Practice Conference 2026
Ratios Save Lives: From Policy to Practice
More than 200 BCNU members from across the province gathered in Vancouver on March 11 and 12 for the union’s 2026 professional practice conference, Ratios Save Lives: From Policy to Practice. Speakers included BCNU leaders, guests from other nursing unions with ratios experience and academic ratios experts. A considerable amount of the conference focused on opportunities for members to share their input on ratios progress and future phases of implementation.
BCNU president Adriane Gear began the conference with an overview of the progress made on ratios implementation to date. She emphasized that BC still has much work to do to address its nurse staffing crisis and build the health-care system nurses and patients deserve.
Dr. Alison Leary, a UK-based expert on health care and workforce modeling, put nurse-to-patient ratios into a broader context by asking attendees to reflect on other safety-critical industries that have had mandated staffing ratios much longer than nursing – airlines, oil and gas and even dog walkers in the United Kingdom
Nurses’ union leaders from Australia and the United States then spoke about how members in their jurisdictions have fought for and defended ratios while Canadian nurses’ union leaders provided their insights and experiences with ratios implementation.
BCNU CEO Jim Gould gave attendees background information on how the union’s success in securing provincial government and health employers’ agreement to implement ratios and provide the significant funding they require. Warning that none of the progress made should be taken for granted,. Gear and provincial nursing officer Kerry Morrison also gave their insights on ratios implementation to date.
Dr. Karen Lasater of the University of Pennsylvania presented the results of a 2023 survey providing further evidence that minimum nurse-to-patient ratios are necessary for safe patient care and to prevent nurses from burning out and leaving the profession.
The remainder of the conference saw participants share their front-line experiences with ratio implementation. Those on acute care units where ratios have been activated discussed the successes and challenges to learn from and adjust to. Nurses in care settings where ratios have yet to be determined discussed what ratio implementation could look like and what their ratios should be.
As ratio policy is put into practice, nurses’ voices from the front lines are key to ensuring they are effective in making health care better for both patients and nurses.
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Watch for more practice conference highlights in a future issue of Update Magazine.