More than 170 nurses have been hired in New Brunswick under an incentive program that launched last spring.
According to the Government of New Brunswick, the program was designed to attract newly registered nurses to jobs that are hard to fill for the Horizon and Vitalite Health Networks, or with Extra-Mural/Ambulance NB.
“It takes a special person to choose nursing as a profession, and those unique individuals are in short supply,” said Dorothy Shephard’ New Brunswick’s minister of health, in a release.
“Around the world, health systems are struggling with workforce shortages made worse by the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet our aging population requires more health services than ever before.”
Officials say new nurses can receive up to $10,000 in exchange for a three-year contract in full or part-time jobs.
The program is based on an agreement between the province and the New Brunswick Nurses Union.
“This incentive program for hard-to-recruit areas is similar to a program offered in the mid-2000s when we were faced with a number of vacancies throughout the province,” said Paula Doucet, president of the NBNU.
“Any initiative to ensure our New Brunswick nursing graduates choose jobs in New Brunswick is a positive step in the right direction.”