December 7, 2020
Outlook on Nursing: A snapshot from Canadian nurses on work environments pre-COVID-19
Download
of nurses intend to leave their jobs within the next year.
of nurses who intend to leave their jobs plan to seek a non-nursing role.
of nurses report facing physical violence from patients and families at work.
of nurses rated the quality of their work environment fair or poor.
Outlook on Nursing: A snapshot from Canadian nurses on work environments pre-COVID-19 was conducted by Linda McGillis Hall, PhD, RN and Sanja Visekruna, PhD, RN at the University of Toronto. It was a national survey that aimed to assess Canadian nurses’ perceptions of their work environments. The study was conducted across all health care sectors, including hospitals, long-term care settings, home care and other health care workplaces. Approximately 7,153 regulated Canadian nurses, including registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs) and nurse practitioners (NPs), participated in the study.
“Studies … have generated consistent evidence that nurses suffer from heavy workloads, perceptions of lack of support from management, insufficient staffing, job dissatisfaction, workplace violence, burnout and mental health issues.”
The results of this study highlight that the focus of nursing issues taken on by nursing leadership and policy leaders in the future needs to go beyond attention to the supply of nurses available to provide care. Understanding the complex state of nursing work environments in which Canadian nurses work and the impact of these work environments on the health and work outcomes experienced by nurses is critical to ensuring a sustainable nursing workforce in the future.
This study was commissioned by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and conducted with the participation of unions representing nurses across the country.