Funding dedicated to reducing nursing shortages (updated 05-Mar-2001)

VICTORIA - The ongoing work to reduce provincial nursing shortages received financial support from the B.C. health action plan today, including $140,045 over two years for the BC Cancer Agency, Health Minister Corky Evans announced today.

"The worldwide shortage of nurses means hospitals in British Columbia are competing for nurses with institutions across the country and around the globe," Evans said. "The new nursing grant programs are an integral part of the health action plan. They give authorities new resources to act on good local ideas that will make it easier to attract and retain nurses."

Under the B.C. health action plan, health authorities and health agencies were eligible for grants in three categories - nursing innovation, nurse mentoring and rural nursing. The grants were provided to encourage local health authorities to adopt, adapt or develop nursing strategies that would benefit their communities.

The BC Cancer Agency is receiving: 

• $18,825 for nurse mentorship programs at the Vancouver Cancer Centre, the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre, the Cancer Centre of the Southern Interior and the Vancouver Island Cancer Centre. 
• $116,020 for a chemotherapy certification program for 24 nurses from rural communities throughout BC under the workplace innovation grant 
• $5,200 for the Vancouver Island Cancer Centre for professional development of oncology nurses in family nursing.

The nursing innovation program is designed to meet the need for more nurses by supporting innovative recruitment and retention plans, while the mentoring program integrates new nurses into professional practice under the guidance of an established registered nurse. The rural nurse program was created to help recruit, retain and educate nurses and other health-care providers in rural and remote communities.

"These grants are exciting news for nurses in cancer care throughout the province," said Lynn Stevenson, professional practice and academic leader for nursing at the BC Cancer Agency. "This will go a long way toward retaining nurses already working in cancer care by providing educational opportunities for them.

"We will make sure nurses who deliver cancer care in rural and remote areas have access to oncology education that is specifically designed for their practice. These grants will also provide funds to educate students interested in oncology nursing and new graduates in the cancer care nursing specialty. All of this activity helps us fulfill our provincial mandate to support those caring for cancer patients throughout B.C.."

Total funding for the nursing grant programs over two years is $20.78 million. Health authorities' applications for this funding are assessed and approved based on each program's criteria. Every health authority that submitted a proposal for this fiscal year received at least one project approval. In all, there were 300 applications received, 201 of which were for nurse workplace innovation grants.

B.C. has nearly 40,000 registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and licensed practical nurses, more than 34,000 of whom are employed in health care. A health task force formed last year projected that about 3,000 more nurses will be needed in B.C. in the next five years. Funding under the B.C. health action plan is expected to reduce nurse shortages and improve their working conditions.