New campaign puts spotlight on daily struggles of New Brunswick nurses

Help wanted: Nurses in need of care A new campaign puts the spotlight on the daily struggle faced by nurses.

FREDERICTON — The latest campaign by the New Brunswick Nurses Union highlights the struggles many in the profession face daily, and the desperate need for change.

The union’s president, Paula Doucet, says the well-being of nurses in the province is in critical condition.

"Sadly, nurses across the province, every corner of the province, every domain, whether it be long-term care, acute care, community, extramural, they're exhausted,” said Doucet.

She added that nurses want their voices heard when it comes to the workload, complexity of care and lack of resources that they face daily.

“They are faced every day with moral and ethical dilemmas about the care that they're expected to give to their patients, their clients and their residents,” explained Doucet.

"We see high rates of nurses going on disability leave and leaving the profession my clinic specializes in providing therapy for healthcare workers so we see a lot of stress and burn out from nurses,” Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley, a registered clinical psychologist

The New Brunswick Nurses Union heard from 4000 nurses in a recent survey sharing their feelings on the state of the province's health care system.

"I don't think the average New Brunswicker who's never, or who hasn't recently encountered our health care system for one reason or another really understands what's happening within those walls, within the walls of a nursing home, within the walls of an acute care facility or even a health center,” added Doucet.

The union is hopeful their latest campaign ads will raise awareness of the conditions nurses are working under.

Dr. Lee-Baggley says the organizational causes of burnout, such as un-sustained workloads, lack of recognition, and ability to have a sense of control need to be addressed.

"We're going to experience major problems in health care as we move forward because there just will not be enough staff for the demands of the population,” she added. “These are not factors you can quickly address it takes a long time to train a nurse or to train a physician, we're going to have major staffing shortages.”

A publication with all the data, research and comments that nurses across the province have made will be released later this month.