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HEALTH: Alberta investing more than $5 million to recruit registered nurses
        (AlbertaIndex, December 28, Friday) --- The Alberta government said it is investing more than $5 million in 2007 to assess more internationally educated registered nurses and increase the number of registered nurses working in the province.
        The College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) recently received $500,000 from Alberta Health and Wellness to support the college’s assessment of applications from internationally-educated nurses who want to practise in Alberta. CARNA has hired another two nurse consultants and support staff to handle increased applications from internationally-educated nurses.

To date, CARNA has received 1,012 applications from internationally-educated nurses, an average of 150 to 200 applications per month in the last six months.

Alberta Health and Wellness is also covering the costs of former registered nurses taking training to become re-licensed in Alberta. Grant McEwan College will receive $750,000 to reimburse nurses enrolled in the nursing refresher program at any site in Alberta.

“Our investment in a range of initiatives will help us to get more qualified registered nurses working in the province,” said Dave Hancock, Minister of Alberta Health and Wellness.

“We know this is an untapped group of professionals. With a concentrated and collaborative effort by all our partners in government, the RHAs and CARNA, the benefits to the health care system will be enormous. This strategy is part of our Health Workforce Action Plan to address health workforce shortages.”

Mount Royal College will receive more than $4 million to expand its assessment program for internationally-trained registered nurses seeking to be licensed in Alberta. The funding will allow Mount Royal College to hire staff to increase the number of assessments it completes in an average year from 100 to 600.

The funds will also support the addition of an office next month in the Oxford Tower in Edmonton to process assessment applications, as well as establish teaching space for Mount Royal College’s Bridge to Canadian Nursing program in Edmonton.

“We have committed $3.8 million this year to attract foreign nurses and other health professionals to Alberta, but getting them here is only part way to getting them into our workforce,” said Iris Evans, Minister of Employment, Immigration and Industry.

“We depend on CARNA to process licensing applications from internationally-educated nurses. It’s critical that we support their efforts to do this as efficiently as possible.”

Doug Horner, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, said: “This year, more than $3.2 million of the Health Workforce Action Plan funding has been committed to creating 209 additional nursing spaces in Alberta.

“Since we announced the action plan, we have worked with all 11 involved post-secondary institutions to set a new goal for nursing graduates by 2012. Together, we are committed to reaching the goal of 2000 registered nursing grads - - a 53 per cent increase-- and 1,000 licensed practical nurses -- a 90 per cent increase, compared to 2006/2007.

“I am delighted that our institutions are rising to this challenge and look forward to working with them as they develop their individual plans in the new year.”

Margaret Hadley, president of the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta, said:
“The nursing shortage can only be addressed by a collaborative approach involving government, the regional health authorities, Mount Royal College and CARNA.

“We appreciate the additional resources provided by government to address the three-fold increase in applications from internationally-educated nurses in the past six months.”

Brenda Hendrickson, Dean, Faculty of Health and Community Studies, Mount Royal College, said: “Establishing an assessment centre in Edmonton, as well as Calgary, will help to increase access to internationally-educated nurses across the province.

“Mount Royal College is pleased to be part of this partnership with government, the health regions and the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta to address the shortage of registered nurses in Alberta.”

These initiatives all fall under the Health Workforce Action Plan, which identifies ways to ensure an adequate supply of health workers so that service delivery changes can occur to guarantee the long-term sustainability and viability of Alberta’s health system.

The Alberta government has allocated $30 million this year to begin implementing the plan.


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