Alberta or manitoba?

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Where is the perfect life for an LPN? Alberta or Manitoba ?

Job wise, security wise , weather wise and of course saving some bucks wise ?

Thanks :)))

PS AM A CONFUSED ONE ATM :(

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

There's no such thing as the perfect life. No matter where you are there will be trade-offs. I moved from Manitoba to Alberta 10 1/2 years ago. In that time, I've paid off a mountain of debt, only have just under 3 years to go on my mortgage, drive a 2012 vehicle... and work for an employer who really doesn't care about employees other than as a means to an end. The winter weather here is not dramatically different from Manitoba, except for those occasional chinooks that blow through southern Alberta. In summer it's generally cooler and less humid. Meaning - keep a sweater in the car.

Don't be fooled by those lovely ads you see for Alberta Health Services where they tout "flexible hours... opportunities for personal and professional growth... work-life balance..." because it's all fluff. The province is in the middle of developing a single staffing model for the entire province. Master rotations are being designed with a view to shifting the workforce away from part time/casual (a situation THEY created by only postting part time and casual positions to save money on benefits) and to "encourage" people to work extra shifts at straight time. My current 0.70 FTE includes a stretch where I work Fr-Sa-Su night, We-Th night, Mo-Tu days, Th night, then We-Th days all 12s - or 71 % of my 6 week rotation's worth of hours in 2 1/2 weeks. How's that for work-life balance? I'm either working or sleeping for 17 days. I have one pay period where I have 6 twelve hour shifts on my cheque and another where I only have 2. Can you budget well enough to ensure your bills are paid with only 2 shifts on a cheque? And when it comes to those "opportunities" in the last 2 years I have had every request for professional development denied. I was due to recertify my Pediatric Advanced Life Support this week, but was scheduled to work three nights starting on the day of the course. Application denied. Attendance at conferences must be approved at the zone vice-president level. I take vacation when I want to attend a conference, because as my manager has said, what I do on my vacation is my own business. I also registered to write the CNA certification exam this coming April, which just happens to fall on that lovely stretch in my rotation described above, on the Sa of the three nights. I requested professional development days off for the Fr-Sa so I could write, application dated Dec 21... and still don't know if I'll be able to do it or not.

So as I said, there are trade-offs. I miss my friends in Manitoba every day.

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Gives Jan a round of applause!

I to work for AHS. While my rotation isn't as bad as Jan's , I too have a pay period with very few hours on it. Despite repeated requests to have my .FTE upsized, it's been turned down because "there is no money in the budget". On my unit casuals are given their pick of the "needed to be filled shifts" and cream off the days with the part timers being offered nights and weekends. It wears thin after a couple of months when the only extra shifts you are being offered is one night bang in the middle of your off stretch and yet when you do go in, you find out that a casual with less than six months experience has worked M-F during your 10 days off!

Morale sucks in my facility. Nobody knows what managers and management is upto. I know of one unit that isn't even sure of what it's future is, will it be closed/broken up to other branches of the service/relocated to another site.

I can get education days just don't expect AHS to pay for the course. My professional body re-imburses me my out of pocket expenses.

A perfect life for me would be one of the Monday to Friday outpatients clinics but I don't have enough seniority to get it and doubt I will before I retire.

AHS spends big bucks on those recruiting ads but existing staff don't even get lanyards, pens or totebags that we see new hires be given, lol.

AHS, it wouldn't cost much to make your staff feel even slightly appreciated.

It's not all bad stuff at AHS just don't go there expecting sunshine, unicorns and the staff to be singing Kumbaya around the campfire. There are very few happy campers there.

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Specializes in Home Care.

I'm an LPN in Alberta but I don't work for AHS. I work for a homecare company subcontracted by AHS.

My company is hiring LPNs...but the pay and benefits do not match those of AHS.

I've been applying for positions with AHS for almost two years, I finally have an interview scheduled for a part-time position. And from what I hear this position has a crazy schedule.

Oh and I have to add about the housing in Calgary....since there's been a huge influx of people into the city because of our vibrant economy the rental market is very tight. I live in the city center where the vacancy rate is less than 1% with average 1 bedroom apartments going for over $900 a month. A two bedroom apartment is around $1200. Outside the center city the rentals are a little bit better. The median price for a single family house is around $450k and a 1 bedroom condo starts at $190k.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Now we are told AHS does not want to use contract nurses to staff positions that go unfilled for months in the North Zone. We have 4 unfilled full time lines at our facility, which operates on a skeleton staff as it is. Nurses are writing letters weekly to the Union and calling AHS big wigs because we are burning out. We think they want to close a few sites. I am quitting and taking my chances before the summer hits, because I've decided that I really want a break this summer....and the work/life balance is a joke. Also, despite the fact that AHS says they want to create more full time lines, there are still lots of postings everywhere for casual and .50. Many nurses just won't go for it anyway. In general, nursing is a disaster throughout the country. The Eastern Provinces are just as bad for staffing. There is no utopia to be found, new grad.

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Where is the perfect life for an LPN? Alberta or Manitoba ?

