FREDERICTON - New Brunswick health professionals say more nursing graduates and teachers will be required to meet the province's nursing needs.
There are currently 130 nursing vacancies in New Brunswick. Barb McGill, chief nursing officer for the Saint John Health District, says that can be addressed by increasing the number of graduates, convincing more retired nurses to return to work part time, and reducing the workload that's causing burnout and absenteeism.
She says reducing the workload to about 85 per cent would increase satisfaction and keep more nurses in the system.
Janice Thompson, dean of nursing at the University of New Brunswick, says in order to produce more nursing graduates the government must address a possible future shortage of qualified nursing instructors.
Thompson says without a PhD program for nursing in New Brunswick, the province is forced to recruit instructors from other provinces.
