A corporate law clerk wants to be a nurse

Fiona59 · Mar 19, 2009

Why have you decided nursing "can be it for me"?

Read the information from the colleges and talk to the admissions people.

I actually wish I'd stayed in the clerical world. Better hours, no families, stats off.

fark · Mar 20, 2009

well in simple words i've always been quite unhappy in the clerical world. I think some people are just made for larger than themselves things which is what I consider nursing to be. You're lucky youre in a profession thats rewarding.

I have read the information from the colleges. Its vague and explains nothing about a nurse's life. For e.g. why do you wish you had stayed in the clerical world? how bad are the hours? Everyone says theyre bad but no one really specifies what a nurse fresh out of Practical Nursing program is really in for.

Fiona59 · Mar 20, 2009

Let's see:

often difficult for a new grad to work in the areas that really interest them

bottom of the seniority list for vacation time

often wind up with all the night shifts

working every other weekend

working at least half the stat holidays (and yes we get paid extra but it really doesn't make up for the time away from your family)

relocate to another province, go through hoops to get your practice permit re-issued

having the public treat you like a slave or worse

management is never around nights and weekends when most of the verbal and physical intimidation happens

be physically assaulted at least once in your education/career by a "sweet little old lady" who wouldn't hurt a fly (family's definition)

work Christmas or New Years every year until you have the seniority to get the time off

the trend is going to 12 hour shifts, I personally loathe them, so it's getting harder to find 8 hour shifts in the majority of the hospital setting

if you work in the private sector (ie doctors office/medi centre) no union to protect you, patients are just as needy, the need to push patients through so the doctors see as many as they want to in a day.

Fresh out of school, I didn't have a hard time. It was hard to find a position (only casual jobs were availabe and the payback of the loans were a big concern). Time management was an issue. I discovered that I loathed LTC due to the chronic understaffing and unrealistic expectations of families for what could be done for their aged relatives.

Count on at least two different jobs before you find one you enjoy.

The profession is rewarding, at other times it is the worst in the world. People always tell you there are lots of choices out there and I've been lucky to work most of my career in a province that allows PNs to work pretty much everywhere but NICU.

I've been called every name under the sun, kicked, scratched and punched. I'm almost ready to call it a day. My arches have dropped, my knees hurt, three of my co-workers have bad backs due to the job, one miscarried after being kicked by a patient.

The clerical world, a place without bodily fluids, the physical violence looks good. I know what working in that world is like and it's not that bad a place. Nobody is harmed if you change a cartridge incorrectly and that the world isn't a deadly place if you jam the photocopier.

linzz · Mar 20, 2009

If you are from Toronto and don't want to work mainly in nursing homes, skip the Practical Nurse program. Most Toronto hospitals are mainly RN. This is not the case in all provinces, just some of them. An RN is a longer program but you are legally qualified to work in all areas and take care of all types of patients, the pay is much greater, yet you will have more responsibility.

I am in full agreement with Fiona59's post, there are many things about nursing that are hard to live with. Starting as a casual employee with no guarantee of a set number of hours is how you will start nursing in Ontario until you have enough seniority to apply for a part time job, then a full time job. This could take years depending on where you work. I am not trying to be negative but these are just some of the realities. Nursing is can be a great career but there are many realities to nursing that the public is not aware of. Spend some time on this site and you will learn tons.

Good luck.

fark · Mar 20, 2009

Thanks Fiona59 and linzz for your replies.

How long did it take both of you to get full time jobs?

I dont plan on moving to another province to I would be working in Ontario.

Is the RN program a separate program or just an exam at the end of a Practical Nursing program. Thats sort of what the program overview at George Brown made it seem like. Are there any other program that you recommend I apply for if i want to work in hospitals or eventually specialize in a certain nursing department?

fark · Mar 20, 2009

Sorry one more question..i've read in your other posts about LPN (which im assuming is a practical nurse) and acute care nurses.. are they synonymous?

linzz · Mar 20, 2009

If you want to work in a hospital, in a specialty area, you will have to become Registered Nurse. This is now a four year full time University degree program and you will write a licensure exam at the end of the program. There are no shortcuts in Ontario. If you have a previous degree you may be able to complete the RN program in 2.5 to 3 years full time providing that you had at least a 70% average.

As for starting employment part time, the reasons for this are that almost all hospitals are unionized and you must join the union to be employed there which requires that jobs be filled by seniority and appropriate skill set.

If you want further information, check websites for the College of Nurses (CNO-which is the licence board) and the RNAO,ONA and RPNAO.

Before you decide on nursing, you are really going to have to do a lot more research such as going to the above sites and at minimum checking the websites of any hospitals in your area for available jobs, yet keeping in mind that the jobs listed are internal postings and are first available to those already employed at the hospital. I would also suggest that you possibly volunteer somewhere you want to work.

Fiona59 · Mar 20, 2009

Acute care/active treatment is the hospital setting.

I'm an LPN who works in one of the largest hospitals in Alberta. The only unit I cannot work is NICU in this province, oh, and the outpatient IV clinic but rumour has it LPNs will be there by the end of the decade.

Nursing is constantly evolving. The level of skills and education that a PN receives in Alberta (and Ontario from the posts I've read) is roughly the same as the hospital diploma trained RN.

I've never held a full time position but hold a part time position that guarantees me x hours per pay period. I pick up extra shift and OT depending on what I want to do with my spare time.

linzz · Mar 20, 2009

I so wish that I lived in Alberta. It is a very different world than Ontario is for RPN's. I keep trying to convince my spouse to go but no luck yet. I have some family in Edmonton who came from Toronto and they love it. My cousin has told me that the schools that their kids go to are pretty good too. Guess I'll keep wishing for now.

Fiona59 · Mar 20, 2009

Linzz: the grass isn't always greener. We have Ed Stelmach for premier. I have a foot of ice on the street in front of my house (Edmonton doesn't snowclear residential streets)

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 21, 2009

Starting as a casual employee with no guarantee of a set number of hours is how you will start nursing in Ontario until you have enough seniority to apply for a part time job, then a full time job. This could take years depending on where you work.

As for starting employment part time, the reasons for this are that almost all hospitals are unionized and you must join the union to be employed there which requires that jobs be filled by seniority and appropriate skill set.

I find that fascinating. I've worked in two different western provinces and have found the opposite... new grads cannot get part-time positions because they're the hotly contested ones out here and they go to the people with seniority. When I moved to Alberta from Manitoba, I finagled a 70% FTE (that's what I wanted) with no seniority because there wasn't a full-timer on the unit who wanted it. I see new grads coming onto the unit in full-time positions work long enough to solidify their practice and then drop to casual because they don't WANT full-time and can't get part-time. Interesting.

I'm an LPN who works in one of the largest hospitals in Alberta. The only unit I cannot work is NICU in this province...

We have no LPNs in our PICUs in Alberta either. (Of course there are many more NICUs here than there are PICUs, we only have 2 in the whole province while there are probably 10 NICUs.)