Hospitals in Nova Scotia are getting ready to welcome hundreds more nurses onto their wards.
Health Minister Michelle Thompson says 350 nurses who recently graduated have accepted offers to work in Nova Scotia.
She says hospitals need their help.
“So if you’re down four nurses in a rural hospital, and we recruit three, that’s a significant impact,” Thompson says. “I’m really encouraged. 350 new people in the system is absolutely a help. So we need to carry on with that and also continue to attract more. We need a lot more than 350 is what I would say.”
Thompson adds right now the new workers will help to fill current vacancies across the province.
You’ll see them in surgical units, critical care, mental health and addictions, primary healthcare, and long-term care.
The province has guaranteed all nursing program graduates a job with Nova Scotia Health, the IWK, or the continuing care sector every year until 2026.
Roughly 700 nurses graduate in Nova Scotia each year.
