Health and Social Services Minister Mildred Dover advised today that a public advertising campaign has been launched by the Province to recruit nurses.
Advertisements have been placed in local and Atlantic Canada newspapers and national nursing publications to recruit registered nurses and determine the level of interest of nurses wishing to practice in PEI now and in future.
The initiative is part of the new $10 million Health Stabilization Fund established by Government to create new nursing positions in the province.
Earlier this year, 83 new full and part-time nursing positions were advertised internally to existing nurses in accordance with the collective agreements. Positions which were not filled internally are now being advertised externally.
The ads being placed by the Public Service Commission advise of opportunities in all areas of nursing throughout the province. "While it is too early to say exactly how many permanent positions will be advertised to the public at the end of the process, there will be permanent positions in some areas. Casual nurses can be assured of plenty of work," advised the minister.
The process to fill the new positions is now about 85 per cent complete and the campaign is meeting its objectives, she said. "The Health Stabilization Fund has provided many new opportunities for existing nurses, and to date it has provided 55 casual nurses with permanent employment. These are 55 nurses that we have retained in our province. Our need now is to complete the process and to continue to recruit new nurses to our workplaces to meet immediate needs, and future needs as nurses retire."
The minister advised that it is critical to have an adequate supply of casual nurses available to cover sick leaves, holidays and temporary leaves. The need for casual nurses has become even greater now that more permanent positions have been created.