BC or Alberta for aussie ER nurse with family

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Hi all I am an ER nurse in australia currently working in a remote part of australia. I am thinking of places that are great for families with young kids in terms of housing,  education and affordability. I am not a city person but would not want to be in a completely remote place either. I would love to have access to the beaches and mountains and not be landlocked. I am in the process of getting my certification started with NNAS but trying to decide between BC or Alberta. My husband currently works as a truck driver in the mines and it would have to cater to him as well. I am open to any advice. I have googled the hell out of these 2 places but would love to hear first hand experiences from other international nurses who have moved to either of these places. ?

 

Also, how much time are we given to do our NCLEX once we have been approved by NNAS? Thanks guys

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If you have a bachelor’s degree you might be able to take the NCLEX right away but without a bachelor’s your education might not be comparable here. BC has the beaches, lakes, mountains and pristine nature but it’s quite unaffordable with expensive housing and daycare. BC’s nursing pay is 10$/hr less than Alberta. In Alberta the closest mountains you have are the rockies so if you live farther away from that, you will see flat plains. Many Albertans including my nurse friends have their vacations in BC. I heard job situation was getting better in Alberta but it has been easier to find nursing jobs in BC for the last few yrs due to nursing shortage and more government funding. You can Google/reddit major Canadian cities for more information on living there

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Trucking Jobs easy to get either Alberta or BC. My husband doing Trucking while processing his RMN license.  Currently in Alberta and also trying to get my nursing license been a long process,  in terms of Jobs in nursing I am not sure as I am doing my gaps with Ontario nursing. Hopes this helps 

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The current government in Alberta has promised to cut healthcare spending.  The plan is to eliminate 11,000 support jobs and 750 nursing positions.

My unit currently has four lines that can not be posted and one full time line that is posted as a temp.

Good times.

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O wow that is not good news. If u don't mind me asking  are you in Calgary?. I am debating to move from Alberta at the moment.  

Thanks 

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On 2/18/2021 at 10:05 AM, Shama said:

O wow that is not good news. If u don't mind me asking  are you in Calgary?. I am debating to move from Alberta at the moment.  

Thanks 

If you are currently in Alberta, you should be well aware of the UCP plans for healthcare.

 

Pretty much every nurse with less than 10 years seniority is worried.  Bumping lists have been drawn up in some areas.

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Yes I am aware of the plan. But also some nurses saying it's not true.  They actually said they have more jobs in their units. ?‍♀️.

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On 2/20/2021 at 7:38 PM, Shama said:

Yes I am aware of the plan. But also some nurses saying it's not true.  They actually said they have more jobs in their units. ?‍♀️.

I highly doubt it.  The only extra jobs on units are due to Covid and are often staff drawn from clinics.  The screeners are also drawn from reduced staff units.   I know people who have been redeployed to general medicine units.

 

The government is planning to slash and burn and anyone who say this isn't true needs to do a serious reality check.

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