A need for nurses: retiring baby boomers will heighten demand for nurses.

• Author: Demers, Patrick
• Position: HOT JOBS

A registered practical nurse (RPN) is a position that's been in consistent demand over the last several years, and as the baby boomer generation plans to transition into retirement, it appears it will stay that way.

Although the heightened demand for practical nurses has decreased, it is only because organizations have seen their staff go from critical shortages to manageable ones, said Meghan Beach, clinical recruiter for the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre.

After fluctuation in the early 2000s, RPN employment hit a crucial low in 2004, with only 24,428 RPNs employed in Ontario, a 1,311 drop from the previous year, according to the College of Nurses of Ontario's 2009 Statistics Report.

The employment numbers rebounded with a consistent gain a couple years later in 2006, and continued through 2009.

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"We're now able to look at our vacancies and what our expected vacancies are and plan around that," said Beach, "as opposed to hiring every nurse we can get our hands on just to fill as much as we could."

In 2009, it was reported that there were 28,800 RPNs employed in the province, an increase of 17.4 per cent over 2004.

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre currently employs approximately 130 of those RPNs, which according to Beach is enough to maintain optimal patient care and levels.

"That said, if given the resources to hire more practical nurses, we would certainly be able to find work for them," she said.

RPNs are primarily responsible for the holistic care of stable and predictable patients, and consist of one-quarter of the nursing workforce.

Dianne Martin is the executive director for the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario, and has worked as both an RPN and a registered nurse (RN) for over 30 years.

She said that as long as the health-care industry continues to change, so does the scope of the practice for RPNs.

In 2003, RPN programs in all colleges had been transformed from a college certificate program to a college diploma program.

What was once a nine-month course has turned into a two-year program.

"The technology and the depth of knowledge that we have about health care, and therefore the depth' of knowledge that nurses need in their practice, has changed tremendously" said Martin.

She said the biggest change for her since the...