Northern Health recruitment, retention improving says regional recruitment manager
Coming out of the pandemic, recruitment was either virtual or non-existent, but Northern Health has ramped up their efforts and is seeing vacancies decrease throughout the region, Emelye Macfarlane, Regional Recruitment Manager for Northern Health told Fort St. John city council on December 9 at their final committee of the whole meeting for 2024.
While there have been some losses in the past 12 months, where more staff have left Northern Health than switched departments, Macfarlane said that vacant positions are being filled, thanks in part to increased recruitment initiatives.
In nursing, for example, 93 new nurses were hired from outside Northern Health, while a total of 118 nurses either left Northern Health or changed departments.
During 2024, Northern Health Recruitment attended 93 conferences, post-secondary institution presentations, job fairs and high school presentations, as well as hosting six virtual career fairs.
The six virtual events included recruiting for dietitians, emergency nursing, all nursing disciplines and respiratory therapists, which are all high vacancy position, according to Macfarlane.
Of the 278 RSVPs Northern Health received for the virtual events, they are connecting with 65 candidates who have been flagged as qualified.
Macfarlane says they have expanded the use of ad platforms on social media to advertise the positions available, as well as geo-targeting different areas of the country. For example, she said that if Alberta has made some cuts, Northern Health can target that potential market for employees.
Ambassador initiatives are another recruitment tool Northern Health is proud of and says has shown success in creating interest in healthcare careers in the North. Through the Adventures in Healthcare and Grow Our Own events, the health authority has successfully reached out to high school students in Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and Chetwynd.
The Grow Our Own events encourages students in Grades 10 to 12 to seek training for various healthcare professions locally, such as through the Northern Baccalaureate Nursing program at the University of Northern BC. As well, through the UNBC Healthcare Travelling Roadshow, Fort Nelson high school students participated in a tour of Fort Nelson Hospital.
Although it has some limitations on who can receive it, the Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive - where eligible employees can receive a $30,000 incentive for a two-year return for service – has also proved effective, with 35 hires in Fort St. John receiving the incentive which is set to expire in March 2025.
The incentive is not available to anyone who is already working in a rural or remote area, like private facilities for example, Macfarlane said, “because we don’t want to pull those people away from areas where they are needed.”
The intent is to not jeopardize healthcare in rural and remote communities by poaching staff from areas that are already struggling.
“We have an advantage in that we’re the only health authority that is allowed to offer the $30,000 incentive,” she said.
New grads in a rural community also qualify for the incentive, Macfarlane added, so the successes the health authority has made in connecting with high school students in the North is good.
The cohorts for the healthcare services and nursing programs aren’t full, making those connections with high schools, and the health careers access programs – incentives for adults to go back to school – even more important.
Macfarlane said that they are in the height of new grad recruitment season, which begins in November, and Northern Health will see most of the new grads – Registered Nurses, Registered Practical Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses - by May.