A recent poll suggests an alarming number of nurses in Alberta are thinking of leaving the profession in the next five years.

The poll done for the Alberta Association of Nurses (AAN) found 68% of nurses in the province are thinking of leaving nursing, and the number increases to 73% of respondents in the age group 20-30.

It is important to note, 74% of everyone who responded were between the ages of 41 and 61+, which skews towards retirement age.  However, the survey also found 48% of nurses under the age of 35 will not renew their registration in the first five years of their career.

“What really took us back was the number of nurses who were under 35 years of age with less than five years’ experience,” says Kathy Howe, AAN CEO.

According to the poll, regardless of the length of career, nurses all had similar reasons for considering leaving: stress, burnout, overworked and underpaid.

“That’s one of the things wearing people out,” explains Howe.

“You never get to be proactive, you’re always reacting. The patient’s always in excruciating pain before you can bring pain medication instead of anticipating that they’re going to be in pain and that’s not good job satisfaction. It’s not the care you want to provide.”

Howe is concerned with how many new nurses are leaving the profession but says until some of the work conditions are addressed it will continue to happen, despite high demand for the nursing program at the University of Calgary (U of C).

Dave Patterson, with the faculty of nursing at the U of C, says passion is essential in nursing success because while it is a reasonably well-paid profession, there are a lot of other demands facing nurses who are just starting out.

“With contract negotiations and retention and trying not to be overworked, the new grads are the ones picking up a lot of those hours,” says Patterson, who adds students going through the program are concerned about work-life balance once they enter the workforce.

“As long as they’re able to safely care for the patient, safely care for themselves, and kind of keep an eye on everybody else, things work.”

And its passion for the job driving Darcy Callihoo, a recent nursing grad hoping to get her first job.

“It was in my heart, and it was something I knew I wanted to do, but it’s complex,” says Callihoo. “We need people to be nurses and this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Callihoo says she has relied on her family for support while she was at school and will continue to do so as she starts her career, but is undeterred by the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations ongoing between the United Nurses of Alberta and the provincial government.

A statement from the Minister of Health’s office says “ensuring that Alberta’s frontline workers, including nurses, have the support they need is a top priority for this government.”