Arnprior hospital offering staff education upgrades to retain workforce
At a time when there is a critical shortage of nurses in Ontario, the Arnprior Regional Hospital is taking a different approach to retain their staff.
The hospital in Arnprior, Ont. is offering a bridging program for employees to upgrade their skills or education in exchange for a prolonged employment.
"We really want to grow our own here at ARH," VP of Human Resources Andrea McClymont said.
The hospital foundation has committed $20,000 each year for the next 10 years to the program. Employees who have worked at the hospital for a least one year are eligible to apply. The trade off is following completion of their programs, staff must commit to working at least another two years at the Arnprior hospital.
"It's obviously important for us to retain our staff and I think having that commitment gives people the feel of what it's like to work here and to be part of this team and grow with us," McClymont said.
Tara McNicoll has been a registered practical nurse (RPN) in Arnprior for two years. This fall she received $5,000 from her employer to enroll at the University of Ottawa to become a registered nurse (RN).
"My end goal was to be an RN," McNicoll tells CTV News. "So this was just another way to do it."
"The difference between RN and RPN is RN's can have more critical patients whereas mine are more stable. I can advance to be a manager if I wanted, whereas an RPN you can't do that. So I can go into different roles at this hospital or others."
Following completion of the three-year nursing program at the University of Ottawa and the two year commitment that comes with the program, McNicoll will have spent seven years working at the hospital in Arnprior.
"It was a no-brainer for me," she said. "I love the people I work with; I think we have a great manager, great staff, so it was basically a no-brainer."
According to the Ontario Nurses' Association, the province needs to hire another 24,000 registered nurses to meet the national average.
McClymont says there are currently eight vacant RN positions at the Arnprior Regional Hospital.
In the first year of the program, three RPN's are receiving funding to become registered nurses.
At the Arnprior Regional Hospital, McClymont says the pay increases between $25,000 to $30,000 from RPN's to RN's.
"And I think after those two-year commitments people will be willing to stay," says McClymont. "It's a fantastic place to work."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.