Report shows B.C., Quebec have most to gain from focusing on keeping aging nurses around longer
The health care industry should put more emphasis on retaining experienced registered nurses according to report put out by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and the University of Toronto.
By focusing retention strategies on experienced nurses, organizations should be able to significantly ease the nursing shortage.
Linda O’Brien-Pallas, a professor of nursing at the University of Toronto and a co-author of the study, said numerous studies have shown that more health care workers retire early than people in other professions. About 49 per cent of nurses retire before age 65 compared to 43 per cent for the rest of the workforce. She said the typical retirement age for a registered nurse in 56 to 58.
“We also know that registered nurses as a group are aging, so we can expect retirement to place increasing pressure on the workforce,” said O’Brien-Pallas, who is also the national chair in Nursing Health Human Resources. “The good news is that effective retention strategies could make a big difference.”
The report, Bringing the Future into Focus: Projecting RN Retirement in Canada, shows significant differences in retirement patterns among regions and employment sectors in the health system.
“This could help different jurisdictions focus their efforts where they would give the greatest return,” said O’Brien-Pallas. “Our projections show that RN losses due to retirement or death are likely to be greatest in Quebec and B.C., so the potential payoff from successful retention is greatest there. On the other hand, the projected losses are smallest in Alberta and the Atlantic regions.”
The study calculates the number of nurses that could be retained by assuming that it is possible to keep 100 per cent of nurses aged 50 to 54, 75 per cent of those aged 55 to 59 and 50 per cent of those aged 60 to 65 in the workforce. The projected losses could be reduced by 53 per cent across Canada, a potential saving of nearly 15,000 nurses. Results range from a low of 40 per cent in Alberta to a high of 66 per cent in Quebec.
Projected losses due to retirement
Using data from the registered nurses database at the Canadian Institute for Health Information and vital statistics from Statistics Canada, the study projects the number of nurses over 50 who will leave the workforce due to retirement or death from 2001 to 2006 based on what actually happened between 1997 and 2001.
Assuming they retire at 65, the analysis showed that the registered nurses aged 50 and over who would leave nursing by the year 2006 represents 13 per cent of the nurses employed across the country in 2001. Quebec would suffer the greatest loss, at 16 per cent, followed by B.C. (14 per cent) and Ontario (12 per cent.) Manitoba and Saskatchewan would lose 11 per cent, Atlantic Canada 10 per cent and Alberta would lose the least at nine per cent of their current workforce.
But that picture shifts somewhat if a retirement age of 55 is assumed instead. Nationally the number of experienced nurses age 50 and over who would leave the workforce represents 28 per cent of all registered nurses in 2001. B.C. would lose the most, at 32 per cent, followed by Ontario (29 per cent) and Alberta (28 per cent.) Manitoba and Saskatchewan would lose 27 per cent, Quebec 26 per cent and Atlantic Canada would lose the least at 22 per cent.
Losses by employment sector
The greatest losses proportionately are expected in the long-term care sector, where about 19 per cent of the 2001 workforce could be lost to retirement or death by 2006.
This compares to 12 per cent in the hospital sector, 10 per cent in the community sector and 14 per cent in the other employment sectors.
“The severity of losses in the long-term care sector is substantial when you consider that the number of registered nurses working in long-term care is steadily decreasing in every jurisdiction in Canada,” said Francine-Anne Roy, a nursing databases consultant at the Canadian Institute for Health Information. “Therefore, not only are there fewer registered nurses in this sector but they are more affected by potential retirement.”
What New Brunswick is doing
New Brunswick has already taken an aggressive stance to retain aging nurses. Starting in January next year, the province is introducing a phased-retirement program in an effort to keep nurses in the workforce longer.
For more information about the New Brunswick plan, click on the "Related Articles" link below.
By focusing retention strategies on experienced nurses, organizations should be able to significantly ease the nursing shortage.
Linda O’Brien-Pallas, a professor of nursing at the University of Toronto and a co-author of the study, said numerous studies have shown that more health care workers retire early than people in other professions. About 49 per cent of nurses retire before age 65 compared to 43 per cent for the rest of the workforce. She said the typical retirement age for a registered nurse in 56 to 58.
“We also know that registered nurses as a group are aging, so we can expect retirement to place increasing pressure on the workforce,” said O’Brien-Pallas, who is also the national chair in Nursing Health Human Resources. “The good news is that effective retention strategies could make a big difference.”
The report, Bringing the Future into Focus: Projecting RN Retirement in Canada, shows significant differences in retirement patterns among regions and employment sectors in the health system.
“This could help different jurisdictions focus their efforts where they would give the greatest return,” said O’Brien-Pallas. “Our projections show that RN losses due to retirement or death are likely to be greatest in Quebec and B.C., so the potential payoff from successful retention is greatest there. On the other hand, the projected losses are smallest in Alberta and the Atlantic regions.”
The study calculates the number of nurses that could be retained by assuming that it is possible to keep 100 per cent of nurses aged 50 to 54, 75 per cent of those aged 55 to 59 and 50 per cent of those aged 60 to 65 in the workforce. The projected losses could be reduced by 53 per cent across Canada, a potential saving of nearly 15,000 nurses. Results range from a low of 40 per cent in Alberta to a high of 66 per cent in Quebec.
Projected losses due to retirement
Using data from the registered nurses database at the Canadian Institute for Health Information and vital statistics from Statistics Canada, the study projects the number of nurses over 50 who will leave the workforce due to retirement or death from 2001 to 2006 based on what actually happened between 1997 and 2001.
Assuming they retire at 65, the analysis showed that the registered nurses aged 50 and over who would leave nursing by the year 2006 represents 13 per cent of the nurses employed across the country in 2001. Quebec would suffer the greatest loss, at 16 per cent, followed by B.C. (14 per cent) and Ontario (12 per cent.) Manitoba and Saskatchewan would lose 11 per cent, Atlantic Canada 10 per cent and Alberta would lose the least at nine per cent of their current workforce.
But that picture shifts somewhat if a retirement age of 55 is assumed instead. Nationally the number of experienced nurses age 50 and over who would leave the workforce represents 28 per cent of all registered nurses in 2001. B.C. would lose the most, at 32 per cent, followed by Ontario (29 per cent) and Alberta (28 per cent.) Manitoba and Saskatchewan would lose 27 per cent, Quebec 26 per cent and Atlantic Canada would lose the least at 22 per cent.
Losses by employment sector
The greatest losses proportionately are expected in the long-term care sector, where about 19 per cent of the 2001 workforce could be lost to retirement or death by 2006.
This compares to 12 per cent in the hospital sector, 10 per cent in the community sector and 14 per cent in the other employment sectors.
“The severity of losses in the long-term care sector is substantial when you consider that the number of registered nurses working in long-term care is steadily decreasing in every jurisdiction in Canada,” said Francine-Anne Roy, a nursing databases consultant at the Canadian Institute for Health Information. “Therefore, not only are there fewer registered nurses in this sector but they are more affected by potential retirement.”
What New Brunswick is doing
New Brunswick has already taken an aggressive stance to retain aging nurses. Starting in January next year, the province is introducing a phased-retirement program in an effort to keep nurses in the workforce longer.
For more information about the New Brunswick plan, click on the "Related Articles" link below.
