he Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN) is sounding the alarm, with new findings from their annual survey, “The State of Nursing in Ontario: A 2023 Review.”  Based on insights from over 1,200 RPNs’ experiences over the last year, the research indicates that patient care is worsening due to dire staffing shortages, as Ontario’s healthcare system finds itself on the verge of collapse. 

The survey found that 92 per cent of nurses say their workload has increased over the last few years – a figure that is higher than it was at the height of the pandemic. While 91 per cent of nurses in the province have directly witnessed patient care being negatively impacted due to continuously deteriorating staffing issues. The most alarming revelation – that Ontario could experience a greater loss of nursing care, as the harsh realities of the healthcare crisis are driving many nurses away from patient care on the front lines, prompting some to consider leaving the province, and some to consider leaving the profession entirely. 

While Ontario may be reporting a slight increase in net registration numbers, those numbers don’t tell the full story. According to a report from the provincial nursing regulator, nurses leaving the province have continuously increased – during the same period, close to 10,000 Ontario nurses opted not to renew their registration. Knowing that net registrations are determined based on the net change by subtracting the total number of losses from gains too, this shows why it’s important to dig deeper.

Topline findings from WeRPN’s survey include:

• Patient care is being compromised 

– Nearly 7 in 10 nurses surveyed (68%) do not feel they have the time and resources available to provide adequate care to their patients. 

– Among these nurses, 83 per cent are seeing increased wait times for patients, and 70 per cent have noted that it has gotten harder for patients to receive access to the necessary care they need, such as surgeries and diagnostics.

– A disturbing 62 per cent of nurses say they’ve directly witnessed how delays in such assessments have resulted in a decline in patient health.

• There could be a mass exodus of nurses leaving the province 

– Over 6 in 10 Ontario nurses (62%) say they will, or they are considering leaving nursing. Among those who intend to leave, 59 per cent plan to leave the profession altogether, and 86 per cent intend to leave within the next two years. Some nurses are also shifting their practice – 38 per cent have changed roles in healthcare in the last two years, and within that group, 40 per cent have transitioned away from a direct patient care role.

• Ontario’s nursing profession is in jeopardy

– One in five nurses (19%) are considering moving outside of Ontario to practice nursing. This trend is in line with recent data that shows a year-over-year increase in Ontario nurses not renewing their license.

– More than half of all nurses surveyed (54%) are considering leaving their current role to work for a private agency

– Compensation is top of mind for both agency (95%) and out of province considerations (83%).

• Pride in nursing has dramatically eroded since the pandemic

– 91 per cent of nurses say their daily experiences in the workplace have become significantly more stressful, and almost all (97%) say working short staffed has negatively impacted their workplace culture. 

– In 2020, 67 per cent of nurses in Ontario said they had never been more proud to be an RPN. Sadly, three years later, pride in nursing has plummeted to a mere 31 per cent. n