There are a plethora of understandable reasons as to why healthcare workers – including registered nurses (RN), registered practical nurses (RPN), nurse practitioners (NP), pharmacists, registered pharmacy technicians (RPhT), pharmacy assistants, personal support workers (PSW) and more – have been out of work at any point during the COVID-19 pandemic. From sitting out of work out of an abundance of caution for your health, to wanting to wait until vaccination levels increase before going back, it’s important for healthcare workers to feel comfortable in whatever work environment they’re usually in, be it a hospital, long-term care home (LTC), etc. But the fact remains that, eventually, any healthcare workers who haven’t been working regularly for the last 2+ years will need to return to work, and here at RPI Consulting Group, we wanted to take some time in this blog to explain why it’s especially important for RPNs based in Ontario to go back to work sooner rather than later. Read on to learn more, and don’t forget to check our blog regularly for job postings and healthcare news!
Competition is fierce
Recently, the Ontario government announced their intention to hire and deploy internationally trained nurses to hospitals and LTCs that have been experiencing staffing shortages brought on by COVID-19, particularly the Omicron variant that has ravaged the province in the last couple of months. These are jobs that primarily have been filled by RPNs, but in the last couple of years, we’ve seen a sharp decline in qualified RPNs applying for such jobs. Instead, RPNs and other healthcare workers have either decided to not work at all (as previously stated); or, they’re working in jobs that are far less demanding, such as COVID screening and vaccination clinics. And just to be clear, we’re not saying that there’s anything particularly wrong with choosing to work these jobs – on the contrary, they’ve been very important and have played a key role in the ongoing fight against COVID. But, it’s important to remember that COVID won’t be around forever, and it’s getting nearer and nearer to the point where these jobs won’t be required as they are now – vaccination and booster rates continue to climb, and it’s very likely that we’ll all simply need to get used to living with COVID as part of our everyday lives. So, when RPNs start looking for the more traditional roles in hospitals and LTCs in the near future, they may not be as plentiful as they’ve been in the past due to the Ontario government filling them with international workers.
Don’t miss the opportunity
The ultimate point of this blog is this: at RPI, we have a keen understanding of the healthcare industry, and it’s become very clear to us that RPNs who have been working screening, vaccination, or other alternative jobs over the last 2 years should strongly start to consider searching for a job in a more traditional healthcare environment, such as a hospital or an LTC. We predict that there’s going to be a very high demand for such jobs in the not-so-distant future, and if you delay, you run the risk of not being able to find full-time employment in the future.
RPI’s friendly team of Account Managers wants to help you find your dream job – so get in touch with us today, and let us know what you’re looking for! And again, don’t wait until it’s too late!
