Nova Scotia’s first internal travel nurse program is ready to receive applications from registered nurses.
A release from the province states the program will create a Nova Scotia Health travel nurse team to be deployed to emergency departments where needed.
Nova Scotia Nurses Union President Janet Hazelton (Nova Scotia Nurses Union photo)
Janet Hazelton, chair of Nova Scotia Council of Nursing Unions and president of the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union, said the NSNU negotiated for the travel nurse program in its last collective agreement. She said nurses will be hired by the health authority, receive an orientation, then travel round the province to areas experiencing short-term or long-term vacancies.
Currently, said Hazelton, the province has a significant number of external travel nurses who mostly come from other provinces to work in Nova Scotia before returning home.
Hazelton said they are hoping the program will cut down the reliance on external travel nurses, noting the internal nurse team will be a benefit to emergency departments experiencing shortages.
The new program will hire 20 to 30 full-time registered nurses. The province expects the program to launch by the end of March.