We, Quebec nursing students, are sounding the alarm about a recent measure that we are convinced will seriously affect the future of nursing in our province.
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced that all nurses who received their license after December 12, 2022, regardless of education level, will start at the bottom of the pay scale, Step 1. For decades, new nurses with college degrees started their careers at step 7, reflecting their college education. In other words, nurses with bachelor’s and master’s degrees face a pay cut of almost 20%1.
For a long time, Quebec nurses have been entitled to a salary increase equivalent to two steps per year of full-time university studies. As in most professional fields, the extra years of schooling translate into a higher salary. This incentive was put in place to deter nurses from leaving the province in search of a more competitive salary.
Sadly, if a nurse were to look for a higher salary, she would find it anywhere outside of Quebec.
The base annual salary of a full-time nurse in Quebec remains the lowest in the country, even for those starting at step 7. Indeed, new nurses in Quebec are currently paid $20,000 less than elsewhere in Canada. Despite everything, the simple fact of offering a higher base salary in exchange for more advanced training has made it possible to retain many baccalaureate nurses in Quebec.2. Today, that incentive is gone, leaving us feeling betrayed, scorned and, quite frankly, insulted.
Since this announcement, many nursing students have expressed their intention to leave Quebec for other provinces where salaries, working conditions and government support are much better.
It should be noted that these members of the succession initially planned to stay in Quebec. More and more nurses are already being pressured to leave the network to work in private agencies, in other provinces or even to leave the nursing profession altogether. The reduction in the salary expected after the studies of our graduate nurses only worsens this already critical situation.
We became nurses out of passion and we want to stay in Quebec, but these conditions do not allow us to stay there. Throughout the pandemic, whether in our studies or in hospitals, we have continued to provide care and support our fragile health system despite the dangerous working conditions and the apparent lack of respect on the part of provincial leaders. There are limits to the indignities we can endure; our predecessors have been talking about it for years, it’s time we were heard.
Many students consider this new measure to be downright demeaning. It devalues our profession and tells us that the need for “arms” in hospitals is more important than continuing our training. We are not guardian angels or superheroes, we are smart, competent and ambitious professionals who deserve to be paid their fair value.
Removing this salary incentive is illogical and irrational, especially since other healthcare professionals, including our medical colleagues, have received salary increases during the pandemic. The province will need to hire 10,000 more nurses in 2023 to meet growing demand for health services, says a report by the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ).3.
Quebec has the highest vacancy rate in the health field in Canada.
Indeed, the number of missing frontline workers has increased by 43% in recent years; this represents more than 4000 nurses having left the labor market. Throughout the pandemic, it has become clear that this shortage of nurses poses a risk to the quality of patient care.
Enough is enough. The current crisis is the culmination of decades of neglect and hostility toward nurses. The words of the current Minister of Health regarding the retention of nurses ring hollow when we observe the real measures put in place since the beginning of his mandate. The removal of salary benefits for baccalaureate nurses is all the more surprising as it contradicts the Ministry of Education’s initiative to support enrollment in university nursing programs. It is clear that our leaders are not communicating effectively and, frankly, we feel left out of the conversation.
Nurses have been sounding the alarm for years. We are here to help, but we are also human beings. This reduction in the base salary of new nurses with a university degree is unacceptable. The Quebec healthcare system is in crisis, and at the heart of this crisis is nurse retention.
We must act for the next generation of nurses. To do this, we offer concrete solutions that tackle this problem. We are asking for a change that must happen today.
Today, we are asking for pay equity with our colleagues from the other provinces and from other fields of health.
Today we call for encouragement and support for nurses seeking higher education.
* Co-signer: Samantha Wiesenfeld, nurse, master’s student in nursing, McGill University
Nurses, students, administrators and nursing teachers supporting this text: Samantha Wiesenfeld, nurse, master’s student in nursing at McGill University; Laura Sokolowski, internal vice-president of the Graduate Student Nursing Association of McGill University; Koralie Yergeau, nurse, undergraduate student in nursing sciences; Khawla Hassan and Carol Li, undergraduate students in nursing at the University of Montreal and student representatives on the Board of the Quebec Association of Nurses (AQII); Kenza Rahmi, spokesperson for the Quebec Association of Nurses (AQII); Caroline Dufour, nurse, doctoral student and lecturer at the University of Quebec in Outaouais; Chantel Findlay, master’s student in nursing at McGill University; Marilyne Sabourin, specialized nurse practitioner student at McGill University; Rebecca McPherson, master’s student in nursing at McGill University; Morgane Lasry, master’s student in nursing at McGill University; Ashley Khoury, Vice President Academic and Nurse Practitioner Specialist; Camilo Sierra, a master’s student in nursing at McGill University; Rosa Cabezas, master’s student in nursing at McGill University; Natalie Stake-Doucet, nurse researcher and lecturer at the Ingram School of Nursing; Rosetta Antonacci, assistant professor at the Ingram School of Nursing; Catherine-Anne Miller, Lecturer at the Ingram School of Nursing