Job wise, security wise , weather wise and of course saving some bucks wise ?

Thanks :)))

PS AM A CONFUSED ONE ATM :(

I am IEN from the philippines, as usual. Soo unfortunate that I don't have relatives anywhere in Canada who can help pull up my points when I apply for PR. i don't know where to apply for Nurse Registration. Same thing, I don't know which territory is best for nurses. I am from NICU and my partner who is a nurse too works for the elderly. Heard that Alberta is one good spot. how true is that? Any other place?

I really am in dilemma which to process first. CNA registration or Immigration but I suppose, both would be perfect. i just don't know where?

I am not sure if we have sufficient points for provincial nominee program of each territory.

Hope you can help me decide. Thanks!

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Am in the same boat I studied here and planing to apply my PR through Canadian experienced skilled class . Best bet at this point and time is Alberta , manitoba , sasketwan or new found land . It will be the worst decision going to ontario ! Very extra over populated and they don't favor fast PR . No jobs too!

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Posts that seek information related to immigration, permanent residency, how to become registered in Canada as IEN and so on do not belong in the Nursing in Canada forum. The average Canadian nurse knows little about these issues. Please consider this when posting into existing threads. (Text speak is also not permitted.)

The Canadian economy is currently slumping and all levels of government are looking for ways of saving money. Canadian health care is administered and paid for by government. Hiring nurses from outside of Canada costs employers a lot more money than hiring locally. Canadian nurses are, in the majority, union members. Union contracts make laying off nurses very difficult so when employers need to save money and can't cut their payroll by laying people off they instead don't fill vacant positions, instead expecting the staff to just work harder. Are you seeing where I'm going with this?

Alberta has a huge deficit. Contract negotiations are ongoing with physicians who are being expected to take rollbacks in their remuneration from the province. The nurses' union will be going into negotiations on February 12 and are expecting a long, difficult session where the employer (the province of Alberta) will be demanding wages and benefits be rolled back. They are already attempting to force people to work more (eliminating vacancies as they go) by simply eliminating part time lines in the master rotation and other strategies through "schedule optimization". It's not much fun being a nurse anywhere in Canada right now, but especially in Alberta and Ontario.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

This morning I was looking over some of the contract "wish list" items. Five dollar an hour responsibility pay? Nice thought, I said. Probably not happening though. It will be interesting, the next few months. Still no nurses at our facility, either. I think they should just start closing facilities in the north zone. The North Locum Nursing is not working as AHS hoped.

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Am in the same boat I studied here and planing to apply my PR through Canadian experienced skilled class . Best bet at this point and time is Alberta manitoba , sasketwan or new found land . It will be the worst decision going to ontario ! Very extra over populated and they don't favor fast PR . No jobs too![/quote']

In my other post, saskatchewan is one of my options. How about nova scotia? I really just don't know yet which province to apply for registration. (But rest assured not in ontario.)

You studied there for what course? The crne review being offered in agencies in philippines? That is an option to0 but if I can be qualified for PR where language exam results will give me some points, then I prefer applying for PR.

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Posts that seek information related to immigration, permanent residency, how to become registered in Canada as IEN and so on do not belong in the Nursing in Canada forum. The average Canadian nurse knows little about these issues. Please consider this when posting into existing threads. (Text speak is also not permitted.)

The Canadian economy is currently slumping and all levels of government are looking for ways of saving money. Canadian health care is administered and paid for by government. Hiring nurses from outside of Canada costs employers a lot more money than hiring locally. Canadian nurses are, in the majority, union members. Union contracts make laying off nurses very difficult so when employers need to save money and can't cut their payroll by laying people off they instead don't fill vacant positions, instead expecting the staff to just work harder. Are you seeing where I'm going with this?

Alberta has a huge deficit. Contract negotiations are ongoing with physicians who are being expected to take rollbacks in their remuneration from the province. The nurses' union will be going into negotiations on February 12 and are expecting a long, difficult session where the employer (the province of Alberta) will be demanding wages and benefits be rolled back. They are already attempting to force people to work more (eliminating vacancies as they go) by simply eliminating part time lines in the master rotation and other strategies through "schedule optimization". It's not much fun being a nurse anywhere in Canada right now, but especially in Alberta and Ontario.

Sure. Thanks!

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
This morning I was looking over some of the contract "wish list" items. Five dollar an hour responsibility pay? Nice thought, I said. Probably not happening though. It will be interesting, the next few months. Still no nurses at our facility, either. I think they should just start closing facilities in the north zone. The North Locum Nursing is not working as AHS hoped.

The contents of the "wish list" are confidential to UNA members until February 12. Please don't reveal anything else.

In my other post, saskatchewan is one of my options. How about nova scotia? I really just don't know yet which province to apply for registration. (But rest assured not in ontario.)

You studied there for what course? The crne review being offered in agencies in philippines? That is an option to0 but if I can be qualified for PR where language exam results will give me some points, then I prefer applying for PR.

There are no provinces currently recruiting IENs. As for permanent residency you should really read the information on the CIC website about changes to immigration.

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