Nursing by the numbers

In Nova Scotia

• There are approximately 15,000 regulated nurses, LPNS (Licensed Practical Nurses), RNS (Registered Nurses) and NPS (Nurse Practitioners), licensed to practice in Nova Scotia

• More than 2,000 LPNS are employed by Nova Scotia Health, with hundreds more working in long term care and community care

• The NP workforce in Nova Scotia has nearly doubled over the past 10 years

• The average nurse walks approximately 8 k.m. in a 12-hour shift (5,300 steps in an eight-hour shift)

• Each year, less than 20 per cent of those who apply to nursing schools are admitted because there’s such interest in the nursing profession

Source: The Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union (NSNU)