The number of nurses has grown again in Quebec over the past year, confirmed Tuesday the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ). And the College is seeing an increase in membership in the private sector.
According to the annual statistics just published by the OIIQ, 82,271 nurses were registered on the roll of the Order on March 31, 2022.
This represents growth in the workforce of around 1.5% compared to the previous year.
“We have never had so many in Quebec. For 10 years, it hasn’t stopped growing,” said the president of the Order, Luc Mathieu, during the general assembly and the congress of the OIIQ.
However, many observers speak of a “shortage” of nurses.
“We know that there are shortages in the network. But is it really lacking, in terms of numbers? That, in the profession, people say “we don’t think”. We must first optimize the contribution of each,” commented the President of the Order.
In private
The College has also reported an increase in the nursing workforce in the private sector since the start of the pandemic.
“However, the retention of the more than 63,000 nurses in the health and social services network remains an issue, even if their number is similar to that of the previous year. Thus, the trend initiated since the start of the pandemic continues with an increase in private workforce, without a massive departure from the public sector. »
The OIIQ specifies that 2,400 nurses work mainly for a placement agency. This is an increase of approximately 19% over the previous year.
“It is urgent to take measures that will ensure the retention of nurses already in place and the next generation,” concludes the Order.
More full time
Also, more nurses are working full time. The Order even speaks of an “unprecedented number” of full-time members, namely 68.4%. This time it is an increase of 4 percentage points.
Also, for the first time, more than half of the nurses who entered the profession practiced full time, mentions the Order, or 51.1%.
“In both cases, these are the largest increases for at least 20 years,” notes the professional order.
“These increases would be partly attributable to government decrees and incentives to deal with the health emergency,” says the OIIQ.
Faced with a shortage of health care workers due to COVID-19, Quebec had indeed offered a range of bonuses to nurses, in particular to encourage them to work full time.
The OIIQ also points out that during the 2021-2022 fiscal year, it issued 3,565 permits to practice, which corresponds to the average of the last 10 years.
Of the number, 24% were graduates from outside Quebec, or 842 people.