportive, safe work environments that allow them to provide the best possible standard of care for patients. Implementation of the toolkit’s recommendations within nursing work environments is a step in the right direction towards ensuring that more RPNs can be retained. We encourage all employers to embrace the core themes within the toolkit to show your support for improving the work environment for all nurses.
While we support the spirit of the toolkit, we would also like to reiterate that more must be done to improve the lives of nurses. We look forward to seeing additional steps taken at the provincial level in the upcoming budget based on our recommendations, including harmonized wages, legislated nurse-to-patient ratios and enhanced educational opportunities for RPNs.