What do you need to remain a nurse until retirement?

Today's Nurse: What contemporary Canadian nurses need to stay in the workforce for the longevity of their career, authored by University of Ottawa Associate Professor of Nursing Dr. Kim McMillan, RN, PhD, CHPCN(C), includes detailed recommendations guided by three key principles: protect nurses, engage nurses and respect nurses.  

They were based on 22 in-person and virtual focus groups across nine provinces, including Ontario. The sessions were guided by one broad question, indicated by the report’s title: “What do you need to stay in the nursing workforce in Canada until you wish to retire?”

Recommendations 

The report’s 17 recommendations include that: 

• Governments mandate minimum nurse-patient ratios to protect care quality and reduce burnout. 
• Governments establish jurisdictional legislation to mandate employer accountability for workplace safety. 
• Employers, unions and governments embed front-line nurses in organizational and system-level decision-making. 
• Employers and unions reform scheduling practices to include nurse-led flexible models that meet patient needs and adhere to collective agreements. 
• Employers and unions establish paid protected time for professional development, and fund and formalize career progression. 
• Employers provide sufficient nursing support staff around the clock every day to remove non-nursing duties from nursing workloads. 
• Employers respect and protect work-life boundaries. 

“Every focus group quickly evolved into discussions of nurses’ moral distress and moral injury,” states Dr. McMillan. “I believe that when we attend to nurses’ central needs – to be protected, to be engaged and to be respected – we will also attend to nurses’ needs for morally congruent nursing care, care that is provided in ways that align with nurses’ deeply held moral commitments.” 

New era of challenges 

CFNU President Linda Silas emphasizes that we’re in a new era of challenges for the nursing profession, and that the safety of nurses is paramount in addressing these challenges. 

“We’ve seen the consequences of ignoring early warnings,” she says. “If past recommendations had been implemented, we might not be in the staffing crisis we now face. Nurses have shared, in detail, the reality of their working lives. It’s time to act. Canada needs every nurse we have – and more. We need them to feel safe, respected and fulfilled, so that they choose to stay in the profession until they’re ready to retire.” 

In CFNU's 2025 member survey, nurses pointed to enforced minimum nurse-patient ratios as the top influence that would keep them in their jobs. This solution would address nurse and patient safety while ensuring nurses have the time and support needed to give patients the best quality of care. 

“We must urgently re-evaluate and invest in the needs of today’s nurses to ensure nursing is a job of choice in our communities and there are enough nurses to meet population needs,” Silas adds. “This means listening to nurses and making the changes they care about and that will help keep them in the profession.” 

The full report and recommendations can be found here.