Nurses at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto will receive a $6,000
cash bonus and pay increases of up to 12.5 per cent effective April 1, a
massive payout designed to retain staff at a time when the nursing shortage
is reaching a critical level.
The "retention bonus," promised two years ago, goes to all nurses who
have
been on the payroll more than two years. The pay raise is subject to a cap
of $31.43 an hour, the top wage the hospital will pay a staff nurse. As many
as 750 nurses will get the money, but the hospital could not put an exact
dollar figure on the program.
The bonus and salary increases are just two elements of a sweeping "total
rewards program" Sick Kids has instituted to ensure it has enough staff to
provide quality patient care, said Nancy McDonald, a nursing recruitment and
retention specialist at the hospital.
The program also includes beefed-up benefits, better nurse-patient ratios,
more scheduling flexibility, improved educational opportunities, the
opportunity for some nursing students to have their education costs covered,
and $1,000 bounties for those who help recruit new nurses to the hospital.
"Our philosophy is that monetary benefits will only carry you so far,"
Ms.
McDonald said. "We want to demonstrate that Sick Kids is a great place to
work, a hospital where nurses are valued throughout their careers."
Kim Shadlock, a pediatric cardiology nurse who heads the Registered Nurses
Council at the hospital, said feedback on the initiative has been positive.
"What we're seeing is a focus on the thing nurses value the most -- a good
work environment, where there is the opportunity to provide good patient
care and the opportunity to learn," she said.
"Over all, it makes it a good place to be a nurse."
Ms. Shadlock said the bonuses are a nice gesture -- a recognition that
nurses have paid a high price for cutbacks in recent years -- but the other
parts of the program such as staffing mean more to her and most of her
colleagues.
According to the Canadian Nurses Association, Canada faces a potential
shortfall of 113,000 nurses within a decade. The shortage today is estimated
at about 20,000 nurses nationwide, leaving hospitals and community care
agencies to scramble to attract new nurses and retain those they already
have on staff.
After 15 years of stagnant or falling salaries, nurses' pay is on the rise.
Many provincial governments are also vowing to reduce workloads and improve
work conditions as a way of making the profession more appealing.
Contracts for unionized nurses in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia --
the three provinces with the best pay -- expire March 31 and negotiators
will be seeking substantial improvements in salary and work conditions.
The Hospital for Sick Children is one of just three non-unionized hospitals
in Ontario, allowing it to get a jump on the competition.
In addition to the bonuses, some of its staff will receive pay increases of
up to 12.5 per cent. For example, a nurse hired in August of 1995 and
currently earning $28.84 an hour will see her wage rise about 9 per cent to
$31.43, the most the hospital will pay a staff nurse. (Nurses who work in
research, have managerial responsibilities or who are nurse-practitioners
can be paid substantially more.) The current top rate for a unionized staff
nurse in Ontario is $30.50 an hour.
One of the principal attractions of the total rewards program is the promise
of improved patient-nurse ratios.
Ms. McDonald said the hospital is aiming for an overall ratio of one nurse
for every three patients. (This ranges, however, from 1:1 care for critical
care to 4:1 on the ward.)
~Our staff surveys have told us, loud and clear, what staff value and
patient assignments are an important element," she said.
To improve ratios, the hospital will hire more staff. This year alone, 65
full-time nurses will be added.
Sick Kids will pay staff $1,000 cash for recommending a nurse who is
subsequently hired.
To attract new nursing school graduates, the hospital is also considering a
program where it would pay tuition or student loans in exchange for
length-of-service agreements.
Another attraction for younger nurses is parental benefits, and the new
program will see Employment Insurance benefits topped up to 84 per cent of
salary.
Sick Kids employs the equivalent of 900 full-time nurses, but about
one-third of nurses work part-time.