2022 TRU Graduation Ceremony (Image credit: CFJC)

By Connor Gunn

2022 GRADS

TRU nursing grads walk stage, prepare for staffing challenges in hospitals

Jun 9, 2022 | 4:31 PM

KAMLOOPS — The nursing program at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) held its convocation Thursday (June 9) – and some grads will be going directly to work at the Royal Inland Hospital (RIH).

As staffing challenges continue to push RIH to its limit, this new batch of nursing grads is jumping into the workforce.

Staffing challenges are plaguing RIH – and many other hospitals province-wide. Being understaffed throughout a pandemic can be especially challenging to nurses – and new grads.

“We’re dealing with really high ratios of patients which makes it unsafe it’s easy to miss things, it’s easy for things to change with patients and we don’t see it, there’s burnout – the stress is high and it feels like nothing is being changed a little bit,” says TRU Nursing graduate Lauren Rousson.

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Nurses locally and provincially are reporting that burnout and stress have been key impacts on their work. And one student who is set to work for RIH says the support for new grads is there – but is treated on a case-by-case basis.

“They try to protect us as new grads so we don’t get pulled to different places so that we’re not taking on too much. I’m lucky enough to be in a really supportive environment [compared] to some of my other classmates who are having a bit of a harder time,” says Shannon Isnardy.

The Dean of the School of Nursing Rani Srivastava, says the job is more challenging than people may think – and being thrown into an understaffed already-difficult situation – adds to the pressure.

“This is a challenging time and nursing is hard work. It’s physically hard, it’s emotionally hard, and I think [it’s hard to] maintain that energy because if you don’t have energy it’s to be there for other people and that’s what nursing is all about.”

Valedictorian of the 2022 Nursing Graduates Atisha van Buuren-Elton, says entering the profession will be an adjustment for most grads – and being prepared for what’s next is the true test.

“It’s definitely scary as new grads, I think we are going to be expected to take on a lot and not necessarily things that we’re ready for. I think TRU has prepared us as best as they could I think it’s a challenging career to be entering and a challenging time in terms of staffing,” says van Buuren-Elton.