Why these Metro Vancouver nurses left hospitals to run salons and cosmetic clinics

After 13 years, former pediatric nurse Karen Tantraded her hospital scrubs for acart ladenwith orange-tipped syringes.

It's one of the workstations at the spa she now manages in Surrey,about 33 kilometres southeast of Vancouver,in anew career that involves injecting clients with Botox, treatinghair lossand melting fat cells.

Three years ago, Tan, 42, left theVancouver hospital she worked at,burned out from years of demanding 12-hour shifts.

"I felt very overwhelmed, very exhausted," she said. "Where I just thought I can't keep doing this forever."

Data showsnursing jobs like the one Tan leftsit empty across the country.

According to Statistics Canada, the number of unfilled jobs for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses increased from about 8,900 in 2018to just over 28,300 inthe same quarter of 2023.Large increases are noticeable during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health experts say many different factors could explain the vacancies, fromburnout and early retirement, to the increase in job postings tomeet the health-care industry'sdemands.

"This is a multi-factored issue and is in line with trends world-wide as countries grapple with rising complexity of care, an aging population and workforce, new modalities of care and work-life balance, and increasing competition from international jurisdictions and the private sector, among other issues," the B.C. Ministry of Healthsaid in a statement.

Some nurses say they were passionate about theircareers but long hours left little time for family, while others say pandemic pressuresmade them reconsider their priorities.

CBC News interviewed three former public health-care nurses who forged new careers in medical aesthetics and cosmetics.

In their private practices, they say the pace is slower and they no longer have to deal with tough, emotionallife-and-death issues.

Ultimately, they say, they're happier.

A slower pace,regular sleep

At Soma MD Advanced Medical Aesthetics, the injections Tan administers to helppatients feel and look youthful are a world awayfrom the chemotherapy intravenous linesshe administered at B.C. Children's Hospital.

Tan says she was passionate about helping kidsbut by the time she got home to her now-10-year-old daughter, she felt"really emotionally drained."

Now, with a mostly 9-to-5 schedule and a shorter commute, Tan says she's prioritizingher well-being with a regular sleep schedule and consistent gym routine.

She saysshe also enjoys having more time to consult withpatients.

While the stakes may be lower in a medical aesthetics clinic than in a public hospital, her job still requires a high level of skill, she says.

"[Clients] they're paying a lot of money;it's not something that I take lightly at all."

'I'm able to be the mom that I want to be'

For nineyears, Emily Millerwas a psychiatricnurse in Burnaby Hospital's emergency department, where part of her job involvedassessing patients who had thoughts of self-harm and suicide. The 40-year-olddescribed her career as a privilege.

But even as a casual nurse who picked herhours, she worried the long shifts typically 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or vice versa would become harder to juggle after having her second child. Her husband, also a physician, made child care difficult to schedule.

Two years ago, she opened her own aesthetics clinic in West Vancouver, where shenow serves 400 clientswith services such as Botox, dermal fillers and treatment for acne scars.

The change wasn't easy sheworked about six days a week for a year to launch the clinic, she says.

But the efforts are paying off. Today, she takes her kids to school and picks them upand alsovolunteers at her daughter's school.

"I'm able to be the mom that I want to be."

Work-life balance is important: nurses' union

The B.C. Nurses' Union says it understands why some nurses are leaving hospitals.

"Either they're burnt out, they have PTSD, or they have left the profession so that they can look after themselves," said union president Aman Grewal.

By 2031, 27,000 new nursing positions will beneeded in the province, Grewal says.

In an emailed statement, B.C.'s Ministry of Health saysefforts torecruit nurses includeadding 602 more nursing program seatsacross 17 public post-secondary institutionsto the estimated 2,000 currently available.

It's also creating ways for internationally trained health-care workers to practise more easily in B.C.

The province says it's also working with the BCNU to introducea new nurse-to-patient care model, wherea minimum number of nurses per patientis required, allowing forbetter, more person-focused services such asin the ICU or in long-term care.

"Our nurses want to feel valued and respected," Grewal said.

"Part of that respect is being able to have a work-life balance."

WATCH | Metro Vancouver nurses share why they left hospitals:

Nurses share why they left hospital to pursue new careers

1 year ago

Duration 2:03

Some B.C. nurses say they left the profession behind to pursue careers in medical aesthetics and cosmetics so they could have more flexible hours and time with their families.

Re-evaluating priorities

Rita Jun says supervising discharges at Vancouver General Hospital, a roleshe held for two years, was fulfilling but the stress of problem-solving amid patient bed shortages, having noaccessible child care, and long work hours reached a breaking point.

"I felt like I was just working all the time ...like I was fulfilling my bare minimum job requirement," she said.

During the pandemic, Jun's team also dealt with "really sad cases" such as couples dying together in the ICU, she says.

It added up.

"I think a lot of people just started re-evaluating what they wanted in life."

In 2022, after 13 years in public health care,Jun opened Jun Studios in Vancouver with her three sisters, offering services they share a passion for such as hairstyling, makeup and facials.

A logo with their last name stands tall in studio.

Jun says she has a flexible schedulefor her children and enjoys being home by 4 p.m. on most days.

"I feel happy," she said.

"I have no regrets."