Vancouver, BC- VCH vs. Fraser

Hey wasup!

You need to empty some of your stored messages, I have tried to reply to you but can not send anything until you create some space

Marijke

/rant

Both of them are slow.

Sometimes, I don't really understand it. Here we are, qualified nurses from other countries who just passed all the barriers they put up, but apparently they still don't want us. Heck, it's so sad, it seems funny at times. They keep grieving in the media about it, yet when you apply on their hospitals, they keep blowing you off.

They keep on harping about canadian experience.. well, of course we don't have canadian experience. We are new immigrants, for crying out loud. How can we have this golden, treasured, unforgettable canadian experience if they don't give us a chance?

Even if you get canadian experience, they scoff at it. My best friend said it best - to them, it's never gonna be enough.

I just need to get this thing off my chest. I really think politics, and not the shortage, plays a big part in hiring nurses in both vch and fraser health.

/rant off

You know what? I'm getting fed up reading posts from people who feel that Canada is just plain old being mean to them and should just drop all the requirements and give them jobs because they were nurses "back home".

Immigration to a new country has never been easy. Every generation of immigrants has had hurdles to overcome to establish themselves.

It's just not foreign nurses that have to deal with this mess. Canadian educated nurses face the same hurdle when they move provinces. Credentials need to be examined and if there is a candidate with local experience, well guess who gets the job? The local in most cases.

Fresh starts in a new land don't happen over night. If you are really that unhappy being here, perhaps it is time to re-evaluate why you chose this country to live in.

I understand where you're coming from. However - isn't it there a shortage of nurses though? Doesn't the public deserve more staff to care for them? Isn't almost half the population of canada immigrants?

You cannot hide the fact that Canada, is really mean. "Plain old being mean" in your own words. Look around. I didn't say just drop all requirements - I said after passing all the requirements, they still won't accept you.

If you think the system works, if you honestly think all the barriers that are put up are effective, then we must come to a disagreement.

And who talked about immigration and " Fresh starts in a new land don't happen over night"? I am ranting about employers not accepting you despite overcoming all the hurdles put up by crnbc. I am ranting about paying my dues, and employers not recognizing them.

Have you considered volunteering in your community to acquire local experience and references?

Many employers look at the whole person, not just nursing credentials. They also evaluate your attitude towards them during the interview and how you interacted with others prior to the interview. I've know receptionists who got a say in the process, basically how you presented yourself to them, "polite, pleasant, well groomed" to "demanding, rude, feet on the couch in the waiting room".

Have you considered contacting the Y or other employment assitance agencies to brush up on your interviewing techniques?

What about Interior Health? How slow and difficult are they?

Yes I did volunteer - My resume is littered with volunteer work in hospice care, community centres, assisted living and extended care facilities. I've volunteered in the downtown eastside. The whole nine yards. I did this while I was reviewing for the exam, in hopes that I can get a job under the interim permit..to no avail.

You may ask, why not in hospitals? Well, Mt. Saint joseph's along kingsway here in BC doesn't really accept volunteers in acute care. They only accept volunteers for geriatric care - which is the same thing that I did all the while awaiting to take the exam. Royal Columbian in New westminster accepts volunteers, but they want 6 months to 1 year commitment. 6 months to 1 year! If you break the commitment you get a bad rep. And it doesn't guarantee you a job with them. Ditto for VGH and BGH...

You go with the "interview" angle. Well, that's ironic for me. The major employers (Vch,phc,fsh) don't want to grant an interview in the first place, because they assume you don't have enough to hack it. It's funny, because I applied in almost all extended care facilities here in vancouver, and at every end of the interview I always ask them for feedback. So far, I haven't had any negative ones, as I get accepted everytime.

Just this morning I got a call from the nurse recruiter from fraser health.. well, she basically told me to go to school again, before I get a job. A "nurse refresher" program, which is 1 year long and costs 20k. Are you kidding me? Why did CRNBC license me if i'm not qualified? Costs of daily living aren't cheap, and housing prices keeps on going up. Am I that so dumb that me passing the CRNE was a fluke? Or so incompetent that I can't do what a staff nurse in surgery or medicine does as well?

I guess that's all part of immigrating. I've come to terms that hey, having 2 full time jobs in extended care facilities isn't too bad you know? The pay is the same, food is free and it's not so stressfull. I get to keep my health to an optimum level and there's no drama in the workplace.The only knock is that I don't get to expand my education, and I'm missing out in a lot of opportunities to "branch out". But hey, s--- happens and you can't get everything you want. If acute care doesn't want me in the first place, then I guess I won't force myself unto them.

That's really ironic. And we see hundreds of ads saying they need nurses... Maybe they do, but not in hospitals...