Nursing in Alberta

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Hi all

I am a UK Staff nurse currently working within an emergency department in the UK with a view to move to Canada within the next year or so, I have sent all my applications away and am currently waiting to see if I need to complete the SEC assessment before applying for my exams. I hope to be working in Alberta looking at Edmonton and Calgary at the moment and am hoping to stay within emergency medicine.

Here in the UK as a staff nurse within the emergency department we carry out standard nursing roles such as assessment, medications, IV therapy and so on. Also as part of my role in the UK we take on extended roles such as taking of bloods, insertion of Intravenous access lines, Male catherisation, Taking of ABG's from A Lines and Radial artery. We can also work up to insertion of ET tubes, running of crash calls as advanced life support graduates ( I believe its ACLS in Canada) and so on.

My question is within emergency departments in Alberta do nurses carry out these roles and if not are they able to learn them within their role.

Thanks in advance :)

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Very true. There are jobs in my area but they are in small hospitals and community nursing.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I've decided to move to Calgary sometime next spring, with or without a job. I need to get out of where I am d/t boredom, and Calgary is closer to a family member. However, I'm realistic that it may take a few months to land even a casual position, AND that I may need to return to small towns for contract or locum work, which is fine. The key is, you need to have some sort of a plan and be flexible with respect to work, especially coming from another country right now.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

From there there are two options from what I can work out , firstly apply for a temporary workers permit which permits you to work for six months with options to extend or apply for permanent residence from within Canada. Or you can go for a full immigration process under the FSW Program which I believe is not open again till 2013.

If I'm wrong on this please correct me .

Correct as in the new list doesn't come out until Jan 2013 however a TWP (temp work permit) is issued between 1-3 years depending on what the LMO states. I have been working with a TWP for the last 2 years and have another year to go however after much time and at times little patience I have now been granted PR and just waiting for final piece of paper so I can go and 'land' PR process took me over 2 years and that was applying from within Canada but expect the same time frame whether in or out of Canada. If any less then think of it as a bonus. Also be aware there are changes and regardless of country living or born in for PR an English or French exam is required, There is also talk that apart from meeting College requirements you have to prove qualifications to immigration.

nursesmarty I seriously doubt you will be able to get everything sorted and be in Canada working by the end of 2013 and as mentioned if a USC then you should be able to use NAFTA but will still require employer and letter of employment as well as passed CRNE (most employers will not look at you unless you have eligibility to sit CRNE or have passed CRNE)

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Specializes in Emergency/Acute.
Correct as in the new list doesn't come out until Jan 2013 however a TWP (temp work permit) is issued between 1-3 years depending on what the LMO states. I have been working with a TWP for the last 2 years and have another year to go however after much time and at times little patience I have now been granted PR and just waiting for final piece of paper so I can go and 'land' PR process took me over 2 years and that was applying from within Canada but expect the same time frame whether in or out of Canada. If any less then think of it as a bonus. Also be aware there are changes and regardless of country living or born in for PR an English or French exam is required, There is also talk that apart from meeting College requirements you have to prove qualifications to immigration.

Thanks for the Clarification Siverdragon102. Yeah I'm hoping that once I have completed all the Nurse application side of the process, and have a job offer(I am prepared for the wait :(). I can make my way down that route, right now its save save save, lots of agency work and begin working on transferable courses such as ACLS and TNCC.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

ACLS and TNCC I am not sure if transferrable that would be something you need to review with employer once you find one. They may expect you to take Canadian just in case there is anything different.

If you have a job offer then you can get a TWP and work in Canada whilst waiting for PR. Either way you will have to apply as a medical will be required even for TWP so if still in the UK you will have to send forms to Canadian embassy in London and wait for them to ask you to go for a medical.

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Specializes in Home Care.

Today there are 22 LPN jobs and 123 RN jobs listed on the public AHS Calgary jobsite.

Things that make you go hmmmm....

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Juli, many of those jobs will never be filled and we know it. Many of them are filled by casuals from the float pool on a semipermanent basis.

Units with a high turnover are always posted. I know by looking at the board for my hospital which unit I will never set foot on (word of mouth travels fast) and that the job will go to a new grad.

I know of one UM who will always hire a new grad because they are cheaper and she has a huge turnover. Morale sucks on that unit. She claims no experienced staff apply. That's not true. She goes for cost not experience.

The ER at my hospital is constantly looking for LPNs, they get hired and leave. Reason: bullying by UNA members who don't want LPNs on their turf, no matter how experienced on skilled those nurses are. PostPartum always has vacancies for exactly the same reason.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Jobs such as rehab, ortho, medicine and med surg are always posted in every Province and will also accept new grads. I've currently been searching for a couple months to get a feel for the market. Of course. You know why? Because those units are chronically understaffed, with a heavy workload. After a period of time, nurses run from the units I've listed. The specialties either want current experience, or they are willing to pay for training in the specialty. The catch is, you sign a contract and work in a rural area. Then, there is the other game of posting positions which will sit unfilled for months, but the Unions are happy. I'm saving my money, because I'm prepared that I may not work for several months, or casual at best in Calgary, or that I may have to take a contract somewhere. The market still sucks.

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I am nursesmarty and yes a citizen of the US, born and raised. Attended nursing school, graduated and currently working as an RN... I visited Canada over the summer and truly loved it! With healthcare changing in the US, I thought maybe Canada would be a nice change and a great way to learn a different healthcare system. However, with many hoops to jump and lack of jobs maybe I should rethink my plan. After all how can one get a job offer when you haven't even taken the CRNE?

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Your best bet is to contact the College of Nurses first. You will need to be eligible for and sit the CRNE, and pass before you will be granted a license. After that, employers may be interested, but not before. The same applies to Canadians. We need to pass the NCLEX first.

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Thank you all for your input and those of you taking the nclex I wish you the best of luck... If I can help in anyway please contact me! We all know how those nursing exams are a killer! Thanks again and I will definitely take your advice!

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I really depends on the hospital you are working at. I work presently in the emerg in Ontario, and although I can't talk for nurses in Alberta, we are basically trained to do pretty much everything. Okay, a bit of correction in my statement, everything that falls within the scope of practice of a nurse. You will at least at my hospital, have a chance to learn such skills as well if you are a novice for example. I practised my first IV insertion when I got hired, and to be honest, really developed and honed all of my practical nursing skills here. Its true too, when people tell you that the nursing market is slow and difficult across Canada. That said, I see tons of new nurses get hired, but usually in a part time or casual role.

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