National Nursing Week was marked across Canada during the week of May 8. It was touted as a celebration of nursing. But in Saskatchewan, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of fanfare on the front lines of health care. Nurses across the province went about their duties, stopping for a celebratory piece of cake with patients — if they had a few minutes.
Nurses comprise an essential component of the health care system’s machinery. Since the rise of nursing, the profession and its duties have changed over the generations, especially in recent years with the rise of medical technology. But in remote communities like Â鶹´«Ã½AVern Saskatchewan, nurses are vital and can sometimes be one of the only health professionals caring for patients. Canada has about nine million people living in rural areas, which is over 30 per cent of the population. And these rural areas make up 95 per cent of Canada’s land mass. The folks scattered across these regions of the country have to travel long distances for health services because health professionals are difficult to attract to the region. Studies have also shown that rural dwellers have poorer health status than urban residents and would be in greater need of health care services.
Despite these numbers, rural regions encounter difficulties in recruiting and keeping doctors. Little attention is given to the difficulties in recruiting nurses to the rural regions. Many of the nurses who do come to work and live in rural Saskatchewan have previous ties to a community, attracting them to these rural areas. For these nurses, their work is far more personal than it would be in urban centres. Their patients are relatives and friends.
About a decade ago, the province was facing an overall shortage of nurses. As a result, the government created a lot of incentives to attract and retain nurses and the strategies seemed to work.
Grandma T’s, a residence for student nurses in Lafleche, was set up last year with the idea of attracting nursing students to this rural region for their practicum by providing housing. The residence’s directors noted that there is a link between nursing students spending practicum time in a rural health facility and their job search. Nursing students tend to look for jobs in urban areas because they do their schooling and practicums there. While the residence project is only in its first year, they are still seeking to get more students.
Three years ago, the government brought in a new strategy to encourage nurse practitioners to work in small communities with an eye on improving patient care in Saskatchewan and to alleviate doctor shortages. Nurse practitioners have advanced education to perform physical assessments, order diagnostic tests, diagnose and treat common medical conditions, prescribe medications and perform minor surgical procedures. Their work complements physicians in small communities.
Nursing roles are evolving at a fast pace these days. Despite the inclusion of technologies in their work, there will always be a personal or social component to the profession. Nurses work the front lines of health care and are in direct contact with patients. Patients rely on their care, especially in rural health facilities. Let’s not wait for the next Nurses Week to extend our appreciation to nurses in our rural community.
