A corporate law clerk wants to be a nurse

Why have you decided nursing "can be it for me"?

Read the information from the colleges and talk to the admissions people.

I actually wish I'd stayed in the clerical world. Better hours, no families, stats off.

Let's see:

often difficult for a new grad to work in the areas that really interest them

bottom of the seniority list for vacation time

often wind up with all the night shifts

working every other weekend

working at least half the stat holidays (and yes we get paid extra but it really doesn't make up for the time away from your family)

relocate to another province, go through hoops to get your practice permit re-issued

having the public treat you like a slave or worse

management is never around nights and weekends when most of the verbal and physical intimidation happens

be physically assaulted at least once in your education/career by a "sweet little old lady" who wouldn't hurt a fly (family's definition)

work Christmas or New Years every year until you have the seniority to get the time off

the trend is going to 12 hour shifts, I personally loathe them, so it's getting harder to find 8 hour shifts in the majority of the hospital setting

if you work in the private sector (ie doctors office/medi centre) no union to protect you, patients are just as needy, the need to push patients through so the doctors see as many as they want to in a day.

Fresh out of school, I didn't have a hard time. It was hard to find a position (only casual jobs were availabe and the payback of the loans were a big concern). Time management was an issue. I discovered that I loathed LTC due to the chronic understaffing and unrealistic expectations of families for what could be done for their aged relatives.

Count on at least two different jobs before you find one you enjoy.

The profession is rewarding, at other times it is the worst in the world. People always tell you there are lots of choices out there and I've been lucky to work most of my career in a province that allows PNs to work pretty much everywhere but NICU.

I've been called every name under the sun, kicked, scratched and punched. I'm almost ready to call it a day. My arches have dropped, my knees hurt, three of my co-workers have bad backs due to the job, one miscarried after being kicked by a patient.

The clerical world, a place without bodily fluids, the physical violence looks good. I know what working in that world is like and it's not that bad a place. Nobody is harmed if you change a cartridge incorrectly and that the world isn't a deadly place if you jam the photocopier.

If you are from Toronto and don't want to work mainly in nursing homes, skip the Practical Nurse program. Most Toronto hospitals are mainly RN. This is not the case in all provinces, just some of them. An RN is a longer program but you are legally qualified to work in all areas and take care of all types of patients, the pay is much greater, yet you will have more responsibility.

I am in full agreement with Fiona59's post, there are many things about nursing that are hard to live with. Starting as a casual employee with no guarantee of a set number of hours is how you will start nursing in Ontario until you have enough seniority to apply for a part time job, then a full time job. This could take years depending on where you work. I am not trying to be negative but these are just some of the realities. Nursing is can be a great career but there are many realities to nursing that the public is not aware of. Spend some time on this site and you will learn tons.
Good luck.

If you want to work in a hospital, in a specialty area, you will have to become Registered Nurse. This is now a four year full time University degree program and you will write a licensure exam at the end of the program. There are no shortcuts in Ontario. If you have a previous degree you may be able to complete the RN program in 2.5 to 3 years full time providing that you had at least a 70% average.

As for starting employment part time, the reasons for this are that almost all hospitals are unionized and you must join the union to be employed there which requires that jobs be filled by seniority and appropriate skill set.

If you want further information, check websites for the College of Nurses (CNO-which is the licence board) and the RNAO,ONA and RPNAO.

Before you decide on nursing, you are really going to have to do a lot more research such as going to the above sites and at minimum checking the websites of any hospitals in your area for available jobs, yet keeping in mind that the jobs listed are internal postings and are first available to those already employed at the hospital. I would also suggest that you possibly volunteer somewhere you want to work.

Acute care/active treatment is the hospital setting.

I'm an LPN who works in one of the largest hospitals in Alberta. The only unit I cannot work is NICU in this province, oh, and the outpatient IV clinic but rumour has it LPNs will be there by the end of the decade.

Nursing is constantly evolving. The level of skills and education that a PN receives in Alberta (and Ontario from the posts I've read) is roughly the same as the hospital diploma trained RN.

I've never held a full time position but hold a part time position that guarantees me x hours per pay period. I pick up extra shift and OT depending on what I want to do with my spare time.

I so wish that I lived in Alberta. It is a very different world than Ontario is for RPN's. I keep trying to convince my spouse to go but no luck yet. I have some family in Edmonton who came from Toronto and they love it. My cousin has told me that the schools that their kids go to are pretty good too. Guess I'll keep wishing for now.