I love nursing in Canada because...

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I am starting this thread because I would like feedback on the positives about nursing in Canada. I hear so much about people moving to the US and I would love to hear from those who are staying, living and nursing in Canada.

Cheers,

....

PN to RN bridges do exist (GMCC in Alberta, Malaspina on VI) Usually you do a "bridge"/transition course and enter the second year of the four year diploma.

Could you tell me more about the Malaspina bridge program? I am working with an LPN and she is going through Athabasca because she said there wasn't a bridge program in BC. I am asked this frequently, and if there is a BC program, that would be good to know.

thanks in advance.

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I believe Malaspina in Nanaimo, Kwantalen and Douglas on the Mainland all do a bridge. I met an instructor from Malaspina about a year ago and she said that they used to have a waitlist for the bridge course but at that time they no longer did. Apparently the glitch arrives when the LPN has finished the bridge and requires admission into year 2 of the BScN, sometimes there aren't enough empty spaces.

Ask your co-worker if she is actually enrolled in Athabasca's Bridge. It requires all clinical time to be spent in AB hospitals and requires applicants to be the holders of an AB license. This has been a stumbling block in the past because at one time (it may be different now) BC LPN's had to upgrade their Anatomy and Assessment skills to work in AB. I've worked with LPN's who have moved here and said that they also had to upgrade a few skills prior to being issued a practice number.

Sorry I don't have the website addresses, but they should be easy enough to find.

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I believe Malaspina in Nanaimo, Kwantalen and Douglas on the Mainland all do a bridge. I met an instructor from Malaspina about a year ago and she said that they used to have a waitlist for the bridge course but at that time they no longer did. Apparently the glitch arrives when the LPN has finished the bridge and requires admission into year 2 of the BScN, sometimes there aren't enough empty spaces.

Ask your co-worker if she is actually enrolled in Athabasca's Bridge. It requires all clinical time to be spent in AB hospitals and requires applicants to be the holders of an AB license. This has been a stumbling block in the past because at one time (it may be different now) BC LPN's had to upgrade their Anatomy and Assessment skills to work in AB. I've worked with LPN's who have moved here and said that they also had to upgrade a few skills prior to being issued a practice number.

Sorry I don't have the website addresses, but they should be easy enough to find.

Thanks for the info, I will check! :)

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Specializes in ER.
Money is not an issue for our patients, ever. I never feel pressured to deliver the cheapest care possible.

Fergus, I've had the exact opposite experience between the US and Canada. In Canada we had a certain amount of money for the floor, and had to care for whoever came in over the year. I know that anytime we came within 10% of our budget they reassigned the money so we would get less, so it was really a losing battle.

In the US we get paid per patient, and per procedure in some cases. So although we still have budget woes each patient that has a need for a moniter, or central line, or isolation gets it, where I can think of specific situations in Canada where patients did without because we didn't have what we needed to treat them.

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Fergus, I've had the exact opposite experience between the US and Canada. In Canada we had a certain amount of money for the floor, and had to care for whoever came in over the year. I know that anytime we came within 10% of our budget they reassigned the money so we would get less, so it was really a losing battle.

In the US we get paid per patient, and per procedure in some cases. So although we still have budget woes each patient that has a need for a moniter, or central line, or isolation gets it, where I can think of specific situations in Canada where patients did without because we didn't have what we needed to treat them.

Maybe because we worked at opposite ends of the countries in different specialty areas? I dunno. I've seen first hand here how rich families are treated differently than poor families. It frustrates me to no end.

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Specializes in ER.

We were at opposite ends- you in BC and me in NS!

Right now I work in a public hospital in a poor part of the USA. I understand that in private hospitals there are big differences in treatment depending on your insurance.

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We were at opposite ends- you in BC and me in NS!

Right now I work in a public hospital in a poor part of the USA. I understand that in private hospitals there are big differences in treatment depending on your insurance.

I'm in a public hospital too. The difference is so obvious to many of us at work. 2 babies who are almost identical health wise will get different treatment based on who their parents are (are they poor with DCFS involved or rich with a lawyer on speed dial?). I'm getting tired of it and planning on moving on.

I don't think I could take the difference in a private hospital. My friend recently went to a place that doesn't even accept medicaid patients...

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

I work in a pediatric intensive care unit in a major Canadian city. We do some 700 cardiac surgeries, at least a dozen heart transplants (in 2005 it was 15), another dozen or more liver transplants, two dozen renal transplants and care for an average of fifteen extracorporeal life supported patients a year, in addition to the "usual" PICU illnesses. I can say with all honesty that all our patients receive whatever care they need, no matter what socioeconomic group they belong to. We see patients from virtually every province in Canada and from a number of other countries as well. There is never a consideration of who will be paying the freight. Our outcomes are among the best in North America.

As an aside to Fergus... this has been the warmest winter on record for much of Canada. Even Winterpeg is losing its cachet as a cold weather city. They aren't going to be able to run many of the events usually associated with Festival du Voyageur because the ice on the river is too thin, and there isn't any snow for the sculptures! My daughter tells me she has only had to plug in her car once. When I look out my window, I see grass in my yard. Not what I expect in northern Alberta in mid-January! I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop...

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A warm Canadian winter is still reaaaaalllllllyyyyy cold compared to California though Jan:) I went home for Christmas and almost died I felt so cold.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
A warm Canadian winter is still reaaaaalllllllyyyyy cold compared to California though Jan:) I went home for Christmas and almost died I felt so cold.

And here I am wearing my windbreaker to work! Guess we make 'em tougher up here! I think I'd miss the change of seasons too much if I lived in California, though I hate shovelling snow off our 80 foot driveway! I could never give up walking the dog along the river in the fall, or the spring either for that matter.

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I have lived on the west coast, east coast and the north as well....have to say that there are pros to each of the areas I have lived. If you are looking at temp wise, of course the west coast wins....well maybe not this year with their record breaking rain....but the east coast can also be mild and the people make the difference there....everyone is family. The north is where the experiences are...stories you will have to tell and retell for years to come. If you choose Canada to pursue your nursing career, you will never regret it.....maybe the wages are not as high as in the US, but I have never had to ask a patient whether they have insurance or not....

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If you choose Canada to pursue your nursing career, you will never regret it.....maybe the wages are not as high as in the US, but I have never had to ask a patient whether they have insurance or not....

I've never had to ask a patient that either. It isn't the role of the RN. I have to say that although I do miss Canada, I haven't regretted my decision to work in the US for a second.

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