Silas: Supporting nursing students is key to Canadian-made solutions to our health staffing crisis
January 30, 2025 (Ottawa, ON) – More than a quarter of nursing students say they’ve considered leaving their nursing program due to financial difficulties, according to the first national survey of nursing students.
“Nursing students are an important part of Canada’s recruitment efforts to stabilize the health workforce crisis, yet many students are forced to consider leaving the profession before they’ve even started. By not supporting our students better, governments are undermining critical recruitment efforts,” explained Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU).
Paying students for their hours worked in clinical placements is one key way governments can provide much needed relief to students and help them successfully enter the profession. Clinical placements, where students gain hands-on experience working in various health care settings, are mandatory for all nursing students to complete their program.
Eyasu Yakob is a fourth-year nursing student and past president of the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association. Yakob will have worked more than 1,400 hours of unpaid work in clinical placements by the end of the program.
“Students in male-dominated fields receive compensation throughout their training, while nursing students, in a critically needed and highly skilled profession, are left struggling,” said Yakob. “Burdening students with staggering financial challenges is not conducive to solving the crisis in care facing our country.”
The survey revealed that nursing students overwhelmingly want to find full-time work in their home province, with many intending to practice at the bedside – a positive finding for provinces and territories with student-focused recruitment efforts.
“Students see the crisis in care, and they are actively working to help. It’s our job, as unions, employers and governments, to break down barriers for students to practice,” said Silas. “Together, we can ensure that full-time nursing jobs are the most attractive and rewarding jobs in our communities.”
The Canada-wide survey of 3,751 nursing students was conducted by Viewpoints Research from late October to late November 2024. More details on the research can be found here.
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For more information, please contact Adella Khan, CFNU Communications, media@nursesunions.ca, 613-807-2942.
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) is Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, representing frontline unionized nurses and nursing students in every sector of health care – from home care and LTC to community and acute care – and advocating on key priorities to strengthen public health care across the country.