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Writer's pictureMarilynn Larkin

Nursing Agencies Costly to Canada's Public Healthcare System

Medscape Medical News Marilynn Larkin

October 07, 2024


Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions

Private nursing agencies are for-profit staffing companies that provide what are called travel, temporary, or agency nurses. An agency hires the nurses and arranges contracts with a facility, then provides nurses for a few weeks to several months. The facility pays the agency, which in turn pays the nurses. Nurses are often supervised and work under the direction of the facility where they are employed.


Agency nurses served a purpose during the early phase of the pandemic, which led to an increase in retirement, especially among the workforce's many baby boomer nurses, Claire Mallette, PhD, director of nursing at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, told Medscape Medical News. "Their retirements had a trickle-down effect that led to nursing shortages" that have continued, particularly in critical care, emergency departments, and long-term care.


"When these agency nurses became available, staff nurses started to think, 'Why am I working here on a set schedule? I want more control in my life and more money'," said Mallette, who was not involved in the CFNU report. Many nurses left the public sector and joined the agencies, which gave them higher wages and greater flexibility. "They get to choose when they work and where they work and get work-life balance without the stresses of going in every day and dealing with the politics within organizations."



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