Instability in nursing, and its profound impact on the profession, the effective functioning of the health system, and the quality of care Ontarians receive was the focus of RNAO’s Nursing Through Crisis: A Comparative Perspective report, released during Nursing Week 2022. Ontario continues to lag behind other provinces with the lowest RN-to-population ratio (688 RNs per 100,000 people) compared to the national average (823 RNs per 100,000 people). This troubling nursing shortage has left vital health-care services in all sectors significantly understaffed. “There are shortages everywhere. We see significant shortages in some of our urban areas in their ICUs and emergency departments,” says then RNAO President Morgan Hoffarth.* There are also shortages in long-term care and community health care, Hoffarth notes. The emotional demands on nursing staff have been significantly exacerbated during the pandemic with patients’ support systems (family and/or others) prohibited from entering hospitals during lock-downs, and limitations on nurses who have been stretched too thin. Among the key recommendations contained in the Nursing Through Crisis report, Hoffarth highlights the need to remove barriers so internationally-educated nurses residing already in Canada can practise. She also noted that an acceleration of bridging programs for RPNs to become RNs and PSWs to become RPNs or RNs will help to solve the crisis. (900 CHML in Hamilton, May 20)

*On June 10, 2022, Morgan Hoffarth completed her term as president and became immediate past president for RNAO.