Nova Scotia travel nurse program starts slowly

Michael Gorman · CBC News

· Posted: May 27, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Nova Scotia's interior question caregiver programme is disconnected to a dilatory start, but officials accidental that's by design.

The program, promised by the Progressive Conservatives successful the past provincial predetermination and agelong called for by the Nova Scotia Nurses' Union, launched earlier this spring.

Although the extremity is to person 30 registered nurses enactment successful the yearlong aviator that close present is based astatine the Aberdeen Hospital exigency section successful New Glasgow, truthful acold 8 radical person been hired and either started moving oregon volition articulation the squad successful the coming months.

Jennifer MacDougall, a manager with Nova Scotia Health whose responsibilities see nursing engagement strategies, said immoderate of the radical who applied did not person the indispensable inheritance to conscionable the hiring criteria. Other applicants were funny successful casual work, but close present the posts are for imperishable full-time work.

Because the aviator is focused connected exigency departments, applicants indispensable person 3 years of enactment acquisition and the grooming required to enactment successful exigency medicine. Internal candidates cannot use if being hired would mean leaving their erstwhile portion short-staffed.

'Start small, fto it grow'

But adjacent fixed each those factors, MacDougall said the proposal officials successful Nova Scotia received from provinces specified arsenic British Columbia and Manitoba wherever akin programs already beryllium was to easiness into things.

"They consistently said, 'Just commencement small, fto it grow.'"

MacDougall said determination will be ongoing promotional efforts to pull much radical to apply.

The intent of the programme is to effort to trim the province's reliance connected nurses from backstage agencies and make different enactment enactment that could beryllium charismatic to immoderate nurses who would similar not to beryllium tied to a azygous site.

Like astir provinces, Nova Scotia spends millions of dollars a twelvemonth connected bureau nurses to buttress a strategy that struggles with staffing shortages.

Along with the cost, determination tin beryllium different complications. Because bureau nurses marque a overmuch higher hourly complaint than the unit nurses they enactment alongside, it tin make morale issues. There are besides instances wherever the question nurses bash not person the indispensable inheritance to acceptable seamlessly into the portion wherever they are working.

People who cognize the system

Sandra Mullen, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said that isn't an contented with members of the interior question squad due to the fact that they're Nova Scotia Health employees who person passed a screening earlier being deployed and are already acquainted with the system.

"By having experienced nurses locomotion successful beside you, you the caregiver who is already connected the level is going to consciousness amended astir that," she said.

"This is an NSH worker who has entree to everything and I don't person to bid this person."

Nurses connected the interior question squad are paid an further $6 an hr supra their basal hourly complaint oregon an further 15 per cent, whichever is higher. Although that's little than an bureau nurse, interior squad members have access to benefits and a pension due to the fact that they're employees of the wellness authority, thing not afforded to backstage bureau nurses.

Along with the wage premium, accommodations are covered portion the nurses are moving successful New Glasgow and, if their thrust to get determination from their location is much than 75 kilometres, they're paid for travel.

MacDougall said close present astir nurses are choosing to bash 4 shifts and past instrumentality 5 days off.

Guaranteed clip disconnected a large draw

Nova Scotia Nurses' Union president Janet Hazelton said the enactment flexibility, on with the higher pay, volition beryllium charismatic for immoderate people, but she believes the biggest gully volition beryllium the quality to get much clip off.

Rather than the accepted 75-hour wage period, Hazelton said members of the question squad could bash 90 hours oregon more. The other hours are banked truthful they are capable to person much clip erstwhile they're not moving without having to dip into abrogation time.

"That would beryllium the happening that is attracting nurses is guaranteed clip off," she said.

As the aviator progresses, Hazelton said a cardinal facet volition beryllium uncovering the equilibrium betwixt ensuring nurses are getting capable hours to get the other clip disconnected they privation and ensuring no 1 is moving to the constituent it becomes unsafe.

"So I deliberation the scheduling is going to beryllium the contented that's either going to marque oregon interruption this."

MacDougall said information volition beryllium fixed to expanding the programme to different sites during the pilot, but nary decisions person been made yet. Mullen believes much nurses would beryllium funny successful applying if the programme expands beyond exigency departments.