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There’s an alarming trend in the nursing profession with many leaving their careers before turning 35, a report from the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) released Tuesday revealed.
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The report stated that in the nursing profession, 29 out of every 100 new nurses in Manitoba are leaving early.
Across Canada, the numbers are worse.
“For every 100 nurses we train in the country, 40 are leaving the profession before their 35th birthday,” said Emmanuelle B. Faubert, an economist at the MEI.
This figure highlights an ongoing issue that has worsened over the past decade, contributing to a projected shortage of 117,600 nurses in Canada by 2030.
The study shows that the rate of young nurses quitting has increased by 25% since 2013.
Manitoba’s loss rate is the lowest in the country with 29.4 young nurses leaving for every 100 who entered in 2022, but that’s still an 11% increase from a decade ago.
British Columbia experienced the largest decrease, with young nurses quitting dropping from 46.3 to 31.5 per 100 new entrants.
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“Despite the fact that Manitoba is among the top performers in the country, that nearly one in three young nurses are leaving the profession remains troubling,” said Faubert. “It is clear that more needs to be done in order to retain nurses in the profession, and decisions that reduce flexibility in the workplace should be discouraged.”
Faubert emphasizes the need for better workplace flexibility to retain nurses.
A survey by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions indicates young nurses often cite inflexible work schedules and mandatory overtime as key stressors. Many express interest in independent nursing agencies as an alternative, seeking improved working conditions.
“If governments want to reduce their reliance on independent staff, they need to work on giving young nurses more flexibility to make working for the health-care system attractive to them once more,” Faubert said.
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