(photo courtesy of the NBNU)
During the 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM), the New Brunswick Nurses Union (NBNU) launched its ‘Who Needs a Nurse?‘ campaign.
The AGM was held virtually this year due to the state of COVID-19 cases in the province.
NBNU President, Paula Doucet, said the union is using the campaign as an opportunity to let the public know of the realities New Brunswick nurses face every day.
“Such as short staffing, working copious amounts of overtime, not having enough time to properly care for patients, clients, and residents, and missing out in their personal lives. New Brunswick’s healthcare system is held together by an exhausted, shorthanded workforce and we need New Brunswickers to know this.”
The pandemic has also increased stress for nurses, “however, this campaign depicts the reality of what nursing is, even pre-COVID-19. We saw this staff shortage before the global pandemic was declared, and I believe we are going to be in an even worse situation if we ever get out of this pandemic,” said Doucet.
There is also a massive push for travel nursing, which is enticing nurses to leave permanent positions with Horizon Health Network and Vitalite Health Network.
Doucet added it is getting quite difficult to recruit new nurses because it is hard for high school graduates to get accepted into a post-secondary Bachelor of Nursing program, as grades have to be “top-notch,” with only a few campuses across the province offering BN programs.
New Brunswick nurses are out of a collective agreement, and one of the lowest paid in Canada, however, bargaining with the province continues.
There are close to 1,000 vacant nursing positions across New Brunswick, and more than 700 nurses are set to retire in 2024.
NBNU’s new campaign started on Oct 25 and runs for six weeks. It will be advertised on television, digitally and socially, in print and on billboards, and out-of-home ads.
Follow
