Running out of Care: Documenting and Contextualizing Ontario's Nursing Shortage
Abstract
This thesis explores Ontario’s current Registered Nurse shortage from the perspective of nurses. Qualitative research was used to gather 18 anonymous survey responses and 8 interviews that were interpreted using an Institutional Ethnography framework. Ongoing stressors identified by nurse respondents are discussed within an evidence-based institution-centered context that enhances understanding of the ongoing reports of increased Registered Nurse burnout. Nurses’ perspectives and lived experiences are foregrounded and their narratives are contextualized in processes drawn from secondary research. The main themes addressed are the current political backdrop and social-economic processes emanating from both institutional and government systems, as well as main stressors on nurses such as workload, patient acuity, short staffing, training and retention, new graduate experiences, managerial systems. Much of the research and respondents’ narratives highlight the institutional factors contributing to decreasing morale and mental health among nurses that has created perfuse burnout within this demographic, contributing to the current shortage in Ontario.