Hiring new nurses

Registered Nurse Hiring Targets vs. Actual starts by Quarter for Fiscal 2008/2009

At LHSC, nursing job openings represent 51 per cent of total open job requisitions. Total nursing hires and rehires for the first quarter (April to June) is significantly higher than the other quarters which is consistent with historical trends and hiring patterns of new graduates.

Generally, the first quarter of the fiscal year (April to June) tends to have high nursing recruitment numbers which coincides with the graduation and availability of nursing students. Offering full time positions to new graduates, part-timers and casuals will ease the nursing shortage and have a positive impact on health care.

At LHSC, approximately 200 new nursing graduates were hired for the fiscal year ending March 2009. Of these, 125 are graduates from the Nursing Graduate Guarantee Initiative (NGGI) program. The NGGI program is an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care aimed at ensuring that every new nursing graduate (RN and RPN) who wishes to work full time in Ontario will have that opportunity.

There were 336 new nurses hired for the fiscal year April 2007 to March 2008 to fill positions that were open due to either retirements, terminations or maternity leaves.