As Ont. hospitals scale back operations due to staffing shortages, the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN) finds patient care’s being critically compromised due to the shortages and the standardization of unsafe workloads. When it comes to workplace atmosphere, the study also found RPNs’ moral distress is up and mental health has been impacted. The findings also include:
- 68% of nurses don’t have enough time or resources to properly care for patients;
- 66% had to take on more patients with higher patient-to-nurse ratios;
- 86% were asked to take on more shifts or overtime to cover staffing shortages; and
- 79% are experiencing moral distress on the job as they feel what’s ethically correct to do differs from what they’re tasked to do. That’s up from 68% reported in 2020.
Almost half are now considering leaving the profession, a significant jump from 34% in 2020. The study shows the primary catalyst for this is wage dissatisfaction. WeRPN is urgently asking leaders to address the normalization of unsafe workloads.
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