New Brunswick is hoping to produce more nurses through a new $13-million pilot project.
Officials were in Saint John on Friday morning to announce the Step Up to Nursing program.
The goal is to train personal support workers (PSWs) to become licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and LPNs to become registered nurses (RNs).
Participants will work part-time in the health-care system while completing their respective program.
Post-Secondary Education Minister Trevor Holder said they will be paid full-time wages and have their tuition fees covered.
“This is a made-in-New Brunswick solution. Our reason for doing this is we wanted to have something nobody else had, at least in the country,” Holder told reporters after the announcement.
“We’ve heard too many stories where people want to improve themselves, they want to move onto that next level in the nursing continuum, but it’s hard for them to do it and give up their job and try to get retrained at the same time.”
Program to be offered in Saint John, Bathurst
The program will be offered at UNB Saint John and CCNB Bathurst as a mix of online and in-person training.
Officials hope to have just over 200 participants over the next two years, including 112 in Saint John.
“I think it’s proven that once you have people working in the system, that they have stable employment, that’s the best path to retention,” said Holder.
Participants must commit to working in New Brunswick for a certain period of time once their program is complete.
The PSW-to-LPN program is two years in length. Participants will work 50 per cent of the time and study 50 per cent of the time.
The LPN-to-RN bridge program will take three years and eight months to complete, with participants working 60 per cent of the time and studying 40 per cent of the time.
“Giving health-care professionals the flexibility to upgrade their training while still being able to work is a step towards improving our health-care system,” said Health Minister Bruce Fitch.
“Improving our health-care system is a team effort and today’s announcement is another great example of our partners working together to ensure New Brunswickers have access to the health care they need.”
Province not worried about losing PSWs
While the pilot project is aimed to help produce more nurses, it will lead to fewer personal support workers in the system.
Holder said he does not believe they will have a problem attracting new personal support workers to replace the ones who decide to upgrade their education.
“We have a program in place to pay the full tuition for personal support workers. There’s always a track of students coming into that,” he said.
Funding for the initiative is provided over a three-year period through the Canada-New Brunswick Labour Market Agreements.
More details about the program can be found on the Government of New Brunswick’s website.
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