Canada as a "Stepping Stone" to the US?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Dec 4, 2008

I don't like it. Admittedly I was looking to go to the US and had a petitioner etc but since arriving here with dh's job and settling we are staying and cancelled the US.

lalaxton · Dec 4, 2008

I think people suffer from the 'grass is greener syndrome'. They think that the US system is better, higher paid etc. Having worked in both the Canadian and US systems I know that there are pros and cons to both systems and I could not really recommend one over the other. For the life of me though, in our present climate of high security and so many hurdles to get over for a foreign nurse to cross, I don't understand why someone would want to go through it twice!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Dec 5, 2008

As someone who has had to provide orientation to several nurses who did just that at the beginning of the decade, before things got so sticky, I'm highly offended. These nurses made zero attempt to conceal their true goals, and laughed about it in front of us. "As soon as I've worked long enough not to have to repay my relocation money, I'm gone to Texas." Nice. Very nice.

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Dec 5, 2008

Even if I felt that way, Canada just being a stepping stone, I would never be rude enough to express it out load.

It is like being the second wife, while the husband pines away for wife number one.

ED-Adrenaline · Dec 5, 2008

My case is a different story.

I just got job in British Columbia,and I am not thinking of exchanging Canada for US. I am from Non-US country and leed by the "American dream"...I spent 6 years trying live the dream and reach my goal, passing exams by exams, submiting my documents,looking for job,while some other nurses who just married US citizen-did not have to pass English exam neither CGFNS-just NCLEX was sufficient. That same nurse worked with me not knowing a word of english. Was it fair-deffinately no!

When we start "to dream" about "the land of oportunity" we don't know nothing about that country neither about nursing,taxes, credit scores,retrogressions,...we are trying first to learn and understand the language to begin with.

However,the years that I worked for US company( for 9 years) I have learnt more than that...saw all prons and cons starting from the health system and finishing with the birocracy. The personal true is that retrogression depleted my patience for ever reaching the famous "american dream" and changed my view so badly, that I have decided to "awake & stop dreaming" and try to live in Canada where my priorities are better assessed and responded to, so far.

Every country have prons and cons, but I think that not all foreign nurses shifted their 'dreams" for Canada for the same reason.

To cut it short-I think that as everything else...prioritizing of personal needs now is taking place .While one nurse is trying to raise a family...the other ones wants to travel , changing place of living and having fun in TEXAS (as far the employer pays moving expences!!!:wink2:)

Silverdragon102, BSN · Dec 5, 2008

My case is a different story.
I just got job in British Columbia,and I am not thinking of exchanging Canada for US. I am from Non-US country and leed by the "American dream"...I spent 6 years trying live the dream and reach my goal, passing exams by exams, submiting my documents,looking for job,while some other nurses who just married US citizen-did not have to pass English exam neither CGFNS-just NCLEX was sufficient. That same nurse worked with me not knowing a word of english. Was it fair-deffinately no!
When we start "to dream" about "the land of oportunity" we don't know nothing about that country neither about nursing,taxes, credit scores,retrogressions,...we are trying first to learn and understand the language to begin with.
However,the years that I worked for US company( for 9 years) I have learnt more than that...saw all prons and cons starting from the health system and finishing with the birocracy. The personal true is that retrogression depleted my patience for ever reaching the famous "american dream" and changed my view so badly, that I have decided to "awake & stop dreaming" and try to live in Canada where my priorities are better assessed and responded to, so far.
Every country have prons and cons, but I think that not all foreign nurses shifted their 'dreams" for Canada for the same reason.
To cut it short-I think that as everything else...prioritizing of personal needs now is taking place .While one nurse is trying to raise a family...the other ones wants to travel , changing place of living and having fun in TEXAS (as far the employer pays moving expences!!!:wink2:)

Thanks for your comments and yes people can change their destination, I did, but it doesn't help when we see members post that they want to use Canada as a stepping stone and also once here and working brag to their Canadian colleagues that that is what they are doing.

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2008

Canada is such a great place, no offense to my fellow Americans, but I think it's over all a better country than the U.S. It has less pollution, fewer crowds, universal health care, wide open spaces, more polite citizenry and it doesn't have to be a swaggering superpower that tries to police the world!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Dec 5, 2008

Those nurses I referred to in my first post had never had any intention of working in Canada until they realized that (in those days) they could use their newly printed Canadian nursing license to endorse to more than a dozen states. And so the door to the Promised Land swung open. The provincial government spent a ton of money on recruiting, relocation and other forms of assistance to these people, who made a run for it the minute they could. I hear that province is once again recruiting from that same population and I can't understand their willingness to throw more good money after bad.

RGN1 · Dec 6, 2008

I don't like it. Admittedly I was looking to go to the US and had a petitioner etc but since arriving here with dh's job and settling we are staying and cancelled the US.

Me too. I like the place, I like the nursing, I like the people.

Nowhere is perfect but this'll do nicely. Thanks to the retrogression I found a nicer place to bring up my kids!

Fiona59 · Dec 6, 2008

I work with a nurse who is very vocal about going south to the US as soon as possible. Is this nurse liked or respected? No. Not by their Cdn. coworkers or by nurses from the country of origin.

It has something to do with the comments about going to the States ASAP, and a lot to do with the poor nursing skills and work ethic this nurse has. Presents a great face to the managers and educators and is miserable to the rest of us. Doesn't seem to realize that we get to have input into the performance reports that will be coming soon.

So, yes, I object to my government spending a sum of money to recruit, educate, and resettle this individual. The money could have put a LPN in our hospital through university to get a BScN. The employer would have had a RN out of the deal, an LPN with a proven trackrecord would have had an educational opportunity (and most of the LPNs in question wouldn't be heading south due to ties to the community)