Nearly 60% of RNs in Saskatchewan, Canada mulled leaving last year – survey

Most nurses in Saskatchewan have experienced anxiety and feelings of helplessness due to the insufficient number of nurses in their workplaces. SUN

Nearly 60 percent of registered nurses in Saskatchewan, Canada have considered leaving the profession in the past year, a survey found.

A recent poll of more than 1,500 Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) members shows more than 80 percent said they didn’t have enough nurses in their workplaces.

Most have experienced anxiety and feelings of helplessness and believe Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe and health minister Paul Merriman have not handled the COVID-19 pandemic well, Global News reported.

SUN president Tracy Zambory said the results represent a “canary in a coal mine” that show nurses are scared, very overwhelmed and burned out. “Patients are being put at risk because there isn’t enough health care providers to be able to give safe patient care.”

Meanwhile, 63.1 percent of respondents didn’t approve of federally elected officials’ pandemic response, either. Just under half also rated the Saskatchewan Health Authority

In the 2022-23 budget the Saskatchewan government allocated $6.44 billion towards health care, which includes $1.5 million dedicated towards bringing 150 health-care workers from the Philippines to the province. Zambory said that even that limited measure takes time.

She said the province needs to invest in creating more seats for nurses in training programs, to pair new nurses with nurse practitioners so they learn more skills and to focus on recruiting nurses in rural areas, among other steps.