REGINA — During National Nursing Week, the Government of Saskatchewan recognizes the dedication and commitment of nearly 18,000 nurses working across the province on the front lines of health care.
The theme this year for National Nursing Week is Our Nurses. Our Future. Building capacity within the health-care system and strengthening the current and future health-care workforce are top priorities for the Government of Saskatchewan, according to a press release.
In 2022, the number of nurses of all designations practising in Saskatchewan increased by nearly 600 year-over-year. Since 2007, the number of nurses practising in the province has increased by more than 5,300, including over 3,700 more registered nurses. The number of nurse practitioners has more than tripled to 343 and the number of licensed practical nurses has increased by more than 58 per cent to over 4,000.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks to our nurses who deliver high quality care every day to Saskatchewan patients,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said. “We have heard their calls for additional staffing and resources to meet patient care needs. We will continue to invest in Saskatchewan’s health care workforce to ensure our nurses feel supported.”
Over $22 million will support the continued implementation of 250 new full-time positions and the enhancement of part-time positions to full-time in rural and remote areas around the province, first announced in September 2022, the release states.
According to SHA, as of late April, nearly 120 of these positions have been filled, including registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, licensed practical nurses and nurse practitioners.
Saskatchewan's recruitment missions to the Philippines resulted in nearly 400 Filipino RNs committed to joining the provincial workforce. Filipino RNs who received conditional job offers will move through the RN Pathway, which includes language training, bridging education and licensing.
Connection and engagement with Saskatchewan's nursing students and recent graduates are also delivering positive results. Since December 2022, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has hired 186 grad nurses from the province and across Canada. A further 129 conditional job offers have been made to nursing students who will be graduating this spring.
Current training initiatives include $28 million to support implementation of the more than 550 new training seats in 18 high-demand health occupations including licensed practical nursing, first announced in January 2023. A $10 million investment was made to fund the second year of the 150 nursing seat expansion in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
A $2 million investment will provide for the continued provision of incentives between $30,000 and $50,000 to recruit in nine high-priority classifications, including RNs, RPNs, LPNs and NPs in rural and remote Saskatchewan, in exchange for a three-year return of service. The program has had 105 incentives approved to date.
The province also offers the Student Loan Forgiveness Program which encourages nurses and NPs to practice in rural or remote communities by forgiving up to $20,000 of their Saskatchewan student loans. Nurses and NPs who are eligible for the Student Loan Forgiveness Program may also qualify for the Graduate Retention Program which provides income tax credits of up to $20,000 to eligible graduates who live and work in Saskatchewan.
Details on opportunities for nursing and other health-care professions, how to access them and more information on the province's HHR Action Plan are available at saskatchewan.ca/HHR.
May 12, the birthday of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, is designated as International Nurses Day.
