Nearly half of registered practical nurses thinking of leaving profession: Study
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With registered practical nurses in Ontario working more hours and taking on more patients and responsibilities amid staffing shortages, half are considering leaving the profession, according to a new study.
A survey from the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN) polled more than 760 registered practical nurses in the province and found that patients are being put at risk as nearly 70% of RPNs say they are unable to provide adequate care due to lack of available time and resources.
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In addition, 47% of RPNs are considering leaving the profession, a statistic that has significantly jumped from 34% in 2020.
“I believe these findings will shock the public — close to seven in 10 nurses are seeing patients’ health being put at risk because adequate time, resources and staffing levels are simply not available,” says WeRPN CEO Dianne Martin.
“Alarmingly, this is now being normalized.”
The organization is calling on government leaders and policymakers to address the issue of nurses taking on more without appropriate adjustments to their wages.
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Two-thirds (68%) of nurses say they don’t have enough time or resources to allow them to adequately care for patients, 87% haven taken on more responsibilities in their role, and 84% are asked to cover additional shifts or overtime due to staffing shortages.
An overwhelming four in five nurses (79%) admitted they’ve experienced a breaking point related to their job – higher than it was in December 2020 when we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number-one reason is wage dissatisfaction, with the overwhelming majority of nurses (91%) saying that believe they are not being fairly compensated for their role.
WeRPN is asking the Ontario government to immediately repeal Bill 124, which limits wage hikes to a maximum of 1%.
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