Obtaining an RN job in a city in Canada directly after graduation

[jgibeault]

Hello All,

I am new to this forum, although I have checked it out a few times before registering myself. Happy to have some fellow nursing peeps to look to for advice and guidance!

I am currently doing the BN fast track program in a remote area in Canada and I am itching to get out of here. I am so unhappy where I am, and have even contemplated dropping out of school so that I can go after the life I want, but I can't bring myself to do that because nursing is extremely interesting to me and my only regret is that I didn't chose this as my first degree..would have saved a lot of time and money!

Anyways, my question is: how hard is it to obtain a position in a city in Canada with little to no work experience, besides the work experience I obtain in school. I am worried I will have to work at the hospital in my area for a while and I would really rather not. I am looking at moving to Calgary or Toronto and I'm wondering the likelihood of having a job lined up for when I graduate.

I emailed Alberta Health and spoke with a rep there and they said nurses are in demand so it shouldn't be a problem, but I was wondering if people could provide advice/ experience on this matter.

Thanks

Julie

[Fiona59]

I am in Alberta, and allowed to give my shifts to casuals provided we meet a baseline number of staff on the day in question and I have banked time or vacation available. This varies widely based on unit policy.

Up here, memos have been circulating that mutual may only be done between staff holding FTEs and not with a casual.

I know of one unit where a staff member who didn't have the seniority to get the vacation she wanted did mutual with multiple casuals to get what she wanted. The result being that there were no casual staff available to supply vacation coverage for staff who had gone through the proper channels with their vacation request. Then the casuals decided some of the dates didn't work for them so they were doing mutual between casuals. This bypassed part timers who were looking for hours. It would made far more sense to have approached the unit staff first but she wanted what she wanted.

[CodeteamB]

Up here memos have been circulating that mutual may only be done between staff holding FTEs and not with a casual. I know of one unit where a staff member who didn't have the seniority to get the vacation she wanted did mutual with multiple casuals to get what she wanted. The result being that there were no casual staff available to supply vacation coverage for staff who had gone through the proper channels with their vacation request. Then the casuals decided some of the dates didn't work for them so they were doing mutual between casuals. This bypassed part timers who were looking for hours. It would made far more sense to have approached the unit staff first but she wanted what she wanted.[/quote']

We are allowed to swap too, but we do give away. The "not enough casuals for coverage" is the reason that we need to be at baseline before giving a shift away to anyone, casual or part time. If we aren't at baseline we can usually wait a week or so until casual staff pick up and then give to someone else. We also have a huge staff and a lot of casuals, it doesn't seem to be a problem.

I think the case of senior staff being denied their vacation because of junior staff swapping with casuals shows a lack of planning and forethought on the part of management and scheduling. Our schedulers are very good, and the vacation rota is a ridiculous task, but only an easily replaceable number of nurses is allowed to take vacation in a 24 hour period, and then the baseline rule takes effect, so if those pekoe aren't covered no one else is allowed to give up their shift.

Anyhow, back on topic, I was casual for quite a while, I never had trouble picking up hours, but I am lucky to work on a large unit that needs to have consistent staffing (no option to close beds or increase ratios). As casuals we had strict rules about picking up (for every day shift you must also take an evening, night or weekend) and as a mom with small kids it worked best for me to take odd hour shifts anyway. You can't be picky and expect to pick up to full time. Also, with the current financial climate the casual staff at my work has had less to pick up and more competition, so things aren't as rosy as they were.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

We also weren't trading shifts with casuals. A casual can decide the day before that they cant/ don't want to work their shift and cancel, which then leaves the unit understaffed.

[MPKH, BSN, RN]

I did my nursing school in Vancouver and when I graduated 3 years ago, I couldn't find a job (and I had ESN experience so I had a bit of seniority and my foot in the door). I know friends who landed casual lines who was, at the time, working 1-2 shifts per month. I had a student loan to pay off so I knew I had to go where the jobs were.

I took a full time line in rural Northern Alberta...and it was a huge change for me. Lived in a big city all my life and I had to adjust to living in a town with the population of the high school I went to. I made it work though and a year later, I was able to secure a full time job in one of the two major hospitals in Edmonton.

While casuals are being hired, they do get cancelled and my unit works short. Casuals have told me that they aren't getting as many shifts as before and those that tried to apply for a line in the units have not been successful. It is a tough time right now, and the situation is what it is. If you want to live in a city, be prepared to work casual and the very real potential of not having enough shifts to get by.