New nursing graduates: a key factor in nursing supply

The Canadian nursing education system is the most significant contributor to the country's supply of registered nurses. This article provides current data on the numbers of nursing graduates produced in each province in 1994. The authors highlight some of the differences in the numbers produced and use the national average of new graduates as the percentage of the population of Canada as one method to arrive at the numbers of new graduates per year which each province could attempt to produce. This article provides a national perspective on current and future nursing human resources and will assist nursing administrators in their staffing plans related to registered nurses.