Informing an Equitable, Sustainable and Comprehensive Nursing Workforce Development, Support & Retention Strategy through Comparative Policy Analysis & Integrated Healthcare Workforce Planning

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it even harder for health care organizations to make sure they have enough nurses to look after their patients. Due these problems, many health care organizations in Canada and around the world no longer have enough nurses to provide the care their patients need. The goal of this study is to bring together different kinds of evidence to create a Nursing Strategy for Nova Scotia that will solve these problems and make sure we have enough nurses to provide the care Nova Scotians need. We will do this through three phases of activity: -In Phase 1, we will by (1) review scientific papers, government reports, and other evidence that has already been produced on this topic, (2) compare the ways Nova Scotia has managed and supported its nursing workforce with how four other health systems like Nova Scotia's have managed and supported theirs, and (3) based on what we learn in (1) and (2), make a list of different ways of managing and supporting the nursing workforce that could help make sure Nova Scotia has enough nurses to provide the care Nova Scotians need. -In Phase 2, we will host an online workshop with Nova Scotia nurse leaders and the different groups of people involved in training, managing, and supporting them in Nova Scotia (government, health authority, community partners, experts, patients and family advisors, nurses). During this workshop we will share what we learned in Phase 1 and work with these groups to decide which new or different ways of training, managing, or supporting nurses should be part of Nova Scotia's Nursing Strategy. -In Phase 3, based on all of the information we collect in Phases 1 and 2, we will present a Policy Brief to policy-makers in Nova Scotia telling them what should be included in a Nursing Strategy for Nova Scotia. Through these activities, we will offer in the leaders of Nova Scotia's health care system a plan for making sure the province has enough nurses to provide the care its people need.