The following statement was read by Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Community Services - Children�s Interests, in the House of Assembly today.

Nursing Bursaries

I am pleased to advise this House on behalf of the Minister of Health and Community Services that government will continue its commitment to assist regional health boards in encouraging graduating nurses to work in the health system throughout this province.

For the second consecutive year, government is setting aside funding totaling $600,000 to offer a $3,000 bursary to graduating nurses in return for one year of service. This spring, 160 nurses will graduate from the bachelor of nursing program offered at our three nursing schools. These bursaries will be an effective recruitment incentive to keep these professionals at home.

Last year, the bursary program was very successful and our health boards recruited 148 graduates. Feedback from nursing students indicate a high interest in this program and they identified it as a key incentive to work in the province. In conjunction with the reclassification of the nursing profession last year, which resulted in nurses receiving an increase in their salaries, the nurse bursary program will assist the health organizations across this province improve their efforts in recruitment and retention.

Some health boards have already started to recruit nurse graduates and are using the $3,000 bursary as a recruitment tool. With government�s investment of $600,000, this ensures the regional health boards do not have to use operating funds for this program and further demonstrates government�s commitment to the continuity of high quality services to the residents of this province. I invite all graduating nurses to seriously consider the invitation to work in their home province.

Fundamental to a quality heath system is the availability of trained professionals. This nurse bursary program is one of several currently offered by government to attract professionals such as occupational therapists, physicians, physiotherapists, speech language pathologists and audiologists. The funding for the nurse bursary program is in addition to the $1.7 million we will spend on our various bursary programs. By making strategic investments to support recruitment in the health sector, this government is clearly demonstrating that one of the keys to stabilizing our health and community services programs rests with the availability of health professionals.

2001 04 10                                                  3:10 p.m.