[brian]

Retiring nurses enticed to stay on

Some who opt to leave now have their choice of shifts as desperate hospitals will take whatever hours they can spare

Lynne Wells hadn't even finished her last shift as a registered nurse at the Glenrose Hospital when her bosses started trying to convince her to come out of retirement.

She managed to stave them off for six months, long enough to travel with her husband to the Maritimes to see family, do some camping and take care of some home projects.

Five months ago, she relented and returned to work, even though most days she can't tell the difference.

I still feel like I'm retired," said Wells, who usually works two days a week, sometimes not at all if she wants to get away for a week or two.
"They don't give me a schedule, I give them my schedule," said Wells.

The province's ongoing nursing shortage, which has resulted in bed closures and cancelled surgeries, has prompted Capital Health to try wooing nurses out of retirement, or urging others to stay on part-time instead of retiring.

Full Story: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...abcd81736c&p=1

[Fiona59]

I work in the Capital Health system.

For regular staff who hold positions the relief is welcome BUT and it's a big BUT, the retired nurse who returns as a "casual" employee isn't really doing us a great favour. They want to work Monday-Friday, usually day shifts, they don't want to work statutory holidays. This leaves massive holes in schedules. Weekends and the shifts starting after 1900 are a nightmare. Even with shift premiums nobody wants to work these hours. I've seen times where days are overstaffed and the late evenings and night shifts are running on skeleton crews.

Regular staff still wind up working their scheduled weekends off and overtime shifts to cover the late evenings and nights.

It must be great, work your years, collect your pension, come back to work the shifts you pick and get paid the same rate you were making before you retired.

On my unit, the concensus is we won't last long enough in the profession to collect our pensions. We'll have quit from exhaustion before it becomes possible for us to double dip.

[linzz]

I doubt that I will make it to double dip after retirment either as I ache already and I am 40. I also think that in Ontario where RPN hospital jobs can be scarce in some areas, this situation does not help those trying to build up some seniority. JMO.

[cesarrodri]

Well, let me comment over this post here. I don't think that Canada itself or a self-regulated Nursing Authority really faces the so-called Shortage.

There are some reasons to be considered :
1st - Goverment is always making us to believe that Nurses are in desperate need. okay .. so why The Regulation Authorities impose barriers
that sometimes hard to overcome ?
2nd - Even if you have your credentials evaluated which could last 5 to 9 months you're more likely to have the need to attend a waistless refresher
that Canada thinks it is important to level you out that to my mind will Rip your money and time OFF .. okay again.
3rd - If you scape from the Refresher Course , there will be a light at the end of the tunnel on a Temporary Permit that will only allow you to sit
a LPN position where you could make around 11 $/hr instead of 25 to 30 on a real RN Position that I suppose Temp. Permit is for on a Work Permit basis.
4th - Another option but not less painful could be applying for a Permanent Residency based on Points for Skilled Workers but for this
you would have to hold 10.000 $CAD in cash to bring to Canada after your process is completed after 1 and 1/2 years but with no RN Registration
at hand there's no options again but the Suvival Jobs to cope.
I am sorry if I am making mistakes or dishonoring someone but Media / Government / Legal Autorities are out of synch or hiding something from us.
If we see the annual quota for International Skilled Workers applying annually with 10.000 on average we simply can do the math. To sum up ,I really considered going to Canada
firstly after giving up on US at first but I have never seen colleagues of mine having credentials not evaluated because lack of this or that on their Nursing Disciplines
before applying for NCLEX so that's why I am stepping back to focus on US exams and being smart enough not to believe in false promises.
Canada must stop painting the blue sky for human beings who want to contribute with this great country.
I am open-minded for any complains I might receive.

Thank you

[RuthieRN2008]

Originally Posted by cesarrodri

1st - Goverment is always making us to believe that Nurses are in desperate need. okay .. so why The Regulation Authorities impose barriers
that sometimes hard to overcome ?

I live in Ontario, Canada. The following explanations will fit more to the province of Ontario, as I know it most and there are different rules in each province.
The government is doing something about the nursing shortage. Ontario has implemented several programs, as you can see here http://www.healthforceontario.ca/WhatIsHFO.aspx
However, Ontario lacks about 7,000 nurses, and only 30-40 nurses graduate each year from each university, which will never fill the shortage. Plus, some nurses go to the States as they get better incentives, and wages.

Originally Posted by cesarrodri

2nd - Even if you have your credentials evaluated which could last 5 to 9 months you're more likely to have the need to attend a waistless refresher
that Canada thinks it is important to level you out that to my mind will Rip your money and time OFF .. okay again.

I think it is only fair that nurses have to take a refresher course (if they really do), because nursing education is different in each country. This book is a good reference for that
M. McIntyre, E. Thomlinson, & C. McDonald (Eds.), Realities of Canadian nursing: Professional, Practice, and Power Issues (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
In Germany, for example, nurses are not allowed to take blood, initiate I.V. therapy, or blood transfusions... I'd rather have them take a refresher course than not to know what they are doing! Plus having to have the medical terminology in another language is a big problem, too.

Originally Posted by cesarrodri

3rd - If you scape from the Refresher Course , there will be a light at the end of the tunnel on a Temporary Permit that will only allow you to sit
a LPN position where you could make around 11 $/hr instead of 25 to 30 on a real RN Position that I suppose Temp. Permit is for on a Work Permit basis.

I do not know where you get this information from. If you have RN credentials, you can work as an RN and do not have to take a course: http://www.cno.org/pubs/publist.html#registration go on the fact sheet for international educated nurses.

