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Narrative
The number of vacant positions by job category is defined as the number of job vacancies for staff positions in the following job categories for which there had been a job posting and that had remained vacant between May 1, 2008 and date of survey in November, 2008. The job categories are: associate medical officer of health, public health nurse, registered nurse, registered practical nurse, nurse practitioner, public health inspector, dentist, dental hygienist/dental assistant, health promoter, dietitian/public health nutritionist, speech-language pathologist, epidemiologist, heart health coordinator and librarian.
Information on the number of vacancies in specific job categories is important because it identifies areas of potential gaps in public health unit human resource capacity that may have both local and system wide implications.
Boards of health were asked to report the number of positions that had been advertised and had remained vacant over the last six months in specific job categories. This indicator measures persistent vacancies that boards of health are trying to fill but where they have been unable to attract suitable candidates.
Boards of health reported minimal persistent vacancies in positions for registered nurses, registered practical nurses, dentists, and librarians. In each of these categories, the number of job vacancies that had remained unfilled after a six month posting was less than 1 FTE across all public health units.
The largest proportion of ongoing vacancies in public health units are for associate medical officer of health positions, with almost 25% of the total reported FTE positions sitting vacant for the last six months, and for nurse practitioners with approximately 15% of the total reported FTE positions vacant over the last six months. The other job categories where concern about the inability to fill positions has been noted (epidemiologist, registered practical nurse, speech-language pathologist) show province wide vacancy rates of between 4.7% and 9.1%.
Number of Vacant Positions by Job Categories
| |
Associate MOH |
Nurse practitioner |
Epidemiologist |
Registered practical nurse |
Speech-language pathologist |
| Total number of vacant positions (for the last 6 months) |
6.3 |
4.4 |
6.5 |
5.5 |
3.0 |
| Total FTE staff positions |
25.6 |
28.5 |
72.6 |
100.3 |
64.3 |
| Total number of vacant positions as a % of Total FTE staff positions |
24.6% |
15.3% |
9.1% |
5.5% |
4.7% |
Boards of health also reported that these numbers may underrepresent the impact of persistent vacancies because of the lateral movement of staff into vacant positions to backfill for a maternity leave, or as part of a vacancy management plan that delays recruitment for a part of a year. These types of situations were specifically excluded from this measure, in order to get a picture of long term vacancies in certain job categories.
Indicator Definition
Definition:
The number of job vacancies for staff positions in the following job categories for which there had been a job posting and that had remained vacant between May 1, 2008 and date of survey in November, 2008.
- Associate Medical Officer of Health
- Public Health Nurse
- Registered Nurse
- Registered Practical Nurse
- Nurse Practitioner
- Public Health Inspector
- Dentist
- Dental Hygienist/Dental Assistant
- Health Promoter
- Dietitian/Public Health Nutritionist
- Speech-Language Pathologist
- Epidemiologist
- Heart Health Coordinator
- Librarian
Data Source(s):
Survey of boards of health, 2008
Formula:
Number of vacant positions by job category
Notes:
- Indicator does not cover all job categories within a board of health; a decision was made to collect data on direct service job categories of interest in relation to assessing local service capacity
- Does not capture full length of vacancies that began before May 1, 2008
- Does not show full extent of lack of local capacity where vacancies are being managed by reassignment and backfilling by existing staff
Data
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