Any Canadian nurses out there?

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 29, 2008

The Capital Health Child Health program is severely short-staffed and they would welcome you with open arms. The children's hospital is a beautiful space within the University hospital and the programs are top-notch. But it isn't all sunshine and roses. The overtime is crippling (mandatory OT is being actively resisted by both administration and nursing but the units are running largely on OT anyway) and the workload can be quite heavy. There are children on the general peds wards or in the intermediate care environment that would be in PICU other places. Turnover in many of the peds areas is really high, which reflects badly on the unit or the management of the unit. The pay is good, but the cost of living is high and ever climbing. I wouldn't say, "Don't come" but I might say, "Be careful what you agree to."

Canada doesn't really have travel nursing in the sense that the US does. I've never worked with someone who was recruited through a travel agency... the orientation in our area is so long (as much as 16 weeks) that it's pointless to go that route. Any nurse who "travels" usually does it FROM here to the US. Check out the threads on this forum that relate to travel nursing for opinions from others, because I just have no info.

natalyia · Apr 30, 2008

Hello janfrn!

Actually, Canada does have a travel nursing agency. Currently, there is only one operating out of BC. It functions exactly like the US travel agencies - I worked for them, and I worked for 2 travel nurse companies in the US. At this point, with the looming recession and low American dollar, it makes no sense for a Canadian nurse to travel to the US and work, if your goal is strictly to travel for financial reasons. When I was a travel nurse, the exchange rate was $0.60 to the dollar, so I made a pretty penny working there. Now, Canadian nursing agencies and the BC travel company pay what the US companies are offering and more (in some cases, you have to do your research to find them). You get basically the same perks and benefits as well.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 30, 2008

Thank you for correcting me. As I said, the only travelers I've ever known are the ones going south. I know a fellow who is traveling south even now. Despite the relative parity of the currencies, he still makes a good amount more money when he factors in signing bonuses (which you won't get from the hospitals in Canada because of the unionized system, but the agency might pay out of their profits) and the more generous shift differentials he gets at the places he goes. He makes more than $60 an hour for straight time and a lot more for overtime, whereas here the most he could make for straight time is about $48 an hour.

This agency in BC... don't they just supply nurses to hospitals within a fairly circumscribed area?

natalyia · Apr 30, 2008

Circumscribed meaning only rural areas? No. I worked in a suburb of Vancouver (30 min. from downtown Van.) and to my knowledge, they operate throughout most of BC.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 30, 2008

No, circumscribed as in only BC. Don't many of the traveler agencies in the States cover more turf?

natalyia · Apr 30, 2008

Absolutely! Most of them function throughout the entire US. The problem with the Canadian system is that some provinces have health regions, and some function as the US does - each hospital for themselves (Ontario). That is why nursing agencies can exist in Ontario with relative ease and little to no involvement from the unions. Basically, the system of operation in Canada is not uniform and therefore, travel companies like the one in BC, or nursing agencies, as those that function in the east, cannot at this time service the entire country.

On a side note to one of your last comments on your colleague working in the US, when I left the US I was making $128,000 a year working 4 days a week, choosing my own shifts and time off and enjoying many other perks and benefits of the job. What we need to keep in mind however, is the bonuses that they give are not without stipulation. Most of the bonuses are given upon completion of the assignment and are contingent upon several factors outlined on the contract. For example, missed shifts during the contract not 'made up' are considered breach of contract in some cases and are grounds for them to withhold payment of the bonus. A Canadian colleague of mine worked for a company, who shall remain nameless, that promised her a $7000 completion bonus. A week before the end of her contract they fired her for answering her cell phone in a patient's room!!! All I'm trying to say is, it is not all it's cracked up to be!! You don't get something for nothing and in some cases, you don't even get the 'something' you are promised. Even though I wouldn't trade my time in the US for anything as I gained valuable experience and financial gain back then, working in a broken system and worrying about protecting my nursing license on a daily basis became too much. Remember, they don't pay you a 6 figure salary and give you amazing perks and benefits to work at the Ritz!! In most cases, you are in the worst of the worst when you are getting paid those kind of dollars. Basically, the companies that are functioning in Canada can offer similar pay and benefits as the US companies do, and you don't have to work under 3rd world conditions. You just have to do your homework and research and find them. For example there is a company I know of that is starting out paying $50 and hour and offering many perks and thousands of dollars in bonuses throughout the duration of the contract, instead of only at the end. It is up to us nurses to do our due diligence and find what is best for us, and for our own flailing, 'nurse-shortaged', healthcare system.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 30, 2008

My friend has done a number of assignments for the same agency; he keeps going back so it must be working for him. This guy isn't easily taken in, so I daresay he's making sure he gets what he's expecting.

I worked for an agency in Manitoba when I first started nursing. It was horrible, but it was the only job I could get at the time. I did pediatric home care and staff relief in hospitals and care homes. There was no guarantee of hours, they charged the other party twice what they paid me, there were no benefits and the situations they sent me into almost made me doubt my decision to become a nurse in the first place. One night I was the nursing supervisor of a personal care home. The whole place, for the whole night. I'd been a nurse about 6 months and had only worked very infrequently; when I read the policy on response to a resident's death, that was it for me!

Samantha328 · Jul 13, 2008

Can you contact me with any details. I am US nurse wanting to move to Toronto Canada

Maureen2204 · Jul 14, 2008

Yes there is! Victoria is a great place to live. Wonderful life style but a expensive

7felix · Jul 18, 2008

Atlantic Canada is also a nice area. Although the pay is lower than Ontario, Alberta and BC, this part of the country is relatively safe, clean and houses are much more more affordable and the cost of living is lower.