Nova Scotia isn’t retaining young nurses, according to new study

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

For every 100 young nurses who entered the profession in 2023, over half left Nova Scotia, a new study details.

Montreal Economic Institute’s (MEI) newest research, out Oct. 22, showcases provinces across the country are struggling to retain young nurses, and Nova Scotia has one of the worst track records, the data shows.

Using numbers from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the researchers could see how many nurses were employed, unemployed or registered to practice. This year’s focus was on the retention rate of nurses under the age of 35.

The data shows that between 2014 and 2023, there was a 23 per cent difference in young nurses leaving versus entering the workforce in the province. That equals to 57 leaving for every 100 that entered the workforce.

“In Nova Scotia, we’re seeing numbers that are worse than the national average,” Samantha Dagres, Communications Manager at MEI, told The Todd Veinotte Show.

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Dagres said that the focus on young nurses shows the retention problems in the province and the working conditions for those employees. She said that numbers indicate many nurses are entering the workforce, and it has been higher than in 2014.

“But what’s really increasing uptake is nurses leaving,” she said. “It tells us that people are deciding to leave the province, but people are also deciding to leave the workforce.”

A survey the publication does with nurses each year noted that employees are involuntarily working overtime. Dagres said that this overtime work can be particularly hard on people starting a family, which might be why the ratio drops off at 35.

The study noted that British Columbia had the highest retention of young nurses, which could be because of more flexible schedules.

“A shift swapping pool is hugely popular in the province,” Dagres said. “That has really improved retention.”

(Graph from MEI)