BCNU Attends National Nursing Retention Forum

The Government of Canada and Chief Nursing Officer Dr. Leigh Chapman hosted a national forum on nursing retention on Tuesday, June 14 in Toronto as part of the federal government’s Budget 2023 commitment to improve health care for Canadians, which includes a focus on efforts to support the health workforce through retention, recruitment and planning to address the critical shortage of nurses across the country.

The forum brought together the nursing community, employers, and frontline workers to discuss the current staffing crisis and identify strategies to address and improve nurse retention. BCNU President Aman Grewal attended the forum alongside Canadian Federation of Nurses Union President Linda Silas and representatives from the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association, the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance, the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, the Canadian Nursing Students' Association, and the Canadian Nurses Association.

“We know that the staffing shortage has reached dire levels, creating unsustainable workloads for nurses and impacting patient care outcomes,” says Grewal. “It’s time for action and this forum was an opportunity to ensure nurses’ voices across the country are heard and represented.”

Forum discussions will inform the development of a toolkit to be released this fall. The toolkit is intended for use by health authorities and employers to support nursing retention and will include evidence-based and targeted strategies to improve work environments and provide much needed support to nurses, including mental health and wellness initiatives.