Under a new pilot program, New Brunswick wants personal support workers (PSW) and licensed practical nurses (LPN) to consider returning to school to advance their studies.
Through the program, called Step Up to Nursing, the province will cover tuition costs, and participants can make wages working work part-time in the health care system.
The initiative allows a PSW to become an LPN or an LPN to become a registered nurse. (RN)
“This new nursing education model is aimed at assisting individuals who have been unable to follow traditional educational paths due to life circumstances,” said Trevor Holder, Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.
On Friday morning, at the University of New Brunswick Saint John campus, provincial officials announced $13.1 million to support the program over two years. Between programs in Bathurst and Saint John, a total of 208 participants will participate over the course of the pilot.
Participants in the pilot can be at one of the following schools: New Brunswick Community College, Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, University of New Brunswick or Université de Moncton.
Similar to many other provinces, New Brunswick faces a severe shortage of licensed health care workers, particularly when it comes to nurses. In January, the New Brunswick Nurses Union told Global News there are roughly 1,000 vacant positions across the province.
When asked about whether shifting health care workers to a new area through this program will create gaps, Health Minister Bruce Fitch claimed other programs will fill the need.
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“We’ve got initiatives such as paying for the tuition for personal support workers, and we’re doing significant recruiting,” Fitch told reporters.
He added they are also trying to “fast track” internationally-trained RNs to help meet demand.
Holder noted that while he’s confident in the program, they don’t want to “push money out the door” for any program that doesn’t show results.
After the two years, he said cabinet will assess the results and decide if it should be continued, but regardless students already enrolled will continue. If it is successful, the province will look to expand the program to fill other needs.
“All the way eventually, from a personal support worker, all the way to a nurse practitioner eventually so that you can kind of jump into the system wherever you need to be,” Holder said.
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