The Nursing Shortage - The Nursing Workforce

The Canadian Nurses Association’s May 2009 report on the health human resources (HHR) landscape, Tested Solutions for Eliminating Canada’s Registered Nurse Shortage, provides new projections for how the shortage will grow by almost five times over 15 years. (updated July 2009)

The report shows that if the health needs of Canadians continue to change according to past trends, and if no policy interventions are implemented, Canada will be short almost 60,000 full-time equivalent RNs by 2022.

Consequences of the Nursing Shortage

The HHR shortage in Canada has already produced:

• long and frustrating wait times in clinics and hospitals
• adverse events for patients
• untenable work situations for RNs and other health-care workers

Realistic Solutions

Canada’s policy-makers can start addressing the RN shortage immediately with realistic, achievable strategies. As the report name implies, Tested Solutions for Eliminating Canada’s Registered Nurse Shortage offers up six policy scenarios that address the problem in a practical and feasible manner.

The report summary (free download) presents the main findings and highlights. The full version can be purchased from the CNA bookstore in hard copy or electronic format. CNA members can obtain a free copy through NurseOne.

Health Human Resources (HHR) Planning Framework

This framework, developed by O’Brien-Pallas et al. (2005), has been adopted as a guiding framework for use in HHR planning by Canada’s Advisory Committee on Health Delivery and Human Resources (ACHDHR, 2005). The outer oval represents the context of social, political, geographical, technological and economic factors in which HHR planning takes place. Fundamentally, HHR planning starts with the health-care needs of the country, province/territory or region in question.

Tomblin Murphy & O’Brien-Pallas, 2006
Adapted from O’Brien-Pallas, Tomblin Murphy & Birch (2005), O’Brien-Pallas,
Tomblin Murphy, Birch & Baumann (2001) and O’Brien-Pallas & Baumann (1997)

The main components of this model make up the corresponding categories for CNA and related documents in this section:

1. Population health needs are the characteristics of individuals that create the demand for curative and preventative health services. Health needs are influenced by social, cultural, political, contextual, geographical, environmental and financial factors.
   Click here for the references on population health needs.
    
2. Health system design is set to meet population health needs. Governments in partnerships with health-care administrators and other stakeholders determine the delivery models (e.g., primary health care and acute care facilities) as well as the required level of services.
   Click here for the references on health system design.
    
3. Planning and forecasting covers the HHR planning practices and models used to predict human and other resource requirements. These practices and models are shaped by HHR supply, the available financial resources for the purchase of human and other resources, the production of educated and trained health-care providers as well as the management, organization and delivery of health services.
   Click here for the references on planning and forecasting.
    
4. Resource deployment and utilization represents the amount and nature of the resources provided and used to provide health services that meet the health needs of the population at large. The ultimate goal of resource deployment and utilization decisions is to achieve an efficient mix of human and non-human resources that leads to the best health, provider and system outcomes.
   Click here for the references on resource deployment and utilization.

CNA documents are arranged chronologically from most recent to oldest. Related documents are arranged first alphabetically by author, and secondly by date.