The first chapter of the Quebec government’s ambitious program to recruit foreign nurses has faced serious hiccups from the get-go. Federal government evaluations released by the local junior colleges involved in the initiative noted serious cultural assimilation issues with foreign nurses. They had the toughest time with the local French vocabulary, accent and accentuation. With an opening of their most recent cohort, this program addresses the immediate nursing shortage in the province. It’s placed severe economic burdens on recruits due to a lack of support for housing, childcare, and transportation.
The first stage of this program is intended to attract 1,500 foreign nurses to Quebec by the year 2028. It’s an amazing budget of $16 million. Yet, a mere 207 nurses mainly from countries like Algeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritius were so far recruited. Too many of the participants were living paycheck to paycheck, unable to get ahead or even keep up with the cost of rising living expenses.
A demanding training program of nine to fourteen months was the second biggest challenge for these future recruits. As the Quebec government framed it, “refresher training.” In reality, the tough nature of the program surprised most recruits. That enormous course load was intended to bring their training up to par with Quebec requirements. This sudden, overwhelming workload was the #1 source of stress for them.
“The fast-paced academic environment and the far-reaching consequences of failure put a lot of stress on the students,” stated a government report.
Like many places, Quebec’s health-care system is currently plagued by a deepening labor shortage. This ongoing crisis has produced great difficulty in locating sufficient, qualified teachers and internship supervisors. As a result, many would-be nurses were unable to find employment despite having finished their education.
“Early in the launch of Phase 1, major obstacles were encountered in getting participants settled,” the report noted.
The recruits were trained close to home at community and government-supported junior colleges, where they were paid a weekly stipend of $500. Despite the substantial financial support, any recruit was one course failure away from potential expulsion from the program. Losing financial aid was a natural outcome of that failure. This brought another external layer of stress and fear-of-failure onto participants.
“We were treated like children,” lamented one nurse who spoke to The Canadian Press.
“The right information wasn’t given to us,” the same nurse added.
There was criticism at the program creation’s lack of foresight.
“For the life of me, I don't understand why these issues were not properly considered when this program was developed,” remarked Fo Niemi, highlighting a significant oversight in planning.
Even with these challenges, the program marches on with its fifth round currently in progress. The government still insists it is on track to recruit 1,500 nurses by 2028.
Xavier Daffe-Bordeleau highlighted changes that were made after last year’s experiences to further streamline the integration process for future recruits.
“Building on the experience gained in previous cohorts, our efforts to accompany people from abroad for several months prior to their arrival have helped to minimize the pitfalls associated with settling in,” said Xavier Daffe-Bordeleau.
