AB to BC RN

You have to apply to write the exam through CARNA because you were educated in Alberta. You can likely apply to write it anywhere. But unless things have changed drastically with the Colleges of Nursing, you will have to register first in Alberta then transfer your registration to BC. That process involves applying for registration in BC then having the registration verification documents completed by CARNA; you will pay a fee for both and there will be a wait of at least several weeks.

Employment is a tricky thing. Jobs - permanent full or part time - are scarce everywhere. My unit has hired several nurses from BC over the past couple of years due to expansion of our program, but that job stream has pretty much dried up now. Going in the opposite direction, a friend of mine with 15 years of experience in ER, OR, ICU and critical care transport nursing wasn't able to find even a casual job in rural BC for more than a year. There have been times when new grads have walked into a job a week after their practicum is over, and other times when they've had to take casual spots on three different units just to pay their bills. Whenever there's a blip in the economy, nursing jobs disappear. Another complicating factor is that virtually all health regions hire strictly through online applications so dropping a resumé off on a unit is a waste of time.

If you want to work L&D as your career, given the paucity of vacancies right now, I'd advise you to follow your heart rather than do something that you might hate just so you can land any old job. Apply for everything and anything in the locales you're hoping to move to and persevere. That's about all you can do.

Don't worry too much about charting on paper. In some ways it's a lot easier than the assortment of software packages we're using in Alberta. I had a little chuckle to myself on Tuesday when things on my unit were so totally bonkers that our CNEs were covering breaks. I spent a good half hour showing them where and how to chart things in Metavision. One of them said, "Oh, this makes me really wish for a good old paper flowsheet right about now."