New Brunswick has matched 80 international nurses with jobs since the fall of 2020.
The aim of the pilot program is to support internationally educated nurses as they apply for immigration and help them meet registration requirements to live and work in New Brunswick.
Of the 80 nurses the province has recruited, Horizon Health has hired 55, Vitalité Health has hired 12, and 13 got job offers from provincial nursing homes.
“It is encouraging to see so many new nurses hired through the recruitment pilot,” said Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Trevor Holder. “We are now investing to further expand and support the development of a new program, creating a fully staffed unit to manage anticipated increases in our efforts to recruit internationally educated nurses in the years ahead.”
At a news conference in Saint John on Monday, Horizon Health CEO Dr. John Dornan singled out one of the international nurses on hand, Marwa Elnady, who came to New Brunswick from Egypt.
“I had a chance to chat with Marwa earlier today. Marwa is bridging [learning] to become a nurse in our hospital but, guess what? She brought her husband with her. Her husband is working on another floor,” Dornan said.
Nurses from India and Brazil were also in attendance at Monday’s media conference.
Dornan said his top priority is retention and recruitment and he put it in that order.
“We have lots of very, good capable nurses with us. We want them to stay,” Dornan said.
He said they regularly speak with their nurses on how they can improve the environment.
“One of the big tickets is ‘bring more nurses in.’ There is nothing more disheartening than going into a shift when you need eight nurses and you have four,” Dornan said.
Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said they are taking action to address the shortage of nurses working in our province.
“Our new provincial health plan reflects the importance of ensuring we have enough human resources to provide care to New Brunswickers, now and in the future. This recruitment program will continue to play a key role in recruiting and retaining the nurses we need to help stabilize and rebuild our health system,” Shephard said.
It can take from 12 to 18 months for an internationally educated nurse to become licensed to work as a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse in New Brunswick.
During the process, the nurses can work in support positions for regional health authorities or nursing homes serving in roles such as personal support workers.
A pilot project to recruit internationally educated nurses has matched 80 nurses with New Brunswick employers since its launch in fall 2020.https://t.co/8DvkGyju3c pic.twitter.com/FDGN5jBgSY
— Government of NB (@Gov_NB) April 11, 2022
