Manitoba nursing grads say they're up for the challenge amid workforce shortage
170 Red River College Polytech grads welcomed to profession in Wednesday night ceremony
Some of Manitoba's most recent nursing graduates say they're optimistic about the future despite the looming challenges facing them in their new career, including an ongoing labour shortage.
Red River College Polytech welcomed 170 graduates to the profession with the traditional presentation of nursing pins during a ceremony at Winnipeg's Victoria Inn on Wednesday evening.
The nursing class of 2024 is the largest the school has had since the COVID-19 pandemic, which comes after an increase in the program's intake. The 170 grads come from three cohorts at the college's Notre Dame campus in Winnipeg, as well as its Winkler and Portage campuses.
Lesley McGuirk, the college's associate dean of nursing, says the new grads will help address the shortage of nursing professionals in the province.
"They are entering the profession when there are challenges in the nursing environment and health-care environment, but we are hoping that our students will help change the narrative around nursing," McGuirk said.
Tiana Wyryha, one of the latest grads, has already started work in the emergency department of the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg.
Wyryha, whose mother is also a practising nurse with over 30 years experience in the field, said she's already familiar with the challenges she and her peers will face.
"We definitely do have our days where we're quite short," she said. For her, the jump to working full-time as a nurse "was a big change," she said.
"At first, my body felt it, and I think over time, burnout is definitely something that I have to watch for."
Emma Ager, who has been working at Grace Hospital for just a month, said she's also already feeling the impacts of the nursing shortage.
"The unit that I'm working on is very supportive of … one another, and we all understand it," she said. "You have to have a heart for it. But if you have the heart for it, then you can overcome most of the challenges."
Beniamin Dashevski, who's looking for work, said the labour shortage presents plenty of job opportunities.
"If anything, it just makes me more excited for it," he said. "It's a very rewarding job. So hopefully that part outweighs the burnout part of nursing."
'Some days are harder than others'
A report released this week by the Montreal Economic Institute, an independent public-policy think tank, says the number of nurses leaving the profession before of age of 35 compared to those entering it has been trending upward over the past decade.
In Manitoba — which the report found is still doing better than all other provinces — that rate went up by 11 per cent from 2011 to 2022. According to the report, just under a third — 29.4 per cent — of young nurses left the profession in 2022.
Nadia Harb, who is now working at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, said the numbers are "shocking, but not shocking."
"I know a lot of people are either leaving the profession completely, or they're going elsewhere," she said.
"I'm working part time just to kind of ease my way into the field so I don't get burnt out very quickly, and I found that that has been working pretty good for me.… Some days are harder than others."
LISTEN | Report co-author talks about nurses leaving the field:
Harb said she's considering eventually pursuing a master's degree and becoming a nurse practitioner.
Wyryha said she has plenty of options within the field if she ever gets burned out in any particular area. But whatever the case may be, she plans to stay in Manitoba.
"I'm hoping that everything will work out, and if it doesn't, then I'll take whatever challenge comes my way and work with what we got," she said.
"I'm definitely proud of myself for getting this far, and seeing what ever takes me next. I'm excited to experience that too."
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