Health P.E.I. says over $200K to draw international nurses here is money well spent

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 28, 2025 7:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Health P.E.I. is offering a amended representation of however overmuch it is spending to enlistee internationally trained nurses, and whether those missions person been paying off. 

Recruiters with the bureau travelled to Dubai doubly successful the past 2 years and erstwhile to Singapore successful an effort to entice nurses based successful those countries to travel and enactment successful Prince Edward Island. 

The 3 trips outgo P.E.I. taxpayers astir $230,000 successful total, but provincial recruiters said they've been paying dividends.

"I deliberation that the impervious of that is the information that we person radical who person letters of connection from Health P.E.I., truthful we're gathering that pipeline," said Maura McKinnon, the agency's interim quality resources executive. 

"We request to person individuals who are coming into our strategy connected a regular ground and individuals who person the acquisition and expertise to beryllium capable to supply the work that's required." 

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The state said 101 nurses were offered employment arsenic a effect of the 3 missions. 

Those internationally trained nurses volition yet person to spell done a 14-week programme that volition certify them to enactment successful Canada. 

CBC News asked for a breakdown of the costs of the 3 recruitment missions, including however galore Health P.E.I. unit attended and however overmuch their question and venues cost: 

• Dubai, March 2023: Five attendees, $65,391 full expenses.
• Singapore, October 2023: Four attendees, $89,321 full expenses.
• Dubai, February 2024: Seven attendees, $74,257 full expenses.

The state precocious announced an further 200 imperishable nursing positions. That's successful summation to the astir 300 vacancies for imperishable nurses Health P.E.I. has been dealing with. 

'A payment for everybody'

Barbara Brookins, president of the P.E.I. Nurses' Union, said the internationally trained nurses volition beryllium an important portion of keeping the Island's health-care strategy running.  

"If we tin bring successful nurses ethically — truthful bringing them successful from countries that person a surplus — then that's surely a mode of adding to our numbers," she said. 

"We can't enactment capable nurses done nursing schools close present to… negociate adjacent the regular modulation of radical retiring connected the different end." 

The national is besides speaking with the recruited nurses erstwhile they onshore connected P.E.I. to guarantee they cognize what they're entitled to, particularly erstwhile it comes to compensation. 

Brookins said galore of the nurses don't recognize they tin get paid based connected their years of experience, careless of wherever they developed their skills.  

"If we tin bring successful nurses that are already trained and conscionable supply them with that transitional inheritance for them to acclimate into the Canadian wellness system, past it's a payment for everybody," she said. 

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The state plans to proceed to look for severely needed health-care staff, some locally and internationally. Planning is already underway for different recruitment ngo to Australia. 

Health P.E.I. took implicit recruitment from the Department of Health and Wellness arsenic of April 1. McKinnon said that modulation should marque it easier and faster to prosecute caller staff. 

"How we prosecute with individuals from the precise commencement of the narration sets the code and the signifier for however their acquisition volition beryllium with Health P.E.I.," she said. 

"We privation to marque sure, arsenic they spell done the recruitment process, that it is arsenic creaseless and seamless and casual arsenic imaginable for them."