AHS Hiring Freeze .

Fiona59 · Apr 16, 2013

No predictions. It'll last as long as it lasts.

Hours are drying up in the float pools. Sick calls aren't being replaced. Requests for FTE increases are being denied.

Jobs are being looked at. If they can cut they cut. RNs eliminated for LPNs. LPNs elimiated for NAs.

Management appears to be safe.

Six patient acute surgical on day shift. Yup nurses on the floor just keep on going.

witness2012 · Apr 16, 2013

Sounds like some re-recession On way!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 16, 2013

I expect this to last for quite some time. All the tinkering around the edges that they're doing right now will take time, then they'll decide they need to chop some more and that'll take some time. Then something tragic will happen (like a high-profile program will move to another province or a high-profile person will be harmed in some way) and they'll knee-jerk. Then they'll hire nurses again. I'm guessing later in 2014. It'll be really horrible for a while.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Apr 16, 2013

I've lived through this cycle before, as others have. Usually these cuts last one-two years. Then they get desperate again.

Since the budget was just recently announced, I would expect the market will be dry until next spring in AB, particularly in the cities. Rural areas are already operating on a skeleton staff, although there has been discussion about closing a few rural facilities.

Nursing in the Eastern Provinces has been terrible since 2007.

Jobs exist in rural areas and Norhern Canada. Places where people don't really want to go. If you are considering Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver or Toronto, jobs are scarce. Many applicants for few jobs including new and experienced nurses.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 24, 2013

I think the freeze may have to thaw... Our vacation planner was posted a few days ago and guess what? Out of more than 100 people only the top 5 were granted vacation. Yes, you read that correctly. Everyone else was denied at least part of every block they requested, usually right in the middle - which amounts to a denial - period. And from about halfway down the seniority list, nothing was granted. We've been told that HR told them to only look at blocks of time because schedule optimisation is coming and they were to ignore what shifts people were actually working because later on in the vacation year the rotations would change... So I've got shifts "denied" in May (yep, next month) that I'm not even working. I requested that my stretch off in May be put on the planner, even though I was already off, so that no shifts could be moved into that time since I'm going to be out of town. Other places there are people counted as being granted vacation on days they're not working, being included in the count of how many can be on vacation on any given day and blocking someone else from that day. It's all a bit ridiculous. When management was asked how we were to get any time off to spend with our families and friends or to attend special events or to just decompress we were told that we're to request ad hoc vacation after the 30th and the requests would be considered in the order they were received. That's just a joke... nobody has gotten ad hoc vacation approved on our unit for more than a year and we're running with multiple people on OT virtually every shift. If even half the people who have said it do it, we're going to hemorrhage positions to casuals. So we'll be hiring again... or is that still?

4_Sq · Apr 24, 2013

PPT & PFT lines are advertised in Health Authority in BC. (There are a number of ER and ICU jobs)

They are advertised both on the external and internal job sites.

Emergency nursing would be so challenging with the hospitals bursting at the seams with patients!

carlngo · Apr 24, 2013

this is a very sad news for us nurses.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Apr 24, 2013

Jan that sounds totally insane and very unfair. AHS definitely needs to do something. Maybe the unions can assist somehow? If units are blatantly denying vacation and messing with scheduling file a grievance. Group grievance? I'm not sure.

In response to a previous post here re: job postings on the net, you realize that quite often, positions are posted but the employer has no intention of filling them? Postings are not an indicator of real jobs, and that's everywhere, not only AHS.

manila07 · Apr 25, 2013

I just landed in Calgary last march 29 and all job postings that I applied for under AHS are giving me

Re: Requisition # 224243

Regular Part Time (0.80)

Service Worker I

On behalf of the Alberta Health Services, we would like to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, the above noted requisition has been cancelled.

We would like to thank you for your interest in this position and encourage you to continue to apply on other job opportunities. Current AHS employees can view available positions on-line by logging into e-People and clicking the Job Opportunities link. External candidates can view available positions atwww.albertahealthservices.ca by clicking on Careers - Current Opportunities.

I am an IEN and have not started my nursing assessment yet but from what am I reading and experiencing, I am having a hard time thinking if it is worth continuing. Before landing I am thinking about being a LPN or RPN but now I don't have an idea what to do next. Any advice would be appreciated, thank.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2013

You could try a private company, but all the private companies will be flooded with applicants now since AHS and Covenant Health aren't hiring.

I would suggest relocating to a small town somewhere if you need work soon. Small towns are always looking. Unfortunately, the market is pretty dismal everywhere, probably at least until next year. AHS is busy cutting jobs and shifting workers around, especially in the cities.

weemsp · Apr 25, 2013

This is the same cycle that Alberta has seen, many times over, in the past.

When I was hired back in 2009, there were hundreds of positions posted!! It was like a buffet of opportunity! Two days after I was hired, ALL the positions I had been keeping my eye on were removed and a " hiring freeze" was put into action.

Several months later, positions seemed to dribble in once more.

When I think back to the insane " surplus" hiring they were doing last year, it makes me so angry to see this "cycle" repeating itself.

Surely, they have some kind of formula for the decisions they make ( although, it appears to be more of a " fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants theory) and for projecting job availability VS job losses.

I agree with janfrn's post...something tragic will happen...then panic will set in!!