Some internationally educated nurses feel set up to fail as regulator warns of patient safety concerns
Some of Manitoba's newest nurses feel scrutinized, not supported: Canadian Black Nurses Alliance founder
Nurses of African descent are being reported to Manitoba's regulatory body at disproportionately high levels, often prematurely, a national nursing organization alleges.
Ovie Onagbeboma, founder of the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance, said she's personally heard from internationally educated nurses of African descent who feel they're being unfairly monitored, rather than supported, as they enter Manitoba's health-care system.
"There are nurses with two postgraduate degrees. There are nurses with degrees that they've gotten from foreign countries that are being scrutinized, criticized, questioned on validity," she said.
The allegations follow the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba speaking out last week against a recent government order that removed the requirement that nursing applicants registered to practise elsewhere in Canada — known as "labour mobility applicants" — had to have previous work experience in the country before being automatically permitted to work in Manitoba.
Some of these new nurses, many of whom were internationally trained, struggled with basic tasks like taking blood pressure or administering medication, the regulator alleged.
There were 35 complaints against the 1,000-plus nurses in this group over a 15-month period, the college recorded in a February report, and it said two patients died as a result.
Newest nurses being scrutinized: Onagbeboma
Onagbeboma said the criticisms mounted against these nurses is draining to the workers the health-care system wants to recruit and retain.
These workers benefited from recently relaxed labour mobility rules permitting them to live in Manitoba but register in another province where it might be easier to get a licence.
Imagine "what that does to your well-being, your mental health, to your economic ability to come into this country and just support yourself and or your family," said Onagbeboma, who brought attention to this issue on LinkedIn.
The college has argued patient safety is jeopardized by the waiving of the requirement that nurses registered in other jurisdictions work a certain amount of hours in Canada before being licensed in Manitoba.
However, Onagbeboma considers that argument "dangerous," as it may fuel public impressions that internationally educated nurses as a whole are underqualified.
She also thinks the regulator is fuelling these fears by stating two patients died, but not revealing if any domestically trained nurses contributed to any fatalities during the same time period.
The report specified, however, that labour mobility registrants were responsible for seven per cent of all complaints in 2023, but that number nearly tripled to nearly 22 per cent the following year.
Onagbeboma wants the health-care system to provide these nurses with enough training so they aren't being set up to fail.
While some nurses may need to be assigned to duties better suited to their skills, Onagbeboma said it isn't fair that some nurses trained abroad are provided just one to five orientation shifts to become acquainted with Canadian nursing practices.
Some of the basic tasks the nurses couldn't perform — like being unable to operate IV pumps, as the college's recent report highlight — "kind of screams a lack of good orientation," she said.
The nurses' regulator said in response that some issues raised by the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance are outside their control, such as who's making the complaints or the duration of orientation programs.
The College of Registered Nurses spokesperson Martin Lussier said the college intended to bring attention to the rise in complaints linked to serious nursing incompetence — and ask the provincial government to address it by reinstating the previous work experience requirement.
"Certainly we're open to learning how we can share those concerns about patient safety, and concerns in registered nursing practice, without accelerating issues that are linked to racial or ethnic discrimination," he said.
Lussier also said the college is focusing on a small cohort of individuals.
"The vast majority of internationally educated nurses who work in Manitoba practice without issue, without being the subject of a complaint," he said.
While some may think of the requirement as a barrier, the college sees it as a necessary guardrail for patient safety.
The former Progressive Conservative government waived the requirement in 2022.
Province rescinds directive
Last December, the college reinstated the rule for Canadian work experience. However, by April, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara ordered a reversal, citing issues about compliance with internal trade agreements and provincial legislation.
Onagbeboma said she met last week with Asagwara regarding the issues raised by internationally educated nurses.
At an unrelated news conference Monday, Asagwara said they take these concerns seriously and want the province to be a leader in welcoming internationally educated nurses.
Joyce Kristjansson, executive director of the Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba, said she supports the removal of the Manitoba-specific requirement for work hours because she believes it's against the law and may help push the country closer to a national licensure that helps nurses work anywhere in the country with ease.
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