Originally Posted by cesarrodri

4th - Another option but not less painful could be applying for a Permanent Residency based on Points for Skilled Workers but for this
you would have to hold 10.000 $CAD in cash to bring to Canada after your process is completed after 1 and 1/2 years but with no RN Registration
at hand there's no options again but the Suvival Jobs to cope.

You are right that the immigration process is very tedious and long. However, my husband's only took 9 months, so they are working on improving that. You also misunderstood that you have to have $10,000 in your hand, you have to disclose your funds if it is over $10,000

"Disclosure of funds
If you arrive in Canada with more than C$10,000, you must disclose this information to the CBSA officer. If you do not disclose this information, you could be fined or put in prison. These funds could be in the form of:

• cash
• securities in bearer form (for example, stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills) or
• negotiable instruments in bearer form, such as bankers’ drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques or money orders. "

(http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra...d/arriving.asp)

I hope this makes things clearer for you.

[cesarrodri]

Hi RuthieRN

Yes , I agree with you but just wanted to make clear when I mentioned CAD $ 10.000 at hand. This demand is required by Canada Consulate if you haven't got a job offer so once you're not still registered as RN odds are 99 to 1 that a person has to have this money either way to live on if he or she applies for a Permanent Visa Status.
As for the Refresh Course I still have my concerns because Registration Authorities require major areas in Nursing such as : Med/Surgical , Adult , OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Gerontology, Community, Mental Health Nursing and other stuff like Farmacology ( Which I doubt if Math is different from one Country to Another ) , Physiology and they still insist you have to sit for a refresher but who am I to say it's wrong ?

What I meant is that although US is very strictly when processing those credentials , they are also dynamic towards that issue where most colleagues of mine had no problems evaluating their credentials where our Brazilian Programs have 3.200 hours/average covering Theoretical and Clinical as much as US Universities.


Glad to talk to you !

Discussions are open . I will be around ..

[RuthieRN2008]

Originally Posted by cesarrodri

Yes , I agree with you but just wanted to make clear when I mentioned CAD $ 10.000 at hand. This demand is required by Canada Consulate if you haven't got a job offer so once you're not still registered as RN odds are 99 to 1 that a person has to have this money either way to live on if he or she applies for a Permanent Visa Status.

Hi cesarrodri:

Of course, Canada doesn't want you to use its social assistance program as soon as you enter the country, which I believe any country wouldn't want to. Immigration is always tricky, so you have to conform to its stipulations. By the way, Canada has one of the highest immigration rates in the world http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060927/d060927a.htm, so I think its immigration process is probably well reformed.
If you just apply for a work permit, you can only come to Canada with a job offer in your hand, so why don't you look at that and then go into applying for permanent residency from within Canada - much easier.

Originally Posted by cesarrodri

As for the Refresh Course I still have my concerns because Registration Authorities require major areas in Nursing such as : Med/Surgical , Adult , OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Gerontology, Community, Mental Health Nursing and other stuff like Farmacology ( Which I doubt if Math is different from one Country to Another ) , Physiology and they still insist you have to sit for a refresher but who am I to say it's wrong ?

Okay, I didn't mean that the other nursing courses do not teach about the elementals of nursing care, and I believe I didn't write it as such. I also do not think that the education is very different; however, nursing responsibilities and standards vary widely from country to country. I also said, if you look at the College of Nurses of Ontario's (which is the regulating body for nurses in Ontario) webpage www.cno.org and look under the fact sheet for international nurses, that you do not need to go to a refresher's course. You do need to pass the Canadian Registered Nurses Examination, however, if you go to the States, you need to pass their exams (NCLEX), too.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope it is best for you and you have a great nursing career.

Cheers, Ruth

[RuthieRN2008]

Originally Posted by Fiona59

I work in the Capital Health system.

For regular staff who hold positions the relief is welcome BUT and it's a big BUT, the retired nurse who returns as a "casual" employee isn't really doing us a great favour. They want to work Monday-Friday, usually day shifts, they don't want to work statutory holidays. This leaves massive holes in schedules. Weekends and the shifts starting after 1900 are a nightmare. Even with shift premiums nobody wants to work these hours. I've seen times where days are overstaffed and the late evenings and night shifts are running on skeleton crews.

Regular staff still wind up working their scheduled weekends off and overtime shifts to cover the late evenings and nights.

It must be great, work your years, collect your pension, come back to work the shifts you pick and get paid the same rate you were making before you retired.

On my unit, the concensus is we won't last long enough in the profession to collect our pensions. We'll have quit from exhaustion before it becomes possible for us to double dip.

Hello Fiona,
I never even thought about what a strain returning retired nurses can put on the other nurses. I hope the shortage can be solved any other way than having to reemploy retired nurses.
I hope you take good care of yourself, so you don't have to go early because of burnout/exhaustion. I'm just starting my nursing career (well RN career) next month, and hope I can do it for a long time. However, when I'm retired, I'm retired! I've plans for then
Ruth

[cesarrodri]

Many Thanks Ruthie,

I will be taking a closer look at CNO website and see what's on related to Foreign Trained RN's for the fact sheet.

Thanks

[nurseinlimbo]

Is it me or does the nurse in the picture look waaaayyyy older than 65?
I can't figure it out, they ruin our best years, contribute to our missing most of the special events with family and friends, deny our vacation requests, burn us out with OT, and THEN when I finally am old enough, worn out enough and financially stable enough, you are going to try to convince me NOT to retire????? Excuse me but I have a few choice words for the manager who suggests THAT to me when the time comes.....