Building the future

The Nova Scotia government, the federal government, the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Nurses Union, the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Nova Scotia, nursing interest groups, healthcare organizations, health authorities, local communities, and other stakeholders groups partner to plan, fund, and administer programs a [...] Key elements of the strategy include: support for practicing and student nurses; enhanced recruitment resources in the province; full utilization of RN and LPN scopes of practice; and workforce development (formal and informal ongoing education).8 An update in 2003 indicated that the Nursing Strategy would incorporate the following priority areas identified in the Canadian Nurses Advisory Committe [...] Of The majority of nurses who relocated to the province were RNs from Ontario.11 Advice received from the Provincial Nursing Network (PNN), a resource and advisory body for the Government of Nova Scotia comprised of employers, educators, unions, regulatory bodies and practicing nurses from areas throughout the province is acknowledged as critical to the success of the Nursing Strategy. [...] In response to these priorities, the Rural and Remote Working Group was established in September 2003.12 In 2004, the Rural and Remote Nursing Recruitment and Retention in Nova Scotia: Report of the Rural and Remote Working Group reported the following trends in the province13: 1. There were 2,584 RNs (29.9% of all employed RNs) located in rural and small town Nova Scotia in 2000 — 12% higher than [...] In the short-term, the aging of the workforce is a major determinant of future nursing supply, and even if very optimistic assumptions regarding future rates of retention and recruitment of nurses in the workforce are made, Canada and most of its provinces and territories can expect to experience declines in the size of the workforce in all three nursing groups.”19 The average retirement age for L