Stephen Duckett, MD, Edmonton Journal, July 31, 2010 It is a strange day indeed when Alberta Health Services is criticized for committing to hire more than 1,100 new nurses. So perhaps some perspective is in order on what is actually a very positive step forward in realizing our goals of improving access, quality and sustainability in our health care system. Alberta Health Services made two key commitments under our recently signed collective agreement with the United Nurses of Alberta. First, that we would maintain the number of nurses and, secondly, that we would hire 70 per cent (the traditional proportion we hire) of the graduating class of nurses ... Hiring